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When Letty Santarelli became the girls’ basketball coach at Ss. Neumann-Goretti High School, 1736 S. 10th St., in 2012, she knew her team, though coming off a solid season that included a District 12 Class AA City Title loss to Prep Charter, 1928 Point Breeze Ave., possessed second fiddle status at the East Passyunk Crossing-based institution because of the success of the boys’ squad. Fusing focus and fearlessness, she and her charges have proven as primary as their male mentors and captured the Catholic League title Monday night by downing Archbishop Wood 55-46 at The Palestra.
“The girls have worked hard all season long,” Santarelli, a resident of the 2900 block of South Broad Street, said after a celebratory dance with the Saints. “They came focused and determined and are passionate for the game. I am so proud of them.”
In sailing past the Vikings, the athletes, who on Saturday at St. Joe’s Prep will look to defend their City championship with a 1 p.m. tilt versus Public League victor Imhotep Charter, brought their facility its first female hoops plaque since 1978 and extended their record to 24-0. With so much at stake, who could have blamed Alicia Kebbe for being a bit nervy?
“I had anxiety coming in,” the sophomore guard/forward said of meeting expectations to revel and remain unblemished. “We have so much heart, though, so I tried to relax and play my game.”
Kebbe calmed herself mainly through encouragement from fellow Southwest Philly dweller Ciani Cryor, the junior point guard who immediately stoked the fanbase with a first-possession three-pointer. Endowed with enduring energy, the Saints operated at a bewildering first-quarter speed, combining additional triples by senior forward Emmanuela Awobajo and junior guard/forward A.J. Timbers, like Cryor a Prep Charter transfer, and interior plays to forge a 21-11 bulge. Kebbe, who netted an opening-frame bucket, made the second session proof of her improving hold on matters, as she tallied seven points and played tight defense, with the Vikings, whom the Saints bested 55-38 Feb. 1 in South Philly, able to dwindle their deficit by only one point, as the teams reached intermission with the favorites holding a 32-23 edge.
“Coming into this season, I saw us as a family, and we didn’t want to let each other down,” Kebbe said of halftime talks that focused on sustaining the momentum and stifling the Vikings’ chances of pilfering the Saints’ pursuit of perfection. “We knew we had to show heart.”
Blowouts certainly please supporters who covet no drama, but the underdogs wanted to make the Saints’ faithful contingent more than uneasy and gradually gained confidence, especially when Neumann-Goretti senior guard and Duquesne University signee Tanesha Sutton left with four fouls at the 4:27 mark of the third quarter. The Vikings, who also finished as the runners-up last year in falling to Cardinal O’Hara, Santarelli’s alma mater, trailed only 39-36 with 1:34 remaining before Kebbe again showed the crowd she could become an even more vital cog in the machine as the Saints look to add City and State championships to their school’s trophy case. She snared a difficult offensive rebound and put home a deuce before Cryor fed her for a wide open three-ball that gave the unblemished bunch a 44-39 lead as the ever-important final eight minutes of play commenced.
A 4-0 run within the opening 90 seconds excited the Wood throng before Kebbe drilled another three-pointer on her way to a team-high 17 points. The Vikings kept hearts racing and made the tally 47-44 before Awobajo removed the last inkling of suspense.
“The play wasn’t drawn up for me,” the cool customer and, like Sutton, McDonald’s All-American nominee, said of a beautiful corner three-ball that made the affair a two-possession game. “I’m happy, though, that it went in because we could breathe a little easier even know we knew we’d have to play hard until the final buzzer.”
Awobajo, another Southwest Philly denizen, came to the United States from Nigeria for her junior year, just missing a chance to play with ’12 alumnus and fellow Nigerian Onowumi “Ki-ke” Rafiu, now playing at Georgetown University. Seeing her countrywoman as a role model, Awobajo aimed to give their homeland noteworthy news by vowing to be a part of a Catholic League championship club. The last blare sounded, she frolicked with her peers as they ended more than three decades of their fans’ waiting for another conqueror.
“They made adjustments throughout the year, and especially tonight, which proves just how much they have bought into the idea of being accountable to themselves and one another,” Santarelli, an ’11 South Philly Review Difference Maker, said. “This is a special event that we’re all going to cherish.” The Saints will face a familiar foe Saturday, as they downed Imhotep in last year’s City title game. Just as with Wood, they will need to commit to 32 minutes of selfless play to stay flawless.
“Anything can happen,” Awobajo said. “We proved that tonight.”
Contact Managing Editor Joseph Myers at jmyers@southphillyreview.com or ext. 124.
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