NYGHoops.com Top Ten Girl Team Breakdowns (Week 12)

There may be more depth among the girls than the boys this year which consistently makes doing the NYCHoops.net Girls Top Ten one of the tougher and more challenging things as there continue to be teams who prove themselves worthy of consideration.

As we wind down the season and head into the playoffs now, the competition will start to heat up even more as the number of teams standing will start to dwindle as we can look forward to the best facing the best very soon.

This was a week without a ton of shakeup in the Top Ten as most of the teams held their positions, but with so many intriguing and interesting games just right around the corner, you can expect that to change very soon as we now update the rankings for the girl’s teams from across New York State.

1) Long Island Lutheran- Once again the Crusaders faced the #2 team in our rankings for the second straight week, and for the second straight week they made easy work of it as on Saturday LuHi hosted Christ the King, and going up 20-10 after one, the Crusaders were never really challenged after that as Celeste Taylor '19 had a season high 33 points, connecting on five three pointers, to help seal a 69-52 win. It wasn't just her either as Jaida Patrick '19 stepped up with 14 points, and the ultra-consistent Grace Stone '18 chipping it with 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists in the victory. Amazingly enough for the third straight week now LuHi will face our #2 team as even though they have a pair of New Jersey teams on the schedule in Gill St. Bernard's on Tuesday, and Queen of Peace on Saturday, both on the road, it's the game against The Mary Louis Academy on Thursday at home that is our Game of the Week.

2) The Mary Louis Academy- The Hilltoppers rise to #2 this week based on going 3-0 in their three games they had over the course of the past 7 days. A road game was first up this past Tuesday at St. Francis Prep, and with the Terriers winners of 2 in a row and 3 of their last 4, many expected a tight game, but Danielle Patterson '17 had 19 points and 13 rebounds in what proved to be a comfortable 56-42 victory for TMLA. A home game was next on Friday against Archbishop Molloy, and with the Stanners also coming in hot, the Hilltoppers were able to end their streak of strong play as well as Patterson had 24 points and 14 rebounds, while Jordan Nixon '18 added 15 points as Mary Louis lead by as many as 27 before taking a 56-32 victory. Coming back less than 24 hours later against Bishop Loughlin ended up being tougher than expected though to close the week on Saturday as TMLA trailed with less than four minutes to play, but a couple big plays late by Vanerlie Valcourt '18 enabled the Hilltoppers to rally for a 62-56 win. The week ahead should continue to test TMLA as they will host Msgr. Scanlan on Tuesday before playing in our Game of the Week on Thursday, on the road against #1 Long Island Lutheran.

3) Staten Island Academy- Moving up from #4 last week, the Tigers played host to one of New Jersey's best on Thursday in Immaculate Conception, a game that many thought could be one of SIA's toughest of the season, but the Tigers rallied to the challenge in a major way. Clare Mitchell '17 had 26 points as Staten Island Academy led 40-15 at the half, doing a great job in denying the Immaculate Conception guards from good perimeter looks in cruising to a 71-40 victory. Emily LaPointe '19 and Sophia DeMauro '19 each had 13 points as well in the victory that gave them a ton of momentum into Sunday's home date with Francis Lewis. It's been a down year for the Patriots but they ended up giving SIA one heck of a fight, getting within 43-42 with just over a minute to play before two big plays from Elizabeth Althoff '18 down low sealed things, including a score inside while getting fouled to help Staten Island Academy to a 47-42 win. A balanced scoring effort was led by Cameron Corbett '17 who had 10 points for the Tigers. It will be a three-game week ahead for SIA as they travel to Archbishop Molloy on Tuesday in what should be an excellent matchup, and then a pair of home games await with Cardinal Spellman coming in on Wednesday, before St. Anthony's makes the trip in on Saturday.

4) Christ the King- It was a two-game week for the Royals as they make quick work of Bishop Loughlin on Wednesday for the second time this season, beating them at home this time 71-49 in a game that saw Kaelynn Satterfield '19 lead Christ the King with 16 points. 10 Christ the King players were able to get in the scorebook in this one, giving them a strong feeling heading into Saturday's road game with Long Island Lutheran. Unfortunately for the Royals they didn't get off to a good start offensively at the start, and struggled with perimeter defense. Brandy Thomas '18 ended up with 17 points but Christ the King couldn't rally and ultimately fell to LuHi out on Long Island, 69-52. Satterfield had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds for CK as that game on Saturday ended their regular season as they will now be off until March 2nd when they will play in the BQGCHSAA Semifinals, taking on either Nazareth of Bishop Loughlin at Holy Cross H.S. in Queens.

5) Baldwin- There were no games this past week for Baldwin as they awaited to see who they were going to take on in the Nassau County Class "AA" Playoffs. As the top seed the Lady Bruins drew an opening round bye, and will now take to the court this Tuesday when they take on East Meadow in the quarterfinals. They are overwhelming favorites, and will be in every Nassau "AA" playoff game this season as the likes of Jenna Annecchiarico '18 and Aziah Hudson '18 in the backcourt have proven to be too much for Section 8 competition, and that will more than likely continue. They Nassau "AA" semifinals are this coming Saturday at LIU Post as well, a game that should pit Baldwin against either Freeport or Port Washington.

6) South Shore- We spoke about this last week but we have to mention it again here, it's close to crazy that South Shore is going to go 30 days in between games. It's not their fault but the reality of the situation is the PSAL needs to figure out how to do a better job in scheduling the regular season so that there isn't this big a gap between games played, and not just for the Lady Vikings, but for every Class "AA" team. South Shore has been scrimmaging a few teams in the meantime, but Destiny Philoxy '18 and Earlette Scott '18 have to be itching to get back out and prove that they are among the elite of girl’s basketball, and the big favorite to make it another championship for the Lady Vikings. They won't take the floor again until March 5th in the PSAL Class "AA" Quarterfinals when they will face either Boys and Girls or Medgar Evers in a game that will be played at York College in Queens.

7) Our Lady of Mercy- Truly a regular season for the Monarchs to remember, Mercy closed things out on Wednesday with a home game against Aquinas, and while they were thought to be a formidable foe, Mercy was able to take control early on and roll to a 59-42 victory. It was once again the play of Katie Titus '18 that led the way as the star junior forward had 17 points and 13 rebounds for the Monarchs, while Traiva Breedlove '18 also had 17 points for Mercy in the win that allowed them to claim the #1 seed in the Section 5 Class "AA" Tournament. Being the top seed gives the Monarchs an opening round bye, so it won't be until this Friday that they get back to action as they will play the winner of Tuesday's game between Webster-Schroeder and Hilton on Friday in the Section 5 Class "AA" quarterfinals.

8) Monroe-Woodbury- Officially now one of, if not the best, regular season in Monroe-Woodbury history, the Lady Crusaders finished out the regular season this past week with two more wins to cap off an unbeaten 19-0 year. On Monday, they went on the road to Kingston, and it was one of the best efforts of the season for forward Willow Duffell '17 as she had 23 points and 11 rebounds in what would be a runaway 50-31 win. Sydney Harwood '17 also added 21 points, connecting on 4 threes in the win for the Lady Crusaders. Wednesday then saw Pine Bush come to them on senior night, and in one of the more impressive defensive performances you will see, Monroe-Woodbury limited them to just 2 second half points, stymying them completely and coming away with a 50-17 win that was again led by Duffell as she had a game high 18 points in the victory. As the #1 seed in the upcoming Section 9 Class "AA" Tournament, Monroe-Woodbury will have a bye and not play this week, but they are the heavy favorites to take the title and keep their undefeated season going into State's.

9) Ossining- The Queens of Section 1 for years and years now, the Pride got their playoff run going on Saturday as in the opening round of the Section 1 Class "AA" Tournament they were able to jump out and take a 37-13 lead after the first quarter to easily roll past White Plains 97-64. Andra Espinoza-Hunter '17 played just over 3 quarters yet still managed to score 51 points for Ossining, while Kailah Harris '19 and Kelsey Quain '18 had 16 and 14 points respectively to help the Pride in the dominating win. Next up for Ossining will be New Rochelle this coming Friday in the Section 1 Class "AA" quarterfinals with the winner advancing to the semifinals at the Westchester County Center.

10) Ursuline- One of the main challengers this season to Ossining's crowd at the top of Section 1, the Koalas got their Section 1 Class "AA" Tournament underway on Saturday as well as they hosted Arlington in an opening round game. From the start, Ursuline were able to assert their dominance on both ends of the floor as with Katie McLoughlin '17 scoring a team high 14 points, the Koalas were able to coast down the stretch to take a 53-29 victory. Korina Guerra '17 and impressive 8th grader Sonia Citron '21 each added 13 points in the win as well that now puts Ursuline in the Section 1 Class "AA" quarterfinals. They will host North Rockland on Friday in the quarters with a semifinals berth at the Westchester County Center awaiting the winner.

Pittsford-Mendon

Cardinal O'Hara

Shaker

Shenenedehowa

Penfield