Archbishop Wood girls topple N-G
AFTER SUCCESSFULLY completing exams in anatomy and theology in the afternoon, Archbishop Wood senior Bailey Greenberg went to the Palestra and aced a test in history.
AFTER SUCCESSFULLY completing exams in anatomy and theology in the afternoon, Archbishop Wood senior Bailey Greenberg went to the Palestra and aced a test in history.
Greenberg, who comes from strong basketball stock, scored 16 points as Wood beat NeumannGoretti, 40-36, to win the Catholic League championship for the first time since 2011.
"This is my favorite gym," said Greenberg, who is headed to Drexel. "Knowing all of the history of this place. My Aunt Kelly used to coach here."
Kelly Greenberg coached at Penn and was a star player at La Salle. Bailey's father, Chip Greenberg, also starred at La Salle in the mid-1980s. Chip and Kelly's uncle, Charlie Greenberg, was on La Salle's 1954 NCAA championship team and coached at Father Judge. Both Kelly and Chip are in the Big 5 Hall of Fame based largely on what they did at Philadelphia's Basketball Cathedral.
"My dad is my role model," said Bailey. "He's the most important person in my life."
Shannon May added 10 points for Wood and Katie May hit consecutive three-pointers in the second half to give the Vikings some breathing room.
Alisha Kebbe, headed for Syracuse, scored 13 points for the Saints. The two-time defending champs had won the last two CL titles and 53 games in a row.
Both teams will play for District 12 championships on Saturday at Lincoln High School. Wood takes on Mastery North at 3:30 for the Class AAA crown. N-G plays Imhotep immediately after for the 2A title.
"I'm proud of our girls," said Neumann-Goretti first-year coach Andrea Peterson. "Winning 53 in a row is tough. I told them after the game that nobody's perfect 24/7. Sometimes we forget these are 16- and 17-year-old kids. We fought hard, but Wood had a phenomenal game."
@EdBarkowitz