Archbishop Wood wins its fourth consecutive PIAA 5A girls’ championship

Alexa Windish had no idea she was starting a rallying cry.

Two years ago, then a sophomore at Archbishop Wood, Windish came up with a chant after quieting an opposing student section that wanted to “Chop Wood.” The guard didn’t play varsity that season, but she did give the Vikings something that would define every big win they had thereafter.

Saturday night, in her last game as a Viking, Windish led her chant in historic fashion:

“Can’t chop Wood. Can’t chop it.”

Wood made history in Hershey as it defeated Cathedral Prep, 37-27, in the PIAA Class 5A final for its fourth consecutive state title. It was the program’s record-setting ninth state championship, the most by a girls’ program in PIAA history.

“It became a thing, I think it’s super catchy and it became a tradition,” Windish said of her chant. “I wasn’t trying to make anything of it, but here we are and we sing it every time.

“That being our last one, I’m a little bit upset, but I’m hoping they carry it on and hopefully there’s a new ringleader with the chant.”

Cathedral Prep had a size advantage over Wood. That, and the nerves of stepping onto the Giant Center floor seemed to have the Vikings out of sorts as they spotted the Ramblers a 7-0 lead. But Wood managed to outrebound the Ramblers in the first half, 22-20, and went into halftime tied at 16.

The effort was there. Then came more defense and big-time shot production in the second half.

Said Wood coach Mike McDonald: “It’s a lot of hard days, I’m sure, especially on their end, going home from practice or days in the offseason they don’t want to show up and they do it anyway. That’s why they’re mentally tough enough to win these types of games that are grind-it-out types of games.”

Lauren Greer, Wood’s defensive ace, had her hands full covering Cathedral Prep senior Jayden McBride. She held the Georgetown recruit to six points.

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Lena Walz opened the third quarter with a three-pointer for the Ramblers and McBride shook loose of Greer just long enough to hit a midrange shot for a 21-18 Prep lead. Wood’s Emily Knouse came back with the game-tying deep shot off an Ava Renninger offensive rebound.

After a stop, Renninger found Greer at the top of the key. Greer’s shot swished, Renninger tracked her down for an emphatic hand-slap at midcourt, and the Vikings were in front for good. They would finish the game on a 10-1 run.

“We all have this same common goal and it was to win and to keep on winning,” said Greer, who finished with 10 points and eight rebounds. “We put in a lot of work, we all stayed after practice to get up extra shots, pushed each other. There’s so much that goes into it that allowed us to get to this point.”

Windish, Greer, and Renninger were part of history at Archbishop Wood.

Knouse, a St. Joseph’s recruit who scored a game-high 12 points, was a co-captain with the three seniors and has learned from the trio.

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A junior, she will be back next year to carry on Wood’s legacy.

“They taught me how to be a better teammate,” Knouse said. “How to be mature and handle myself when things don’t go my way.”

This story was produced as part of a partnership between The Inquirer and City of Basketball Love, a nonprofit news organization that covers high school and college basketball in the Philadelphia area while also helping mentor the next generation of sportswriters. This collaboration will help boost coverage of the city’s vibrant amateur basketball scene, from the high school ranks up through the Big 5 and beyond.