Wood girls claim Catholic League title in closing seconds
When Archbishop Wood guard Taylor Kaminski caught a pass from teammate Tori Arnao with the Catholic League championship all tied up at 31-31, she looked up to see just 10 seconds remaining and decided that it was now or never.
When Archbishop Wood guard Taylor Kaminski caught a pass from teammate Tori Arnao with the Catholic League championship all tied up at 31-31, she looked up to see just 10 seconds remaining and decided that it was now or never.
"I saw that we didn't have much time left, and something had to be done so I just went for it," Kaminski said.
The junior dribbled hard to the baseline past two Carroll defenders, tossing up a perfect layup that lifted the Vikings and sent the crowded Palestra into a frenzy. Before scoring those final points, Kaminski was 0-for-5 from the floor Monday night, which made her heroic finish all the more impressive.
"When we run our delay game, we have a high-post flash and run a weakside back-cut," Wood coach Jim Ricci said. "Taylor got a nice pass from Tori, and it was just a layup. I was really just hoping that the clock would hit zero instead of 3 seconds."
With :03 remaining, Wood buckled down defensively to stop Carroll one last time, forcing the Patriots to launch a failed three-pointer from halfcourt. The victory was especially sweet for the Vikings after returning 14 of its 15 players from a team that had lost to Carroll in the finals last season despite winning a state Class AAA title.
"It feels absolutely great. It actually might feel better than winning states last year," Ricci said. "There's a banner in our gym, and 1982 is the last time we won this thing. It'll be nice to see another number up there."
Arnao, a senior forward, led the team with seven points and six rebounds, and fellow senior Jenna Swope added six points and three rebounds for the Vikings. Arnao and Swope were just two of a deep class of seven seniors who contributed to the win.
"The seniors are phenomenal people. They're really good students and just tremendous players," Ricci said. "They have Division I players among them, and they all play higher than Division I. They really do."
Junior guard Lauren Nealon, who tallied six points for Wood, sank back-to-back three-pointers in the first half to give her team an early lead. The Vikings then entered halftime with slim 13-12 lead in the defensive struggle.
"Lauren Nealon made some shots in the beginning of the game to keep it close," Ricci said. "We weren't great, but our defense was unbelievable. We just kept chipping away. It was just an unbelievable game."
Carroll came out strong in the second half, receiving solid play from junior guard Meghan Creighton, who scored a game-high 11 points. Sophomore forward Sarah Curran tallied 10 points and six rebounds for the Patriots, but it was not enough to break through the Vikings' stellar defense.
"It feels great to be on the other end of this game. It's really just a great feeling," Kaminski said. "I'm very proud of my teammates. We work our butts off every day, and it really pays off, and you can tell when it does."
Carroll outrebounded Wood, 26-18, and held the Vikings to just 33 percent shooting from the floor, but Wood managed to grind out the win with what Kaminski saw as a team effort.
"This is all a contribution," she said. "There's not one person that I feel deserves this win more than the whole team does together."
