Parkland Knocks Off Archbishop Carroll 48-37

Parkland took one more step in their postseason run Friday night at Pottstown, dispatching defending state champions Archbishop Carroll 48-37.

“We just looked at it like the next team in our way. We didn’t really change anything,” were Coach Ed Ohlson’s thoughts in the postgame. And it looked very much the same for the Trojans throughout, as they relied heavily on their stellar defensive effort. Talia Zurinskas agreed: “Our offense will come, but defense is where it starts.”

Zurinskas opened up the scoring for Parkland at the 5:15 mark after a few shaky possessions to start the game. Isabella Hallal added a layup 30 seconds later. Alexis Eberz countered with a trey for the Patriots, but Zurinskas responded with another triple and two free throws to close out the quarter with a 12-9 Trojans lead.

“I knew she was dialed in,” Ohlson said of Zurinskas.

“My teammates put a lot of trust in me. Tonight they put trust and belief in me and said ‘just do your thing.’” And so she would, scoring eight points in the opening quarter and ten total in the first half. She picked off a pass and finished with a layup on the other end midway through the second quarter, helping Parkland hold a 20-16 halftime edge.

During that first half, there were two extra stoppages of play due to issues at the table. Both involved the actual score of the game. What appeared to be a trey for Bridget Archbald in the second quarter was ruled to be a very long two ball. During one stoppage, a fan was removed from the stands.

Madi Siggins was thankful for the extra rest: ““It was benefiting us. We got a nice break. I was so proud of us keeping our composure because that’s what we’re good at.”

As they’ve done all postseason long, the Trojans clamped down even harder in the second half. Siggins hit another layip at the 5:02 mark of the third, as Parkland was able to get under the basket even more consistently as the game went on. Just over a minute later, Zurinskas did the same, drawing and converting a three-point play to push the Parkland lead to 29-20. She came right back a minute later and drained a long ball. A very deep triple from Eberz at the 1:10 mark kept things from getting completely out of control on the scoreboard. The quarter ended 34-25 in favor of the Trojans.

With a big lead, Parkland could have taken the air out of the ball and just passed around the perimeter. They chose, instead, to lull the Patriots to sleep and get Madi Siggins under the bucket. With huge passes from Delaney Chilcote, Siggins scored the first four points of the fourth quarter, extending the lead to 38-25 and putting all of the pressure squarely on the Patriots. ““The atompshere in there was insane. You just have to go in[to the fourth quarter] with patience and calm and that’s exactly what we did and I’m so proud of our team,” said Siggins.  Prior to this, Archbishop Carroll had implemented the full court press and forced a handful of Parkland turnovers. When asked if the late attack was a coaching strategy, coach Ohlson stated, “That’s them. Laney is such a great passer, she sees it before it happens and Madi goes to work.”

The Trojans salted away the rest of the game at the charity stripe, hitting eight of their final twelve and going 17/21 on the night. Siggins hit all six of her attempts on the game. “I shoot at least a hundred before I leave[practice]. I stay late with Talia. We do it all the time. I’m like ‘alright let’s go’, that’s where all that work pays off.” Zurinskas hit five of her final six.

Zurinskas finished her night with 23 points and Siggins poured in 16. Chilcote and Hallal each contributed four. In defeat, Alexis Eberz scored 13 and Brooke Wilson had 11.

The Trojans now advance to face another Philadelphia Catholic League foe in Cardinal O’Hara, who knocked off Perkiomen Valley, 58-51. That game will take place Monday night.  

“Let’s stay together as long as we can. Let’s get through Monday and see what happens, “ coach Ohlson remarked on the topic of trying to win the program’s first state title since 2007.

Talia added, ““I’ve never gotten this far. It feels great, especially knocking off the defending state champs. We have another game ahead. Just take it one game at a time.”

She also commented on the multitude of fans who made the trip to Pottstown: “To see how much of the community came out to support us and watch us—you can’t ask for anything else.”