The Times Herald - Girls Hoops: Carroll rolls to District 12 title

PHILADELPHIA — The more Olivia DeRogatis has played this season, the more she realizes she belongs at Archbishop Carroll.
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Normally the first player off Chuck Creighton’s bench, the junior forward never disappoints.
“She’s a starting player, but you can’t start six,” Creighton said with a cackle following Carroll’s 64-23 shellacking of Central High School for the District 12 championship Saturday at spacious Lincoln High School.
The Patriots begin the PIAA Class AAAA Tournament Friday with a home contest against Haverford High, District One’s eighth-place finisher.
DeRogatis came over by way of Country Day School of the Sacred Heart following her freshman season. Had she stayed on Bryn Mawr Avenue, she would have likely earned a starting role as a sophomore. But her decision to come to Carroll, where she has developed a knack of excelling off the bench, certainly hasn’t been one she’s regretted. Next season, after three of the Patriots’ five starters have graduated, DeRogatis should see her role expand. At the moment she is a low-post presence with finesse, similar in style to Drexel-bound junior Sarah Curran, who is the Patriots’ top big.
“I just try to be ready, knowing that I’ll probably be going in the game pretty soon,” DeRogatis said. “(Transferring from Sacred Heart) was definitely a huge transition for me. The girls on the team are really welcoming and made me really feel home at Carroll. That was really a big help.”
DeRogatis chipped in with five points and put forth the kind of all-around performance Creighton has come to expect. She also registered three rebounds, two assists and one steal in limited action, as 14 Patriots saw the court against the Lancers.
DeRogatis was instrumental in helping Carroll to some crucial wins this season, including a 13-point effort in the team’s Catholic League semifinal triumph over Neumann-Goretti.
“The first time we played Wood I think she scored 10 points in the fourth quarter. She was the difference in that game,” Creighton said. “She’s played really, really well. She’s very athletic, she really takes it to the basket hard and she continues to develop her outside shot. She’s going to be really scary and very, very good.”
Meghan Creighton, who netted 11 points, dished out two assists and made a pair of steals, was selected MVP, but an argument could have been made for Kristie Costantino, who probably should be featured in an instructional basketball DVD sometime soon.
Not at all deterred by the reckless abandon with which she plays, Costantino poured in 14 points on 4-of-10 shooting and took her turn through the revolving door of Carroll game MVPs (even if she was somewhat slighted by the scorekeepers/District 12 decision-makers Saturday). As usual, Costantino made her mark on defense. She came away with six steals, but also looked out for her teammates (five assists). She dived for loose balls, drove to the hoop as if she was up against Shaq, and continuously pressured Central ball-handlers.
“She has to play that way,” Chuck Creighton said. “That’s her makeup. There’s good and bad in that. There’s times she tries to do too much and there’s times where it’s perfect. But the positives outweigh the negatives, and she really brings an intensity to the team.”
If there was a concern the Patriots would slip up and show some semblance of a hangover effect after recapturing the Philadelphia Catholic League title from Archbishop Wood last Monday night, they erased any doubt by rushing out to an 8-0 lead and forcing Central to call a timeout 47 seconds into regulation.
“We have a lot of senior leadership; I don’t ever worry about any of that,” Creighton said. “We have so many pieces that it would be hard for them. I wouldn’t let them let down, but they wouldn’t let themselves let down.”
Central, the Public League’s second-place finisher, committed 30 turnovers and was outscored, 23-0, in the third quarter. The Lancers scored their first point of the second half — a Melissa Livingston free throw — with 5:43 to go in the fourth.
Senior shooting guard Shannon Shields had eight points and two assists, while Lexi Stover had five points, three rebounds and a pair of assists for the Patriots (24-2), who have won 15 straight decisions. Maddie Wallace tossed in six points.

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