O’Hara meets familiar faces in state final showdown

Cardinal O’Hara faces a mammoth challenge Friday night in the PIAA Class AAAA championship game.

The Lions will try to put a stop to Cumberland Valley’s dominance, while also facing the expectation of becoming the first team at their school to win a state championship.

Cumberland Valley (28-3) is a seasoned squad with the championship pedigree. The District Three champs are going after their third consecutive PIAA Class AAAA title, a team oozing with Division I talent and experience.

To suggest O’Hara (26-3) is a decided underdog in this, its second state finals appearance, wouldn’t be a stretch. But that doesn’t belie the fact that O’Hara is equally deserving and capable of going the distance.

At the start of the season, O’Hara and Cumberland Valley were considered the two favorites in PIAA Class AAAA. In fact, according to PennLive.com’s weekly state rankings, the Eagles and Lions were Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, in the preseason. Both programs have lived up to the hype, setting up a date with destiny at Hershey’s Giant Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 o’clock.

O’Hara began its campaign with eight consecutive victories before falling to Delaware powerhouse Ursuline Academy in mid-January. Its only other defeats were to Catholic League rivals Neumann-Goretti in the regular season, and Archbishop Wood in the semifinal round of the Philadelphia Catholic League playoffs. Both N-G and Wood are playing for state titles this weekend, as well. O’Hara has won 14 of 15 games, including a 48-41 decision over North Penn in the state semifinals Tuesday.

O’Hara and Cumberland Valley each feature three players headed to Division I programs. All-Delco junior guard/forward Mary Sheehan and CV junior guard Katie Jekot are committed to Saint Joseph’s. O’Hara sophomore guard Kenzie Gardler and CV senior guard Kelly Jekot are bound for

Villanova. All-Delco junior guard Hannah Nihill is going to Drexel, while CV senior forward Morgan Baughman is a Niagara recruit.

Baughman hit two free throws with 0.8 seconds to play in regulation to lift Cumberland Valley to a 43-42 win over North Allegheny in the semifinals. O’Hara had a similar outcome in its quarterfinal round showdown with Garnet Valley, when Nihill sank a pair of freebies with 0.4 on the clock to snap a 44-all tie and propel the Lions to the semifinals.

Several Cardinal O’Hara players know a little about the Eagles. There are nine players in Friday’s title game that are members of the AAU Comets organization. Kelly Jekot is the one to watch, the two-time Gatorade Pennsylvania Player of the Year. Gardler, Nihill and Sheehan all play with Kelly’s sister, Katie, on Linda Genther and Matt Githens’ 2017 Comets team. Githens is an assistant coach at O’Hara. Kelly Jekot’s plays for the Comets under Chris Genther, who is O’Hara head coach Linus McGinty’s right-hand man.

“I played with Katie and played against Kelly a million times,” Sheehan said. “Our teams would scrimmage in practice and I usually would match up against Kelly, so I know how great and how special the both of them are. I’m really close with Kelly, but Katie is one of my best friends. It’s going to be fun.”

Katie Jekot is a point guard who can shoot, while her big sister is a do-everything guard who stretches the floor and provides matchup problems for most teams the Eagles face. Most likely, the 5-foot-11 Sheehan will be tasked with defending the 6-foot Kelly Jekot.

“They’re back-to-back state champions that have been there and have established themselves as a dominant team. They just know how to win,” Sheehan said. “They seemed to be beatable in the regular season, but in March they found this zone that makes them so hard to beat. They’re an excellent team.”

O’Hara returns to the PIAA Class AAAA final for the second time in program history. In 2009, the Lions fell to Mount Lebanon, which made four straight trips to the title game from 2008-11. Lebanon’s run preceded Cumberland Valley’s, which is appearing in the final for the fourth year in a row.

Under McGinty and assistant Chris Genther, O’Hara has won 777 games and nine Catholic League championships. McGinty previously coached 12 seasons at Archbishop Carroll. A state title would be the perfect cap for a Hall of Fame career.

Nihill is the best point guard in Delaware County and arguably the best the state has to offer. Gardler and Hendrixson are O’Hara’s deep-ball threats who also possess the ability to make plays and drive to the basket. Sheehan excels in all areas of the floor, the Lions’ defacto starting big who thrives in multiple roles. Sophomore Molly Paolino and junior Lauren Leicht provide textbook on-the-ball defense. Leicht, who started the North Penn game, provided steady production when usual starter Paolino missed several games due to injury earlier this season.

O’Hara is ready to finish what it started and bring home a state championship.

“To get here … it’s really amazing,” Gardler said. “This has been our goal all along.”