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By: Kate Harman
Fourteen.
Three.
Forty-four.
Those numbers were hard to avoid Monday night at the Palestra.
Fourteen to 44, to 3, back to 14, again to 44, to 3, before returning to 44.
The sequence went something like this – and various other combinations – over and over again, as Kenzie Gardler (No. 14), Molly Paolino (No. 3), and Maura Hendrixson (No. 44) seamlessly weaved their way through the defense for Cardinal O’Hara.
The senior trio showed great composure, adroit ball handling skills, and terrific court awareness for the Lions – especially late in the contest – as they helped O’Hara defeat Neumann-Goretti in the Catholic League championship, 54-39.
It is the second consecutive title for the senior class – and 11th in 21 years for coach Linus McGinty.
“It’s unbelievable,” Gardler said. “Our team worked so hard – we weren’t supposed to win at all. We ended the regular season third place last year, too, and to do the exact same thing this year with our seniors gone, it’s incredible.”
The group wouldn’t have been able to do it without Gardler, Hendrixson, and Paolino, who have played pivotal roles for the program since their freshman season – starting almost all 114 games in that span.
Gardler is the three-point shooter and scorer, while Hendrixson is the steady hand who never wavers on either side of the floor, and Paolino plays the role of defensive specialist tasked with guarding the opponent’s best player.
On Monday, that player was Jabria Ingram.
“Earlier in the season, she dropped, like, 25 points on me,” Paolino said. “We knew that if we could shut her down it would get them out of the way their offense normally functions.”
The guard held the league’s Most Valuable Player to only seven points.
“She’s [Molly] incredible,” Gardler, a Villanova recruit, said. “She has the biggest heart. She doesn’t care if she scores. She doesn’t care if she gets All-Catholic. That doesn’t matter to her. She’s the most unselfish player.”
Goretti (17-6) led the Lions (20-4) by nine points with more than half of the third quarter gone, but O’Hara came clawing back and only trailed by a bucket at the end of the frame.
In the fourth, the Lions took over, as Hendrixson scored 15 of her game-high 26 points, and went 11-for-12 from the free throw line. O’Hara caught the Saints off guard by pressing, which led to turnovers and quick points.
“We let it all out on the floor,” Hendrixson, a Drexel recruit, said. “We refused to lose. Coming into the game we never thought about losing. Losing was not an option.”
With 16.2 seconds remaining, McGinty subbed the trio out.
No. 3. No. 14. No. 44
But it didn’t stop there.
During the celebration, Paolino was first to go up and cut a piece of the netting down. She was followed by Hendrixson and then Gardler, who waved the remainder of it around before putting it on as a necklace.
Then they followed one another into a press conference, and later, into the locker room.
And finally, after several of their teammates had already left, they reemerged, plaque in tow, netting still draped around Gardler’s neck.
Fourteen.
Forty-four.
Three.
@Ka_Harman
Cardinal O’Hara 11 9 9 23 – 54
Neumann-Goretti 12 10 9 10 – 39
CO: Maura Hendrixson 26, Kenzie Gardler 17, Kerry Paterson 4, Molly Paolino 3, Siobohan Boylan 2, Erin Welde 2
NG: Dajiah Parmley 10, Jabria Ingram 7, Tatiana Jones 7, Angel Ricks 6, Chelsea Keebler 6, Kiara Kroger 3