Archbishop Wood returns to AAA final

Behind a shutdown defensive performance, Archbishop Wood punched its ticket on Wednesday night to a third consecutive PIAA Class AAA girls' basketball championship final with a 42-37 win over Chartiers Valley in Chambersburg.

The Vikings (20-10) have won each of the last two state titles. Allentown Central Catholic is the only AAA school to win three straight titles in the tournament's 40-year history. Central Catholic won four straight from 2001-2004.

Chartiers Valley (24-4) averaged 60 points per game before running into Wood's man-to-man defense. In the last five games, opponents have averaged just 37.6 points per game against Wood.

"I'm really proud of the kids and what they accomplished this year," said head coach Jim Ricci. "We beat a really good team. It's been a great journey."

Taylor Kaminski sealed the win with a pair of free throws with 15 seconds left to give Wood a seven-point lead. The senior guard finished with eight points, as did Alex Heck and Jackie Pierson.

Chartiers Valley   6 4 13 14 - 37

Archbishop Wood   11 7 9 15 - 42

CV: Coyne 7, Devinney 3, Golden 8, McGeough 4, O'Keefe 7, Wells 8.

AW: Alex Heck 8, Taylor Kaminski 8, Jess Kaminski 3, Lauren Nealon 6, Jackie Pierson 8, Haley Scullion 7, Colleen Young 2.