Carroll tops Wood for Catholic girls’ title

Archbishop Carroll repeated as Catholic League champions Monday night at the Palestra and won its third title in four years by defeating Archbishop Wood, 51-37, behind a game-high 20 points from St. Joseph's-bound senior Erin Shields.

Carroll junior forward Jen Carney filled the entire stat sheet, finishing with 16 points, four steals, three rebounds, three assists and two turnovers.

Shields, who made 6 of 11 field goals, including three consecutive first-quarter three-pointers, eclipsed 1,000 career points on her first trey at the 4-minute, 30-second mark of the opening period.

Two of Shields' threes were from at least two steps behind the arc.

"She had six points from about 90 feet," Wood coach Jim Ricci said of the Catholic League regular season MVP. "We talked about how far we had to go out and play her, and she still hits them from further out."

Carroll coach Chuck Creighton said Shields is shooting 58 percent from three-point range this season and 59 percent from the field.

"So anything you saw tonight is not a fluke," Creighton said.

The Patriots (22-3), the defending Class AAA state champions and ranked No. 1 in Southeastern Pennsylvania by The Inquirer, must defend their District 12 title against Prep Charter, of the Public League, at 6 p.m. Friday at Lincoln.

Monday night against Wood, Carroll made 21 of 25 free throws and forced 14 turnovers despite the absence of guard/forward Emily Fazzini, a junior with a bad ankle sprain who was the Patriots' leading scorer in their 39-30 home win over Wood on Jan. 7th.

Rachel Pearson (five points), Meghan Creighton (seven points) and Ryann Fiascki (three points) picked up the slack.

"Our big girls did a really nice job," said Shields, who made 5 of 5 free throws. "Our coaches are very defensive-minded, so that's the most important reason."

Carroll led by as many as 15 points, 47-32, with 3:01 remaining in the game as they won their sixth league title in 11 seasons.

"They played hard and scrappy defense all game long," said Wood guard Samantha Greenfield, who scored a team-high 10 points but committed four turnovers.

In the second quarter, when Carney (8 of 10 free throws) assisted on or scored four consecutive Carroll field goals, the Patriots finished the half on a 14-6 run to take a 27-19 lead at the break.

Carroll is officially Wood's kryptonite. The Patriots also beat the Vikings in last year's final, 35-22, as well as in the 2008 semifinal and the 2007 final.

Wood (20-5), ranked No. 8 in Southeastern Pennsylvania by the Inquirer, will play Franklin Learning Center on Wednesday at Archbishop Ryan for District 12's third and final seed in the PIAA Class AAA state tournament.

Archbishop Wood    6 13 9 9 - 37

Archbishop Carroll   11 16 13 11 - 51

AW: Victoria Arnao 5, Samantha Greenfield 10, Taylor Kaminski 3, Stephanie Keyes 6, Caitlin McCartney 4, Lauren Nealon 3, Jenna Swope 2, Christine Verrelle 4.

AC: Jen Carney 16, Meghan Creighton 7, Rachel Pearson 5, Ryan Fiascki 3, Erin Shields 20.