Archbishop Carroll girls beat Archbishop Wood in OT to capture Catholic League title
Erin Sweeney scored 18 points in a 48-42 victory for the Patriots.
Archbishop Carroll girls’ basketball coach Renie Shields didn’t have a doubt in the world. She knew the Erin Sweeney she saw in practice and throughout the season would rise to the occasion when it mattered.
Sweeney, a junior forward, scored 18 points, including seven in overtime, to lift the Patriots past Archbishop Wood, 48-42, in the Philadelphia Catholic League championship on Monday at the Palestra.
“I knew I had to just keep shooting and not get down on myself,” said Sweney, who averaged 20.3 points per game in the PCL playoffs. “Once I made one shot, I knew I could get into a groove, and I knew I had to keep shooting in order to do that."
Senior guard Harlem Jennings, who had 15 points, said the Patriots run overtime situations in practice constantly and it showed.
After Wood’s Lindsay Tretter drained a three-pointer to give the Vikings an initial overtime lead, the Patriots went on a 9-0 run to close the contest. Sweeney scored seven of those points, including three at the free-throw line.
Freshman guard Grace O’Neill scored the other basket, which gave the Patriots the lead in overtime. Before overtime, she missed a potential game-winning free throw on a one-and-one in the waning seconds of the fourth quarter.
“It was really a team effort,” said O’Neill, who scored 13 points. ““I missed foul shots, Erin made foul shots, Harlem had a bunch of great drives, so it’s just a team effort and I happened to make a shot at a good time.”
After a sluggish first half, the Vikings offense woke up in the third quarter.
Vikings senior forward Annie Whalen scored the first two buckets to open the second half. She finished with eight points. Sophomore forward Kaitlyn Orihel, who scored the game-tying layup to force overtime, finished with 15 points.
When the Patriots got knocked out of the PIAA Class 5A semifinals last season by Mars Area High School, located north of Pittsburgh, Shields said one of Carroll’s goals the following year was to win the PCL title.
Mission accomplished.
“There’s nothing like winning the Philadelphia Catholic League,” Shields said. “I don’t think you can find another league in the country like the Philadelphia Catholic League. It’s just so competitive.”
AC 10 13 8 8 9 48
AW 8 8 12 11 3 42
AC: Erin Sweney 18, Harlem Jennings 15, Grace O’Neill 13, Karli Dougherty 2
AW: Kaitlyn Orihel 15, Annie Whalen 8, Lindsay Tretter 8, Ryanne Allen 6, Elizabeth Fasit 3, Noelle Baxter 2