Girls: Baldwin Cracks Code in Slam Dunk Semis

WHITE PLAINS, NY- The Slam Dunk Tournament at the Westchester County Center is always a must see each year and with 4 excellent teams squaring off on the girls side this season, it really became must see games, especially with a matchup between powerhouses Ossining and Baldwin to start things off in what pitted two of the best teams in New York State facing off for the right to advance to Thursday's title game.

Ursuline took on Bishop Loughlin in Wednesday's other semifinal, and both had a lot of intrigue though the game between the Pride and the Lady Bruins promised to be a game to remember in what looked in advance to be a game of the year contender.

It proved to live up to the billing as it was a great pair of games with a lot on the line from White Plains as each of these 4 teams looked to prove themselves as among the elite in New York this season, and with the action now in the books let's look back at what happened on Wednesday from White Plains.

The prevailing thought was that while Ossining are still the best NYSPHSAA team in Class "AA", that unlike most seasons, there are a handful who could compete with the Pride this year, with one being the Lady Bruins of Baldwin.

You didn't know if they were quite on the level of Ossining going in, but coming out of the game what is certainly known is that there is a new favorite in Class "AA" this season and it's head coach Tom Catapano and his Baldwin squad as they led from nearly start to finish to end the 88 game winning streak that Ossining had against New York State Public School's dating back to March of 2012 when the Pride lost to a Cicero-North Syracuse team that was led by former UConn star, and now pro, Breanna Stewart.

It did take a mighty effort to knock off Ossining as Catapano admitted after the game, but he got everything he could've asked for from guard Jenna Annecchiarico '18 who scored a game high 35 points to lead Baldwin to the shocking 83-73 victory.

Before the game Catapano talked to his team as he knew his team was ready for this one against the defending NYSPHSAA and Federation Champions in Ossining, but he knew that this was not a normal game, this was a game to make a statement to the New York basketball community.

"This was a business trip for us and I told them that in the locker room," Catapano said about the pregame vibe of the team. "We prepared hard for this for 2 weeks. I have a ton of respect for Ossining and what they do but I felt we were ready."

Coming out of the gate Ossining scored the first 6 points of the game to take a 6-0 lead as Kelsey Quain '18 connected on a 3 ball, and Andra Espinoza-Hunter '17 soon followed with a finish driving to the rim while getting fouled, but even with that early momentum going the Pride's way, Baldwin had an answer.

Its answer came from all their guards as Annecchiarico went all the way beating the Ossining defense down the floor for two, and then Aziah Hudson '18 would finish on back to back drives, and when Kaia Harrison '19 pulled up and connected on a wing three of her own, the Lady Bruins were in front 15-8 having completed a 15-2 run.

Annecchiarico then hit on two 3's late in the opening quarter as the blistering pace played into both team’s favor, though Baldwin held the 24-18 lead after one.

Inevitably the pace did slow down just a bit in the 2nd quarter, but Baldwin did keep the offensive groove going as they moved the ball well in the halfcourt, and were able to beat the Ossining defense in transition more often than not to take a 13-point lead midway through the second.

Jaida Strippoli '19 hit a three from the left side to cut the Ossining deficit to 10, and the lead was chipped down to 5 off another Quain 3 with under 2 minutes to play, but give credit to Baldwin for fighting for every loose ball down the stretch of the opening half, and when Annecchiarico hit on a three from the right wing just before the halftime buzzer sounded, the Lady Bruins went back up 45-34 at the break.

It was a near flawless opening half of basketball for Baldwin, and while they knew that Ossining would surely make a run at them in the 3rd, Hudson believed that the best way to stem any run the Pride would make at them would be to keep playing the same way and to not deviate at all from what they were doing so successfully.

"We all knew they would make a run in the 2nd half but we needed to stay the same, keep playing our game," Hudson stated.

The run did come quick in the 3rd as Hudson was limited with 3 fouls, and Annecchiarico picked up her 4th foul with 2:24 to play in the 3rd quarter which meant that she had to go to the bench and Ossining did pounce as Kailah Harris '19 became a weapon in the paint, and Espinoza-Hunter was able to post up without Annecchiarico in the game and score to help cut the Baldwin lead to 55-54.

Espinoza-Hunter did have to go to the bench with under a minute to play in the 3rd herself when she picked up her 4th foul, and it was a big jumper by Nadia Elcock '17 that kept Baldwin in front when things could've gotten away from them, and then Sarah Henry '18 connected on a late FT as well to help see the Lady Bruins maintain a 4-point lead heading into the 4th.

With so many Baldwin players with foul issues, Catapano made a note to point out the play he got in the 3rd from bench players that allowed them to stay in front as a major key to their chances down the stretch.

"I thought our bench there was phenomenal," Catapano said. "Elcock, Henry, and Kayla Brown '17. We faced a lot of adversity with Aziah getting 3 fouls in the first half and Jenna getting her 4th in the 3rd quarter but they found a way to help us keep the lead."

That was important as the pro-Ossining crowd was able to get their team to a close position, but they weren't over the top yet.

Once again, a Quain three cut the deficit to 1, and Ossining did have a pair of chances to take the lead, but missed jumpers by the Pride allowed Baldwin to push in transition and Annecchiarico was able to blow by her defender for a bucket while getting fouled with 6:01 to play that really seemed to stem the ride for the Lady Bruins.

From being up 60-59 with just over 6 minutes to go, Baldwin would score the next 11 points as Ossining settled for perimeter jumpers, and off rebounds by Sarah Pulis '17 and the rest of the Lady Bruins frontcourt, Baldwin pushed the tempo and got out in the open court for easy baskets.

Most of those buckets were being finished by Annecchiarico who is the biggest warrior in New York girl’s basketball according to her head coach.

"Jenna is an animal out there. She is the most underrated player in the area by far," Catapano said.

He said that because she was putting her Baldwin team on her back and carrying them to victory. It was as dominant performance as there has been so far in this early season as she helped Baldwin push the lead back to double digits, and even though Ossining was pesky and never quit in the closing minutes, the Lady Bruins weren't challenged again as they led from near start to finish and downed Ossining to break the Pride's 88 game New York State Public School winning streak, 83-73.

It was a true stat stuffing performance for Annecchiarico who had a game high 35 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals in the win. She had to go to the bench for a short period too late in the 3rd and early in the 4th, but even then, she knew that her impact late in the game would be felt.

"I went to the bench but I stayed hyped and kept my head up and when coach said it was time to rock and roll I just went," Annecchiarico said with a smile after the win.

She sure did, but alongside of her there was the 19-point performance from Hudson, while Harrison added 16 points as well in the hard-fought victory.

In the defeat for Ossining they got a team high 28 points from Espinoza-Hunter, while Harris had a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds as well in the defeat.

While it was a disappointing defeat for Ossining, their first loss in the County Center since 2013, it was a win that has to open the eyes of many about just how talented this Baldwin team is this year. This is a different group with a lot more confidence than in past years, and Hudson believes that they are ready for anything thrown at them the rest of the way.

"Baldwin is hungry and we are definitely on a mission this year."

From the start, it was clear that Ursuline were the deeper and more balanced team in the second Slam Dunk Tournament semifinal as they took on Bishop Loughlin. The Koalas were able to get out of the gate fast behind the sharpshooting of Julianna Peduzzi '18 and never looked back en route to the 53-43 victory.

Along with Peduzzi it was Katie McLoughlin '17 who imposed her will in the paint against an undersized Lady Lions squad as she was a blew to get in strong positions down low for put backs inside, and with the perimeter struggles of Loughlin guards Lynette Taitt '17 and Laysha de los Santos '19, Ursuline were able to take a double-digit lead for the first time midway through the 2nd quarter, eventually taking a 26-15 lead into the half.

The 3rd quarter saw Loughlin make a run to cut the deficit to just 6 with 4:48 to go in the period after a Taitt drive to the rim, but that was followed soon up by a technical foul on Kyhia Meredith '18, putting Korina Guerra '17 on the line for the Koalas where she made 3 of 4 FT's, and then a drive off a steal by McLoughlin allowed Ursuline to push the lead back up to double digits, and it looked as if Bishop Loughlin would not get any closer.

With Ursuline taking a lead of as big as 20 early in the 4th, it seemed like it would be a win that the Koalas could coast in and get, especially when de los Santos fouled out with 7:34 to go in the game, but the Lady Lions wouldn't quit as Taitt began to impose her talents on the game as she was attacking the basket each time she touched the ball, getting fouled more often than not and slowly but surely the 20 point Koalas lead was chipped away to just 8 with 1:59 to play at 47-39.

Loughlin did have their chances to get even closer, but turned the ball over on back to back possessions, and then it was freshman Alexa Quirolo '20 who would connect on 1 of 2 from the FT line to push it back to 48-39 with 1:19 left. Taitt did respond by connecting on 2 FT's less than 8 seconds later to make it an 8-point game, keeping Loughlin alive, but a Peduzzi finish off a Guerra feed ended things with 57 seconds to play for all intents and purposes.

All that was left to be decided was would Guerra make history in this game or not as she was 16 points away from 1,000 in her H.S. career coming in, and while she came close, she finished just 1 point short, and while she will almost definitely break it on Thursday against Baldwin in the Slam Dunk Tournament title game, the win here was just as big to her and her Koala teammates as they eventually downed CHSAA power Bishop Loughlin to advance 53-43.

McLaughlin had a game to remember with 21 points and 17 rebounds for Ursuline in the win, and while it may not have been the history making day she had hoped, Guerra had 15 points and helped lead her Koalas team to a big victory and a championship game berth on Thursday.

In the loss, it was Taitt who had a major 2nd half as she scored 19 of her game high 27 points in the last 16 minutes to help keep things close, but with no one else in double figures for the Lady Lions, they just didn't have enough fire power to come back for the win.

So, it will be Baldwin taking on Ursuline for the Slam Dunk Tournament Girls Championship on Thursday at 5:15pm from the Westchester County Center with the Consolation Game featuring Ossining and Bishop Loughlin at 12pm also on Thursday.