— To read Rick Carpiniello’s game story between Ossining and Christ The King, click here.
— For Phil Terrigno’s game story between Hen Hud and Panas, click here.
— For this week’s girls basketball notebook, click here.
At first glance, it looked as if Christ the King had solved the mystery that is Ossining senior Saniya Chong, holding the UConn recruit scoreless in the first quarter.
Needing 12 points to tie Hamilton alum Cusena Newton for third place on the all-time Section 1 female scoring list, many expected the future Huskie to surpass that mark today. Chong eventually did pass Newton, scoring her 13th point of the game in the third quarter, and securing sole possession of third place… but she was far from finished.
After a 10-2 run to open the second half by Christ the King eventually led to a six-point lead, Chong went to work.
With UConn head coach Geno Auriemma (pictured right) in attendance, Chong put on a show the rest of the game, dropping 29 points in the fourth quarter alone before finishing with 46 points for the game. Remember, she had zero after the first quarter.
Not a bad show to put on in front of a seven-time national champion, six-time Naismith coach of the year, and two-time Olympic gold meal-winning hall of famer if you ask me.
Carp said that Ossining coach Dan Ricci (pictured left) told him Chong (pictured with her “2,000th point” ball) was “sick as a dog” prior to the start of the game, making her performance all the more impressive. With Newton now behind her, Chong will set her sights on Peekskill alum Sheila Wagner, who sits 58 points ahead of her. Given Chong’s average of more than 35 points per game, she should almost certainly pass Wagner within her next two games.
We will keep you posted as Chong chases the No. 1 spot.
(Photo of Geno Auriemma taken by Kirby Lee/US Presswire. Photo of Dan Ricci with Saniya Chong by Frank Becerra Jr./The Journal News)
Here’s the new list of the top five all-time female scorers in Section 1:
1. Karen O’Connor (1983-87), FDR/Hyde Park — 2,662
2. Sheila Wagner (1981-86), Peekskill — 2,476
3. Saniya Chong (2009-13), Ossining — 2,418
4. Cusena Newton (1982-87), Hamilton — 2,384
5. Margo Hackett (2007-11), Pawling — 2,266
Friday, January 4
Pleasantville 47, Valhalla 36
Albertus Magnus 53, Tappan Zee 40
Pearl River 65, Nanuet 38
Briarcliff 47, Westlake 38
Ossining 89, Christ the King 84
Hen Hud 50, Panas 30
Kennedy 49, Somers 27
Rye 41, Harrison 36
Blind Brook 72, Port Chester 21
North Salem 55, Putnam Valley 42
John Jay 47, Carmel 24
Mahopac 58, Brewster 32
Clarkstown South 63, North Rockland 60
Haldane 80, Pawling 25
Spellman at Maria Regina, 4:15 p.m.
East Ramapo at Roosevelt, 4:45 p.m.
Prediction recap:
Today’s record: 9-3
Season record: 74-25
Here are the game recaps from tonight’s action:
Pearl River 65, Nanuet 38: At Pearl River, Jenna Scanlon scored 15 points. Sam Alicandri, Emma Daly and Missy Scognamiglio each scored nine points. Theresa Jelalian scored 12 points for the Golden Knights.
Briarcliff 47, Westlake 38: At Briarcliff, Summer Horowitz had 18 points and 15 rebounds. Marissa Contento had nine points. Faith Lovett had nine points for Westlake.
Albertus Magnus 53, Tappan Zee 40: At Tappan Zee, sophomore Madison McGrath made five 3-pointers as part of a 19-point performance for the Falcons, who were playing without Manhattan-bound senior Maeve Parahus. The D-1 recruit was sidelined with a sprained ankle she sustained at practice Wednesday. Junior Ryan Doherty added 17 points. Kristen McLaughlin scored 14 points for the Dutchies.
Kennedy 49, Somers 27: At Somers, Shayna Gaskins had 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Gaels. Sara Dowd and Megan Weidenhamer each had 10 points. Leah Greene had seven assists. Nicole DeMase had 11 points for the Tuskers.
Blind Brook 72, Port Chester 21: At Blind Brook, Coach Manny Martinez recorded his 200th career win in the 51-point victory. Jackie Lavitt had 14 points, 12 rebounds and five steals for the Trojans. Lea Saliba had 14 points and five steals. Leandra Harris had seven points for Port Chester.
Rye 41, Harrison 36: At Harrison, Maddie Eck had 11 points and Hannah Billingsley had 10. Laura Ann Pacos had nine points. Kyle Lefkowitz had 10 points for the Huskies.
John Jay 47, Carmel 24: At Carmel, Sarah Lang had 19 points and Delaney Spencer had 10. Caitlyn Murphy and Kelsey Zwarych each had six points for the Rams.
North Salem 55, Putnam Valley 42: At North Salem, Sydney Cardoza had 22 points. Ryan Kelly and Jenna Zappolo both scored eight points. Erin McCrudden had 21 points and Reena Olsen had 12 points for the Tigers.
Pleasantville 47, Valhalla 36: At Valhalla, Zaira Cobbs had 17 points and three blocks. Courtney Sheehy had 14 points. Brianna Ciocca and Alyssa Colantuno both scored nine points for Valhalla.
Clarkstown South 63, North Rockland 60: At North Rockland, Laura Castaldo dropped 40 points for the Vikings. Ciera Rivera scored 21 points for the Red Raiders.
Mahopac 58, Brewster 32: At Mahopac, Mairead Hynes had 24 points. Carly Pease had 12 points and Alayne Felix had 11 points. Brittany Deiesa had 12 points for Brewster.
Here are Phil’s post-game notes from Panas at Hen Hud:
MONTROSE — After holding a 14-point advantage at halftime, the Hen Hud Sailors had reason to be pleased with themselves.
The Sailors would go on to win 50-30 over visiting Panas but the bigger storyline for Hen Hud was the quick start they had – something that’s plagued the Sailors all year.
“I stressed to them before the game, we need a good start,” Hen Hud coach Ken Sherman said. “Last time we played Panas, we had three field goals in the first half. I said that I want three field goals in the first three minutes and we did that.”
Cassidy Boyle led Hen Hud with 14 points and teammate Bailey Stewart added eight.
“Our goal was to get a lot of rebounds and we accomplished that,” Hen Hud senior Bailey Stewart said. “We had to limit our turnovers, hustle and get to the ball.”
Sophomore Sam Sudol – who came into the game averaging 15 points per game – was held to nine.
“We wanted to deny (Sudol) and we wanted to block her shots off,” Stewart said.
It seemed that every time Sudol got the ball, several Sailors would converge on her to try and steal the ball.
“It happened last time we played (Hen Hud) too,” Sudol said. “Three of our starters couldn’t play (in that game) so it was a big hassle to get the ball, get it off, get shots.”
For Panas, only three other players beside Sudol scored. Megan Moreno had eight points.
“If some of the other girls on our team are struggling to hit shots, teams are going to try and focus and see what they can do on (Sudol),” Panas coach Matt Evangelista said.
Hen Hud improves to 5-4 and the Panthers fall to 3-4 with the loss.
Uncharitable stripe: Hen Hud was 14 for 26 from the line; Panas was 5 for 9.
33 Comments
Why would you predict Roosevelt beating East Ramapo?
AM had a good performance at TZ.
I’ll take the hit on that one; Phil said to go with East Ramapo. I figured with East Ramapo’s foul troubles, the fact that they were coming off a bad loss to Clarkstown North, and with Roosevelt coming off a game in which it allowed just two points, it was worth a shot. I’ll see the Lady Titans again on Monday against North Rockland.
The score was wrong. Roosevelt scored the two points, Lincoln had 50. I am anxious to see the North Rockland and South score. Should be a good game.
Roosevelt
lost
50-2
Kennedy had a strong game at Somers.
Looking at the OSS and CTK score, is defense played at all?
Why is Parhus out for AM.
That explains it; obviously had we known they just scored two points, we would not have picked them to win today. Apologies for the incorrect information we received.
Castaldo dropped 40 for South, and Burden didn’t have a FG for NRk. South won 63-60.
Sprained ankle — I’ll elaborate more later.
Wow..clarkstown south makes a statement with a 3 pt win over the offensive juggernaut( north rockland) 63-60
Congrats Coach Martinez on your 200th victory. Way to go Blind Brook.
South makes a statement??? They got crushed by PR last week. North Rockland is young and not bad
Just out of curiosity…why do coaches press up by 30 or more points? It is definitely unsportsmanlike and these coaches should understand the proper etiquette of coaching. The Haldane coach needs to do a better job of understanding when to ease up a bit on the pressure.
Poor North Rockland….another loss because of the head coach. Not taking anything away from Castaldo, but how do you let a 5 foot 7 inch post player score 40 on you, all from the post? If your defense doesn’t work in the first half, guess what? It won’t work in the second half. Adjustments have to be made by the coach at the start of the second half, not with four minutes left in the game. After all of this, NR still had a chance to win. But, with 9 seconds left in the game, down by 3, the head coach allows a forward to dribble the length of the court straight into a double team. Coach, your coaching to loose. Give the girls a chance to win.
Yes, defense was played OSS vs. cty…if you weren’t!t there to see it shame on you! Every time a kid went to the basket a foul was called…there were 50 turnovers ..which lead to points. Saniya was sensational on defense .
@chief…the statement was in regards to the big school(AA) division which is weaker year in year out to the small school division(a,b)... Probably as am,tz,pr( small schools) have great long standing Programs
At least three players fouled out. You cant judge a game by the score alone. There are broken presses, fouls, rebound put backs, 3 pointers, and 1, 1and 1’s, 2 shot penalties and some good offensive play. The game was actually a very tight game back and forth. Wasn’t decided until very end at the foul line. Every shot was challenged on both sides. These teams were just good.
Must agree with @Holla The small schools in rockland are still elite over the AA schools.
DaRock,
Go take a look at the stats for the game, then come back and ask that question.
Game watcher,
Saniya was fantastic, yes, but how about Alex Cristello playing phenomenal defense on Calhoun in the 4th quarter despite the big height difference?
AM shouldn’t even be playing in Public school leagues. They are the only team that gets to recruit from the whole county and NJ. They should play schools like IHA, Holy Angels and Paramus cath.
I know Molloy is ranked above CTK in AA but, based upon each of their games against Ossining, I think CTK is better and more balanced. (of course it hurts me to say that)
Am has played for years in public league and we have dealt with it( really don’t see it as much of a disadvantage bc unlike some catholic schools- they don’t give athletic scholarships) don’t think they have had to many girls from NJ( or Orange county for that matter) they have girls from Rockland which if my memory is correct is the smallest county in NYS.. If they were going 18-0 every year,winning all the gold balls then I could maybe see an argument..they just have a solid( pride,and storied) program…they work real hard! Now this year they are a little down but still a solid team.
I would agree. They were deeper and bigger. Calhoun is a stud.
Not that strong on the point though. I think their PG from last year transferred out.
Alex is one of those undersung heroes that Ossining has ready willing and able to step up when needed. She is a sparkplug both on defense and offense with a deadly 3 point shot as well! The Pride is going to miss all these seniors next year…but wait til you see what we have in reserve!
I agree JJ, also i have never seen so many subs of stars in HS sports. Every quality player in Rockland County plays the entire game as the big 3 should. I think the coach should have made some adjustments to his pg’s play as well, she simply didnt have it and he let her embarress herself. He sat his leading scorer down while trailing in the 4th with under 3 minutes, didnt exploit the man defense they were playing in the other end when 24 put 2 fouls on their star. you cant play defense against a one woman HS team, it leads to the 40 points that were hung on them. toward the end of the game they played zone and it disrupted the other teams offense. They hit 2 jump shots the entire game. i think all in all NR has a quality team that should be undefeated. in all fairness to HS coaches, they are teachers at the end of the day, not bball minds.
We?
Timmy – I appreciate your opinion. I am only moved to comment on this part of your post – “in all fairness to HS coaches, they are teachers at the end of the day, not bball minds.”
That is just ignorant.
I think this whole issue with private schools can be solved just by forcing them to play in AA regardless of size. If they want to play in public league then that is where they should play (same is true for Kennedy). We shouldn’t have to wait until they dominate at their level to move them up.
Stanner, please cut Gamewatcher some slack. You know we Ossining fans can be wound a little bit too tight at times!!! LOL
Chief, Good point! (ps: Happy New Year)