The Masters basketball program added yet another legend Wednesday afternoon, as junior point guard Naya Williams scored her 1,000th career point in a 68-56 win over St. Luke’s.
Needing 16 points to reach the milestone, Williams reached the millennium mark on a free throw at the end of the first half. Following the score, the game was stopped so that Williams could receive balloons, a commemorative ball, and take pictures with her parents.
Williams is just the fifth player, and third female in Masters history to achieve this elusive milestone. The junior finished the game with 35 points in the win.
Since we received this information so late in the night, I will call Williams tomorrow to try and get some quotes from her. Stay tuned.
Parahus vs. Powerhouse
Maybe it was the fact that Albertus Magnus was hosting the powerhouse of Pearl River that enticed senior guard Maeve Parahus to return to the court after spraining her ankle in practice last week, or maybe she’s just feeling better. In any case, the Falcons are back at full strength and should not be a team to be taken lightly going forward this season.
Phil the Greek
Big props to Phil Terrigno, who correctly predicted 16 of today’s 19 games (that we received). I was unable to add my input to the selection process today, but I had full faith in my partner in crime’s picking abilities.
In other news…
Here are Phil Terrigno’s post-game notes from the Briarcliff at Fox Lane contest:
BEDFORD — This was a contest dying, just absolutely begging for someone to take control of it.
Briarcliff and Fox Lane moseyed to a 17-16 halftime score (Briarcliff led) and the squads traded a few leads early in the second half.
Still, neither side led by more than seven points in the game and neither school seemed poised to grab the game by the reigns and seal the deal.
Briarcliff led down the stretch and held on to edge Fox Lane, 48-45.
There was a bit of life in the game’s final minute – Briarcliff led by two points and the team’s traded buckets three times but the Bears never relinquished their lead.
“I wanted to attack with three’s if they were open and defensively the plan was to go for the steal and then foul in (the last minute),” Fox Lane coach Kris Matts said. “We had some issues knowing who we were guarding so it didn’t work out.”
Briarcliff improves to 8-3 and Fox Lane is now 4-6.
Bear tales: The main storyline for Briarcliff has been how the team has coped with the loss of senior Brianna Celaj (pictured right), who averaged 17 points per game before getting injured in her team’s fifth game this year against Hamilton.
“It was the first seconds of the second half. I took a step and someone’s knee came down on my knee. It pushed my knee to the side and then my body went. I just went down,” Celaj said.
As a sophomore, Celaj tore her left ACL playing lacrosse – as a senior, it was her right knee.
Forward Summer Horowitz stepped up in a big way tonight with 23 points for Briarcliff, including hitting 13 of 15 freethrow chances.
“She pinned our girls very well with her body and she spun to the hole throwing it up,” Matts said. “She’s very good off the glass. She knows where to put the ball. Sadly, our girls struggled to box out.”
Marissa Contento and Tiffany Panarese added eight points for Briarcliff.
Fresh Foxes: After graduating several seniors from last year’s 10-10 squad, including three-time All-League player Julia Raue, (now playing her college ball at St. Lawrence) the Foxes have introduced three freshman into their rotation.
“Emily O’Mahoney was sick today but she’s a great shooter, defender and a coaches dream,” Matts said, listing his freshman contributors. “Brianna Dawson has an amazing jump shot and is a great hustle defender. Sorvina Carr, who ran the point for us today, can get to the hoop whenever she wants.”
Haley Gallagher led Fox Lane with 14 points and Christie Lombardi added 10. Horton connected on three 3-pointers.
“(Gallagher) can’t do anything until we get her the ball,” Matts said. “If we cant get her the ball, she’s finding other ways to contribute. She’s a specimen, 6-foot-2, strong and she’s willing to do anything.”
Photos of the Briarcliff-Fox Lane game by Skip Pearlman/The Journal News
Wednesday, January 9
Saunders 63, Roosevelt 9
Rye Neck 53, Port Chester 46, 2OT
Pleasantville 53, Croton-Harmon 39
Blind Brook 59, Harrison 43
Holy Child 57, Dalton 46
Hackley 40, Rye 28
East Ramapo 57, Riverside 41
Tappan Zee 60, Byram Hills 48
New Rochelle 52, Ursuline 49
Scarsdale 60, White Plains 27
Pearl River 60, Albertus Magnus 54
Briarcliff 48, Fox Lane 45
Sleepy Hollow 48, Edgemont 36
Clarkstown South 56, Clarkstown North 43
Solomon Schechter 40, Tuckahoe 17
Eastchester 44, Bronxville 30
Mount Vernon 76, Mamaroneck 52
Masters 68, St. Luke’s 56
North Rockland 62, Suffern 50
Prediction recap:
Today’s record: 16-3
Season record: 106-35
Here are the game recaps from tonight’s action:
Saunders 63, Roosevelt 9: At Saunders, Amanda Smith had 19 points and Amanda Kiriakos had 13. Ashlie Flores had five points for the Indians.
Rye Neck 53, Port Chester 46, 2 OT: At Rye Neck, the Panthers came back from 12 down with 3:54 to play in the fourth quarter. Sarah Cochrane hit two free throws with 12 secconds left in regulation to force overtime. Cochrane finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Paige O’Donnell had 10 points and 17 rebounds. Kayla Pugliesi had 10 points, 12 rebounds and three steals and sent the game to double overtime with a made free throw with :32 left to play in overtime. Leandra Harris had 17 points for the Rams. Kyra Hart had 12 points.
Blind Brook 59, Harrison 43: At Blind Brook, Ali Silfen had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Trojans. Jackie Lavitt had 13 points, 17 rebounds and five steals. Lea Saliba had 16 points and five steals. Gabriella Morris had nine points for the Huskers.
Pleasantville 53, Croton-Harmon 39: At Croton-Harmon, AnnMarie DiCarlo had 16 points and Courtney Sheehy had 11 points. Maria Howe had nine points. Kate Dymes had 12 points for the Tigers.
Holy Child 57, Dalton 46: At Dalton, Maggie Walsh had 20 points for the Gryphons. Josie Amerson had 14 points and 12 rebounds. Chellzea Edgar had 13 points, 13 rebounds and five steals.
East Ramapo 57, Riverside 41: At East Ramapo, Kiah Armstrong scored 20 points. Briana Ugarte scored 14 points for the Rams.
Hackley 40, Rye 28: At Rye, Allie Coppola had 20 points and 10 rebounds. Stefanie Frolo had 16 points and 13 rebounds. Maddie Eck scored 16 points for the Garnets.
Sleepy Hollow 48, Edgemont 36: At Edgemont, Alex Davis-Sumter had 13 points and Grace Carr had 10 points. Daniella Carissimo had nine points. Shayna Davner had 22 points for Edgemont.
Tappan Zee 60, Byram Hills 48: At Tappan Zee, Kristen McLaughlin had 21 points and 14 rebounds in the rematch of last year’s Section 1 Class A quarterfinal, which the Dutchies also won. McLaughlin also sank three of Tappan Zee’s 11 3-pointers on the night. Chrissie Ryan added 10 points, including three 3-pointers as well. Delaney Sheridan added six points and 12 rebounds. Lucy Bancone scored 25 points for the Bobcats, who led by one at halftime.
Scarsdale 60, White Plains 27: At White Plains, Shelby Zucker scored 17 points for the Raiders, who led 16-1 after the first quarter. Kyra Kline added 11 points.
Clarkstown South 56, Clarkstown North 43: At Clarkstown South, Laura Castaldo had 30 points and seven rebounds. Allison Haugh had eight points and five steals. Nikki Petri had 16 points and Erin Ryder had 10 for the Rams.
Solomon Schechter 40, Tuckahoe 17: At Tuckhoe, Sarah Landou had 11 points for the Lions. Hannie Everett added 10 points. Brionna Johnson had nine points for the Tigers.
Eastchester 44, Bronxville 30: At Eastchester, Olivia Heffernan had 25 points and Gabriella Ricciardi had nine. Claire Sargent had 10 points and Ellie Walsh had nine for the Broncos.
Mount Vernon 76, Mamaroneck 52: At Mamaroneck, Lubirdia Gordan had 30 points, 16 rebounds, six blocks and four assists for the Knights. Brittany Williams had 12 points. Curstyn Moore had 11 points. Zoe Schmidt and Aliza Kantor each had 11 points for the Tigers.
New Rochelle 52, Ursuline 49: At New Rochelle, Liz Tyson scored 15 points for the Huguenots, who won their ninth straight game. Sydney Penn added 10 of her 13 points from the free throw line. Anna Savino scored 20 points for the Koalas. Lauren Biolsi added 12 points.
Pearl River 60, Albertus Magnus 54: At Albertus Magnus, Amanda DeCourcey had 19 points and Jenna Scanlon had 16 points. Maeve Parahus had 21 points and Ryan Doherty had 17 points for the Falcons.
Masters 68, St. Luke’s 56: At Masters, Naya Williams had 35 points, including her 1000th varsity point, which she scored at the end of the first half. Chelsea Strong and Stef Fioufas each had nine points.
11 Comments
Nice to see Am at full strength! With that said Pearl River cemented their position as the best team in Rockland(big school division or little).. Good job Pirates
The officiating in this Section is ridiculously awful. Fox Lane at home shoots zero free throws. Zero. Briarcliff has one player shoot 15. Absolute joke. Briarcliff clutched, grabbed and reached the whole game. Almost no calls. Every time Briarcliff center got ball whistle blew for a foul. If she were in the NBA she wouldn’t have gotten the three point opportunities she got tonight. Something has to be done. The combined age of the the refs was about 150. Its time for some new blood. Just brutal.
Blind Brook 8 and 1. Class B very interesting. Kennedy, ,Dobbs, Ardsley, Woodlands Briarcliff all beating up on each other. Take out Irvington and the rest is very interesting.
Fox Lane Fan, What do you propose to be the solution?
Fox Lane Fan there is nothing you can do. Take your loss and stop complaining. Every school goes through it. Good calls…..Bad Calls…It happens on every level.
Just a side note: That Celaj kid is one tough KID.
Final at County Center should be Kennedy vs Irvington and we know who will win that game!
Sunshine, unfortunately you are wrong, like last year, the finals at the County Center will be Blind Brook vs. Irvington. It will be a rematch. Blind Brook has the same starters as last year so what makes you think Kennedy has a better chance.
Stanner….I think they need to assign younger refs to do varsity games. The game is getting faster and more intense and it is hard for some of these old guys to keep up. Let the old timers ref modified games or JV. Not a cure all but a start.
Sunshine…I agree bad calls happen all the time on every level and normally you have to accept it and move on. But have you ever heard of a game decided by 3 points and one team shot 25 free throws and the other shot 0? It wasn’t like Fox Lane was bombing 3s, They took maybe 6.
On your side note, I agree about Celaj. Hope she recovers fully.
Go pirates! Great game ladies we all know who rules rock land these ladies work hard very hard albertus was out rebounded and out played the whole game
Fox Lane Fan, You make a very good point that the officiating had to be fairly poor given the foul shot disparity in a 3 point game. I’ll disagree with you about the age thing however. I’ve witnessed many games when the younger official is far less competent than the older one. Judgement and “people skills” are the primary factors which seem to separate great officials from the poor ones no matter their respective ages. I do agree that all officials need to be in good physical condition in order to cover the entire court and run with the kids. Sounds like these guys couldn’t keep up.
Congrats to Ms. Williams on her 1000 points. She is a talented player.
Really great article on Celaj. Hardworking kid, well deserved. Best of luck to her in the future!