Fundamental approach has paid dividends for Carroll girls’ basketball

Tom Nerney, along with the rest of his Archbishop Carroll girls’ basketball coaching staff, took a calculated risk when they decided to focus on the fundamentals.

What seemed like a radical approach for a program with a storied history all one had to do was take a look at the roster and see that many of the players had little to no experience competing at the varsity level.

“As a coaching staff we wanted to focus on fundamentals so we could get the young ladies more repetitions,” said Nerney. “We thought this approach would help us compete throughout the season.”

While the approach could have certainly been questioned at times throughout the season, patience also played a big role as the team stuck together to register a third-place regular season in the Catholic League that was good enough to help the Patriots advance to the postseason.

Friday, Carroll had Upper Dublin, the fourth place finisher from District One, on the ropes for much of the contest before the Cardinals used a zone press to force Carroll into some late turnovers that turned a 37-26 deficit into a 38-36 lead with under two minutes remaining.

Following a Molly Masciantonio bucket to tie the game, Upper Dublin called time-out and set up what turned out to be the winning basket as Nicole Kaiser hit a lay-up as the buzzer sounded to give Upper Dublin the 40-38 win in opening round of the PIAA Class AAAA state playoffs hosted by Cheltenham High School.

“Our youth showed up big time,” Nerney said about the final six minutes. “I think we were a little nervous and we made some mistakes. They (Upper Dublin) did a good job executing.”

“It was awesome that we were able to make the state playoffs,” said senior co-captain Lexi Kucia. “This year was kind of a rebuilding year and it was a great feeling when we found out we made the state tournament. It would have been nice to get a win but I could not be any prouder of this team and they were grew throughout the year.”

The heartbreaking loss was tough but it should not define the season for a team that has shown tremendous growth throughout a season that included key victories over Hammond School (SC) in the Holiday Tournament accompanied by league wins over St. Hubert, Bonner-Prendergast and Lansdale Catholic.

“Without working on fundamentals I don’t think we would have had this opportunity but at the same time I believe not working on execution also cost this opportunity. That is the trade off,” Nerney said. “However, we have grown as a team since November and we as a coaching staff are so proud of what they accomplished.”

“Being a young team I wanted to take what I learned from previous captains and be the best leader I can be and Coach Nerney coming in has been a big asset for Carroll basketball. He has done great things,” Kucia said.

A young team brings opportunities for the young players a chance to learn from its seniors and develop and grow on and off the court. With Kuica and juniors Bella Sorrentino and Sam Swart being the only players who received some playing time last season, it was clear contributions from other players would be necessary for success.

One who took that to heart was sophomore Molly Masciantonio who provided a huge spark for a team that was looking for support.

“After we lost five seniors last year I knew I had to step up,” said Masciantonio, who scored a game-high 14 points, grabbed five rebounds and blocked three shots against Upper Dublin. “Our seniors did a great job of leading this team.”

“I could not be more proud of Molly, Bella and how far they have come and I can’t wait to see what they do next year,” said Kucia.

“Our seniors along with Bella were there every day competing and showing great leadership,” said Nerney. “This allowed Molly to prosper and I hope she takes what she learned and builds on it during her AAU season. She is a talented player with the ability to take over a game.”