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By: Kate Harman
Katie May wasn’t going to walk out of Spring-Ford High School without a win.
She knew it. Her coach, Mike McDonald, knew it. Her Archbishop Wood girls’ basketball team knew it.
The Vikings fans in the stands probably knew it, too. They had seen that look on her face before.
It was obvious any time the senior guard/forward knocked down a turn around pull up jumper, grabbed an offensive rebound, directed a teammate to box out, or even called a timeout when an inbounds play wasn’t going the way she wanted. The Northeastern recruit would try to take over the contest any which way she could.
She did, as she finished the game with 14 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, two steals, and a block, leading Wood to a come-from-behind victory over West Chester Henderson in the quarterfinal round of the PIAA Class 5A state tournament, 40-35.
“That was the mindset,” May, who has played in three state championships, winning two, said. “I just really want to go out on top this year. If we are going to end our season, I want to end it at Hershey. I was just not going to let us lose.”
For a while on Saturday afternoon, it looked like that’s exactly what the Vikings (21-7) were going to do, as the Warriors (30-1) led for 20 total minutes of play, including the entire third quarter, thanks to a great defensive effort.
But May wasn’t going to let that happen, so she turned it up in the second half, and her team followed suit. Henderson’s lead – which was in the single digits for the majority of the contest – started to slowly slip away.
“Leadership – the composure – she’s been here before,” McDonald said. “And she wasn’t making shots for a stretch there, so to be able to continue doing all the little things right – rebounding, playing defense – and finally hitting a couple of shots. It was huge – she’s been outstanding for us in so many facets of the game and that didn’t change today.”
While May was a force on both ends for Wood– and provided invaluable senior leadership down the stretch – it was sophomore Lindsay Tretter who hit some of the biggest shots for her team.
“In the beginning I was nervous because I never really played in a game this big before,” Tretter said. “But then once I kept playing, hitting my shots, and getting some steals on defense, I was more confident in myself.”
The confidence showed, as Tretter knocked down four pivotal three-pointers, including two in the final seven minutes of play – one of which gave the Vikings the lead for the first time since the score was 2-1.
“When I came in, I was really happy that I was going to be a part of something like this,” Tretter said, of the significant of the program. “And then when we won the state championship last year, it was really exciting for me because I grew up watching them play. To be a part of that was really great for me and I hope we can get another one this year.”
If May has anything to do with it, they just might.
@Ka_Harman
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West Chester Henderson 12 3 12 8 – 35
Archbishop Wood 5 7 11 17 – 40
WCH: Erin Thompson 12, Grace Ferguson 9, Erin Torrance 6, Maddie DePrisco 3, Abbey Shea 3, Adrienne Smith 2
AW: Katie May 14, Lindsay Tretter 14, Kaitlyn Orihel 6, Annie Whalen 3, Erin Morgan 3