Mars girls edge Archbishop Wood to capture 1st PIAA title

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, March 28, 2018 | 8:00 PM

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HERSHEY — Mars junior Tai Johnson chased after Archbishop Wood as the Philadelphia Catholic League powerhouse held for the final shot, looking for any chance to force a turnover.

Finally, she found her spot.

Johnson made an aggressive attack and turned a weak bounce pass into a tie-breaking steal, layup and foul shot with 4.2 seconds left to defeat Archbishop Wood, 36-33, in the PIAA Class 5A girls final Wednesday at Giant Center in Hershey.

“I knew we had to make a defensive play to get something offensively,” Johnson said. “I anticipated the steal and I went for it. I fumbled a little bit, but I was able to get a good grip on it and I saw an open lane to the basket. I knew I had to concentrate and put the ball up strong because there was defense behind me.

“I got the layup to fall.”

The foul knocked her out of bounds, but her off-balance shot toppled Archbishop Wood (22-8), a two-time defending PIAA champion making its eighth finals appearance in the past nine seasons. Wood defeated Trinity, 34-26, in last year’s Class 5A state final.

“It feels amazing because they’ve been dominating for awhile,” Johnson said. “It feels extra good to win over a team that you know is good.”

The state title was the first for Mars (24-7), which last reached the finals in 1977.

The Planets waited 41 years between state championship appearances, but the tense moment when Johnson’s shot hung on the rim felt even longer, teammate Lauren Wasylson said.

The shot bounced twice on the back of the rim, once off the front and then into the net.

“The ball felt like it took 100 years to go in,” Wasylson said. “It rolled around. I was like, ‘Oh my! Here we go!’ And then it went in, and our whole bench went nuts. It was unbelievable.”

Mars played most of the fourth quarter without Wasylson, a Xavier recruit who fouled out with 6:53 left. She had four points. Without her, Mars outscored Wood, 13-7, and the team’s other Division I recruit, Bucknell commit Johnson, came through with the game-winner.

“We didn’t give them a chance to dwell on (Wasylson’s exit),” said Mars coach Dana Petruska, who’s in year three of her second stint leading the Planets. “We didn’t give them a chance to feel sorry for us, for the girls on the floor or for Lauren. That’s the way the game plays out, and that’s why it’s a team sport.”

Mars won with a junior, two sophomores and two freshmen on the floor. Bella Palaia, a sophomore, led Mars with 14 points and Johnson had 10.

“(Wasylson) contributes so much offensively and defensively,” Johnson said. “With her on the bench, we knew we all had to step up and compensate for what we were missing.”

Freshman Kaitlyn Orihel led Wood with nine points and senior Erin Morgan had eight as the score increased ever so slowly. Wood led 12-5 after the first quarter, 19-14 at half and 26-23 after three.

A year ago, when Wood and Trinity combined for 60 points, they set the PIAA basketball record for fewest points in a girls championship. Wednesday’s final became the second lowest with 69.

“We don’t like to take bad shots,” Archbishop Wood coach Mike McDonald said. “If you’re going to sit in a zone, we’re going to be as patient as we have to be without a shot clock until they put one in.”

A fourth-quarter 3-pointer by Johnson gave Mars its first lead of the entire night, 31-30 with 2:21 left. The Planets had forced ties at 12-12, 19-19 and 28-28.

Palaia followed Johnson’s 3 with a twisting jumper in the lane to lead 33-30.

A 3-pointer from Wood’s Lindsay Tretter forced a tie at 33 with 1:07 left.

When Johnson missed at the 51-second mark, Wood rebounded and was searching for a shot to win when Johnson stole the ball back.

“When we got the score tied again and we got a stop, I thought we were going to win the game,” McDonald said. “They’re a really good team and they made more plays than us down the stretch.”

His Vikings were passing the ball around the perimeter when senior Katie May attempted a short bounce pass to Orihel. Johnson poked the pass away and then chased down the loose ball across half court with May in pursuit.

As the 5-foot-8 guard drove to the basket, May fouled her from behind. Johnson was 1 for 11 shooting before making two of her last three shots.

“It was either foul or give her the layup,” McDonald said. “She made both (the layup and the foul shot) anyway.”

Neither team had shot exceptionally well.

Wood’s shooters went 11 for 43 from the field (25.6 percent) and 5 for 20 from the arc, while Mars made 11 of 34 (32.4 percent) including 2 of 10 from 3-point range.

Rebounds and second-chance points let Wood build an early lead.

Mars was out-rebounded 21-12 in the first half and they gave up 13 offensive boards. But Mars won the second-half rebounding battle 16-12, including an 8-5 edge in the fourth.

With so much state finals experience on the other team’s bench, Mars expected the first half to be a challenge.

“They already had a little bit of a taste for what the Giant Center is and what a state championship is,” Wasylson said. “We knew that they would come in a little bit cocky, and we knew that we would come in a little bit hesitant. But that didn’t affect us.

“We got down in the first half but we just kept playing our game, and it paid off.”

Chris Harlan is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at charlan@tribweb.com or via Twitter @CHarlan_Trib.

Tags: Mars