NCN Girls’ Basketball/Baseball Blog

Rankings as of noon, Tuesday

1) Ossining (10-3) — Ossining trailed visiting Peekskill 41-35 at halftime on Jan. 20. The Red Devils went on a ferocious second-quarter run, outscoring Ossining, 26-15.

But just 1:32 into the third quarter, Hayley Awerdick scored 10 straight points, nine of which coming via 3-pointers, and Ossining never looked back.

“Hayley was amazing,” Ossining Head Coach Dan Ricci said. “She took over the game in the third quarter.”

Awerdick, who scored 21 points (six 3s) in only about a quarter and a half of action, was forced to leave the game in the third quarter. The senior point guard tore her ACL in the preseason. Ricci said they think it’s just sore and they hope she’ll return on Jan. 29 against Edgemont.

At halftime, Ricci told his troops that they needed to get back on defense. The Red Devils were leaking out and getting behind the press for long passes, during the second quarter run. Jazmin Garcia scored 13 of her 20 points in the second.

“We also talked about playing with more passion,” Ricci said. “I felt Hayley was playing harder with her injury than others were playing healthy.”

Jalisa Taylor, who seems to improve by the game, played with plenty of passion and dropped 19 points and grabbed seven boards. Without Christina Rupp (out due to illness), Taylor’s role inside is even more important against bigger teams like Peekskill. The senior forward has really come into her own, Ricci said.

“She has a lot of confidence and is a gifted athlete so the combination of those two things makes her dangerous,” Ricci said.

Alex Venuto had quite the stat line herself with a game-high 26 points, four 3s, eight rebounds, four steals and she went 8-for-10 from the line.

2) Lakeland (10-1) — Without Tori Jarosz for three games, Kristin Pappalardo simply took over, averaging 23.7 points per game.

In a 50-38 win over rival Brewster on Jan. 20, Pappalardo (right) outplayed Brewster’s Lauren Quattrocchi and netted 20 points.

“I thought Kristin was the best player on the court,” Lakeland Head Coach Steve Fallo said.

Lakeland held the Bears’ star guards, Quattrocchi and Marisa Delzio, to a combined 17 points.

Over the past few years, Brewster has had Lakeland’s number, which made the win a little sweeter. Strangely, both squads never seem to be at full strength when they meet up. Brewster was missing star forward Emily Tapio.

“It showed our kids that they can go out there and play against a Top 10 team (without Jarosz),” Fallo said. “Brewster’s legit, it’s a nice rivalry.”

Fallo knows that whoever wins Class A this season, is certainly going to earn it. He believes Albertus Magnus (last season’s champion), Brewster, Pearl River, Nyack, Tappan Zee, Peekskill and Hen Hud are all in the mix.

“There are so many good teams in [Class] A,” Fallo said. “[It’s] going to be a war.

“Every game is important. If you don’t play a quarterfinal round at home, you’re in trouble. If you’ve got to go to Pearl River or Magnus, even Peekskill on a Friday night, it’s a tough place to win a basketball game, no matter how much of a veteran club you are.”

3) Carmel (11-3) — Carmel’s Brittany Horne put up 20 and 18 points in wins over Walter Panas and Mahopac, respectively, last week. Kim Broccoli combined for 28 points in the two wins.

The Rams have solid wins over Lakeland and Brewster (twice), but can they get to that next level and defeat a top AA school like Mount Vernon or Ossining?

4) Briarcliff (11-2) — Ten different players got in the scoring column in a 60-17 rout of Rye Neck on Friday. Savina and Brianna Reid led the way with 15 and 11 points, respectively. Katie Weiner added eight, while Kasey Heyda and Laura Krey both had six.

Eight players scored in a 47-28 win over Blind Brook on Jan. 20. Amazingly, none were in double figures. Weiner led the way with nine points, while Heyda and Savina both had eight.

Sensing a trend? The Bears sure know how to share the basketball. They do it probably better than any team around and are the anti-selfish.

Another big test awaits the team on Jan. 29 against Class A contender Pearl River. I’ll tell you this: don’t expect a replay of the Brewster game.

5A) Kennedy Catholic (11-3) — The Gaels held off Pawling and Margo Hackett’s 28-point effort on Jan. 20, pulling out a 54-44 win. Senior forwards Allison Santini and Lauren Tracy led the way with 14 points apiece.

When is the last time Kennedy went undefeated in its league? I’d love to know, because it may very well happen.

5B) Peekskill (12-2) — For one quarter, Peekskill outplayed Ossining in every facet of the game. They were running up and down the floor like gazelles, beating Ossining for easy layups.

It’s just a matter of sustaining it for all four quarters. At times, the Red Devils panicked in the face of the Ossining pressure. With a veteran ballclub, that’s not something that should keep happening.

Tasia Nolan had a big game with 21 points and 11 boards.

But Jazmin Garcia (20 points, 10 rebounds) looked like the best player on the floor at times. Garcia, along with the rest of the Red Devils, just have to keep up the intensity from the opening jump ball, to the final buzzer.

If they do that, this can be a scary team that nobody is going to want to face in sectionals.

Knocking on the door: Hendrick Hudson (11-3) has the type of veteran team that can pull off a big upset come sectionals. Walter Panas (6-5) will only get better and should qualify for sectionals. I think falling behind 25-2 in the first quarter against Carmel on Jan. 20 served as a wake up call.