O’Hara Madness: Three alumnae set to play in NCAA Tournament the same day O’Hara plays for state title

Before Amaris Baker stepped on the court for Drexel in the Colonial Athletic Association tournament final last week, she got a text from her high school coach, Chrissie Doogan. It was a song: “Feel This Moment” by Pitbull.

Doogan, head girls’ basketball coach and athletic director at Cardinal O’Hara, also sent the song to two other former players ahead of their respective conference championships: Chrissie’s daughter Maggie Doogan at Richmond, and Sydni Scott at Marshall. Perhaps inspired by Pitbull and Christina Aguilera, Maggie and Scott won their games and punched their tickets to the NCAA Tournament. Then it was Baker’s turn.

“I just want them to enjoy the moment, that’s all it was,” Chrissie Doogan said. “Go feel the moment and enjoy it because there’s no guarantees it’ll happen again. So I just want all of them to kind of take a deep breath, and really enjoy what they’re going through.”

» READ MORE: How lucky No. 7 has guided Drexel to March Madness

With Drexel’s win over top-seeded Stony Brook in the CAA final, Baker made it three O’Hara alumnaeheaded to March Madness. Baker led the Dragons in scoring in all four of their tournament games and was named most outstanding player as the Dragons set up a date with No. 1 seed Texas on Friday (3 p.m., ESPNU) in the Portland 4 Regional bracket.

With Pitbull having proved fortuitous for her alumni, Doogan is considering playing the song for her own team as the Lions prepare to take on Spring-Ford in the PIAA 6A state championships (Friday, 6 p.m.). It’ll be a busy day for the Doogan family as Maggie and the 10th-seeded Spiders will be in Columbus, Ohio, facing No. 7 Duke at 2:30 that afternoon of the Portland 3 Regional.

In fact, it will be a O’Hara quadruple-header, with Drexel playing at 3 p.m., followed by Scott and 13th-seeded Marshall meeting No. 4 Virginia Tech in their own first-round game at 3:30, also in the Portland 3 Regional side of the bracket.

“We played so well together and seeing them branch off and do their own thing at their own schools, and then having the same success that we did in high school, that’s super special,” Maggie said. “Not many people get to do that. So I’m really proud of them. I hope they can get a couple tournament wins.”

With Richmond making its first March Madness appearance since 2004, most of the Doogan family will be in Ohio to cheer for Maggie on what also happens to be her 20th birthday. Chrissie is a little more used to the experience at Hershey, having coached O’Hara to three state title games in the last four years.

Maggie Doogan, Baker, and Scott won the PIAA 5A championship together in 2021. After Baker headed to college, Doogan and Scott repeated in 2022, also winning a Catholic League title that same year.

The trio helped build a dynasty at O’Hara, one that the current class is looking to live up to. This year’s Lions are led by a trio of seniors in Greta Miller, Joanie Quinn, and Carly Coleman, who all were underclassmen on the team with Doogan, Baker, and Scott.

“I think they are really embracing this year, because they feel like this year is their team, and they don’t want it to be known as Maggie and Sydni state championships,” Chrissie Doogan said. “They want to be known as their state championship run as seniors, and that’s what’s been really special for me, to watch these guys refuse to lose.”

Even as they try to carve out their own separate paths, Lions past and present keep close tabs on each other. O’Hara paused practice on March 11 to watch Scott and the Thundering Herd in the Sun Belt tournament final, huddling over their phones to see Marshall beat James Madison in overtime.

» READ MORE: Joanie Quinn powers Cardinal O’Hara past Parkland, advancing to PIAA 6A girls’ final

“It’s really cool that we’re all connected and full circle all at once. I’m super excited for them, and good luck to them,” Baker said.

While they’ve never experienced anything to the level of March Madness before, Doogan and Baker think the old PIAA and PCL battles in their O’Hara days have helped prepare them for these moments. Both Doogan and Baker have been a significant part of their team’s journey to this point, and were both named to the all-tournament teams in their respective conferences.

“The anticipation building up, I’ve definitely experienced that before,” Doogan said. “In high school, those wins are awesome because you do it with your best friends. And you come to college, and meet new best friends, and you get to do it again. So it’s definitely an awesome feeling that I will never get sick of.”