Girls: The GCHSAA Championships

BRONX, NY- Just like the boys earlier in the day, everything was on the line at Fordham University in the GCHSAA Class "AA", "A", and "B" State Championships. It was the goal of all of these teams before the season to come away with the hardware at the end of the year, and for 3 teams, their dreams would become a reality on Saturday.

All the games on paper looked to be close and competitive contests, as The Mary Louis Academy faced off with Msgr. Scanlan in the "AA" game, Sacred Heart Academy took on Kellenberg in the "A", and Aquinas went up against St. Joseph's for the "B" title.

It proved to be an exciting afternoon and evening, and with NYCHoops.net in attendance throughout the day, we were able to take in all the games and present now our recap of the action from Fordham University.

When Danielle Patterson '17 decided to go from Medgar Evers after her sophomore year to The Mary Louis Academy, you knew they potential for something special was there. Then after adding both Kania Pollock '18 and Jordan Nixon '18 from Boys and Girls and Horace Mann at before this season, the expectations became a championship.

There was still the fact that the GCHSAA was as deep and talented as ever though, but with the 3 superstars rising to the challenge, they achieved the trifecta, first winning the Brooklyn/Queens Championship, then moving on to take the City Title, and then on Saturday they took yet another piece of hardware, winning the GCHSAA Class "AA" State Championship by defeating Msgr. Scanlan in OT, 66-55.

Each of the three decided to come to TMLA for a chance to play at a high level of basketball, and do something special. Having individual accolades are always nice, but Patterson stated that her goal was always team based, wanting to do something for the Hilltoppers that had never been done before.

"I always wanted to think this success was possible," Patterson said. "Last year we came close but came up a little bit short of what we wanted, this year though we made big strides and knew that we could do something special."

They had already achieved more than any other TMLA team ever had by winning the B/Q and City titles, but this was what they all admitted that they wanted, they wanted the GCHSAA State Championship, and with another matchup between them and Msgr. Scanlan on tap to make that happen, a major challenge and test was in their path as they looked to make history.

You could not have had a more even start as both teams came out strong with Nixon scoring 8 first quarter points to get Mary Louis going, and on the other side you had Kateri Poole '20 draining three after three to push the Crusaders to the lead.

TMLA head coach JoAnn Arbitello-Pinnock knew that Scanlan were full of excellent perimeter shooters, and with Poole connecting on 4 threes in the opening half, she helped propel the Crusaders to a 28-26 lead at the break.

Knowing they needed to do a better job guarding on the outside, Arbitello-Pinnock said the plan was to extend their zone out a bit more, and apply more ball pressure in the second half in hopes of rattling the Crusader guards into making more mistakes.

That is what happened as Vanerlie Valcourt '18 was able to go coast to coast off a steal of a bad Scanlan pass, tying the game up at 32 with 4:34 left in the 3rd quarter, and that was soon followed by a three in the right corner by Pollock to give Mary Louis back the lead.

Pollock's three ball was nothing but net, and a critical shot at the time to swing the momentum back to The Mary Louis Academy, and from the moment she touched the ball, the junior guard admitted that she knew the ball was going in.

"That's my shot the corner shot, I knock it down all the time," Pollock said with a smile. "When I put it up its going down."

It certainly was pure this time, but the TMLA lead didn't last long as Kaylen Banwareesingh '19 was able to connect from long range, ultimately helping Scanlan tie the game back up heading to the 4th tied at 43.

Anyone’s game as the time ticked away late, the Hilltoppers held a tenuous 53-51 lead into the closing seconds. Both teams were trading shots in the final stanza, and it was Scanlan's turn to step up. They did just that when Poole found a wide open Banwareesingh down under the rim with 8 seconds to play to tie the game again at 53.

Unable to convert in the final seconds, we were overtime bound with the score deadlocked still at 53. No one on TMLA though was worried as they had all been through this before, seeing a number of OT contests during this season and Nixon knew that it was time for the entire team to show what they were made of.

"We didn't play well in the 4th quarter and now ear got 4 more minutes," Nixon said. "It was time to step on the gas because now it was all about heart."

Playing with a desire and passion to close the deal, Patterson won the OT tip which went right to Nixon and she took it all the way for a lay in to put Mary Louis on top, a lead they would not lose again.

The Hilltoppers never actually scored another FG in the OT session but they were super aggressive in attacking driving lanes, and finding Patterson down low as well as she and Nixon did nearly all the overtime damage going 11 of 12 from the FT line during the 4 minutes’ stretch.

Having been so strong from the outside for most of the game, the shots of Poole and Delphynia Sparks '17 stopped falling late as the TMLA defense did what they needed to do, and with the pressure on, Mary Louis truly rose to the challenge, outscoring a young Msgr. Scanlan team 13-2 in OT to take down the Crusaders 66-55 and win the school's first Class "AA" GCHSAA State Championship.

Both Patterson and Nixon had double-doubles for The Mary Louis Academy with Patterson putting together a 28 point, 13 rebound game, and Nixon scoring 21 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in the victory.

Incredibly proud of what her team was able to accomplish, Arbitello-Pinnock said she knew she had a very talented group of girls when they came together at the start of this season, but once they came together she also saw that they were much more than just talented individuals.

"They definitely showed that individually they are very good athletes, but together they are a tremendous team," Arbitello-Pinnock stated after the win.

With 4/5th's of their starting lineup coming back next season you can expect Msgr. Scanlan to be back to make another run at a Class "AA" title again next year. They came up just short for the 2nd straight year though as Poole led the way on Saturday with 19 points, while Banwareesingh added 13 points in a very difficult defeat.

All the 3 big transfers into The Mary Louis Academy ever wanted was a championship and a chance to prove themselves against the very best in New York City, and they achieved it all. They are now atop the mountain and know how special what they were able to do is. They aren't done though as they will now head to Glens Falls, NY in 2 weeks for the NYS Class "AA" Federation Tournament, and another title there to make it 4 for 4 this season is what Pollock believes what will happen next.

"This is something I saw myself doing," Pollock said about winning the GCHSAA Class AA State Championship. "I saw myself doing this and now I see myself getting a ring at Federation's. This is really all a dream come true."

Fight and determination are two words that describe the players of Kellenberg pretty well. It's been a tumultuous season for the Firebirds who struggled out of the gate this season, but while it may not have started the way they want, the finish gave them a Class "A" State Championship when they defeated Sacred Heart on Saturday by 9.

Getting to this game was about as far as easy as possible for the Firebirds as they trailed by 7 at the half in the NSCHSAA Class "A" Championship Game to St. John the Baptist before rallying, and then on Friday in the CHSAA Class "A" State Semifinals they were behind by as many as 10 in the 3rd quarter to St. Joseph's by the Sea before again fighting their way back for a win.

Their ability to come back has become legendary this season, and it's something that star forward Morgan Staab '17 says really defines them as a unit and as a team.

"Honestly we just never give up. We work together as a team, and if we go through a rough patch in a game we will talk about it and get through it together," Staab said.

Playing with the confidence in thinking that they must have something pretty special going on after back to back victories after trailing at the half, they came in against Sacred Heart Academy of Buffalo as the team not expected to win, but the Firebirds have grown embrace that role as the underdog, hoping it would carry them to a title.

Unlike past games where they fell behind early on, this time Kellenberg jumped out to a quick lead, going up 18-5 after a putback by Staab while getting fouled down low. It was a bit surprising to see, and it rattled the Sharks a lot as they weren't able to get the ball in the hands of their star Michaela Ryan '18 enough, enabling Kellenberg to jump out to a double-digit lead.

Even though Sacred Heart was able to right the ship and not fall behind any more than they already were, the Firebirds maintained their lead going into the half up 25-17, building even more confidence that this group could do something never done before by a Kellenberg team in winning a State Title.

Undersized for a lot of what she does, you have to credit Anita Mikowski '18 for going inside and outfighting and outhustling the bigger and stronger Sacred Heart interior players, getting to rebounds and loose balls, and doing a good job of getting into positions to score as well.

Siobhan Ryan '20 was able to score off a nice feed from her older sister Michaela in transition just before the end of the 3rd to cut the Sharks deficit to 34-31, and it seemed like the Firebirds were on the ropes.

That proved to not be the case though as each time it seemed as if Sacred Heart was about to close in on them, someone for Kellenberg made a big shot, this time with it coming from Jessica Brower '17 who was able to drive down the left side and finish going to the basket, helping the Firebirds go back up by 9 midway through the 4th quarter.

Once again Sacred Heart would climb back and get to within 3 when the older Ryan connected on back to back three balls, and with his team staggered, Kellenberg head coach Matthew Kirk called a timeout and told him team just what they needed to hear.

"My timeout speech there was we have been here before and we are going to be able to pull through, you just got to believe in yourself and play for each other," Kirk stated.

That is exactly what they did as in the last 2 minutes Kellenberg didn't allow Sacred Heart to score, with Alyssa Boll '17 controlling the pace from the lead guard spot and getting herself to the FT line where she was clutch late. In the end, it was a true team effort as every single Firebird player did what they had to do to help them pull out what two weeks ago, would've been considered impossible, a Class "A" State Championship by defeating Sacred Heart Academy, 53-44.

Mikowski had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds for Kellenberg in the victory, while both Staab and Boll added 11 points in a game that truly showed the heart of the Firebirds this season.

Both Ryan sisters had strong efforts in a losing cause for the Sharks as Michaela had a game high 20 points, with Siobhan chipping in 16 points as well in the loss. It may have not been the result that anyone with Sacred Heart Academy wanted, but with nearly everyone coming back next season you can expect them to be back contending for another title very soon.

Kirk admitted that there were many tough times for his Kellenberg team this year but the title proves that hard work and dedication can result in very special things. For Staab, it's the culmination of an incredible career as she finishes as a senior on top, and as a champion, something she says she only dreamed of.

"I wouldn't have wanted it to end any other way. This is the most amazing senior year I could've ever imagined."

Having played the St. Joseph's just 5 days prior in the CHSAA Class "B" City Championship, Aquinas knew what they were getting into, which Lady Bears head coach Roger "Red" Collier said played into their advantage.

They had a strong idea of how they would be defended which allowed them to move the ball more, while also doing a better job this time on the glass to win the state title over the Lady Cougars, 49-40.

Aquinas was able to take a quick lead out of the gate on the back of their interior play from Ronella Kennedy '18 and Lauren Malcolm '18. They held a 24-14 advantage on the glass going into the break and had a 27-20 lead.

It was still a game that St. Joseph's was in at the break, but Aquinas started to pull away when Kira Villegas '19 knocked down back to back threes to push the Lady Bears lead all the way up to 18.

The three ball had been something that Villegas relied on all season long, and it was an aspect of her game today she felt helped put them as a team over the top.

"It pushed me and gave me a lot of confidence to push and win this game," Villegas stated.

Kennedy continued to control the boards as well, and even with Raven Pitt '18 doing a great job creating off the dribble and scoring for St. Joseph's, they just didn't have enough offensive weapons overall to get past Aquinas, with the Lady Bears taking them down for the second time this week, this time in the big Class "B" Championship Game, 49-40.

Villegas finished with 16 points to lead Aquinas, with Kennedy adding a double-double with 13 points and 16 rebounds in the victory.

Pitt tried to do all she could to carry St. Joseph's to the title win, but came just short scoring a game high 27 points in what proved to be a tough defeat.

For Aquinas, a small school in the Bronx, winning a CHSAA State Championship is a dream come true, and for Villegas to do it with those closest to her, makes it that much more special.

"It's amazing," Villegas explained. "This is my second years on this team and I am just happy I could do this with girls who I call my family."