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Girls basketball
Notre Dame (20-6), who plays in Staten Island, used a relentless man to man defense to outscore Sacred Heart, 35-19, in the second half, including a 14-0 run late in the fourth quarter, en route to a come from behind 58-47 victory at the Charles L. & Gloria B. Lumsden Gymnasium at Daemen College. Notre Dame (20-6), who was runner-up in the Catholic High School Athletic Association Archdiocesan Class B final, moves on to the Catholic state title game on Sunday at Cardinal Spellman in the Bronx. "We had a great effort but just couldn't sustain the effort (in the second half)," said Sacred Heart coach Sr. Maria Pares. "I think they were a little quicker, a little bit more aggressive and a lot stronger than we were." The Sacred Heart-Notre Dame game was part of a semifinal tripleheader. Nardin advanced in Class C after defeating New York Archdiocese champion Preston, 52-37. St. Peter's, the reigning Federation champion, beat Mt. Mercy, 68-43, in Class A. Notre Dame's Ashley Olson, who is headed to Division I Wagner College, led all scorers with 19 points, including 11 in the second half. Her last four points (layup from Lauren Chicolo, two free throws) sparked the Gators' fourth quarter surge. Olson's teammate, junior Hannah Tait (16 points), hit two three-pointers in the run. "I have played four years of varsity and I didn't want this to be the last second half (in high school) that I played," said Olson, who had averaged 26 points in Notre Dame's first two playoff games. The Sharks, who shot 19 of 36 in the game and 11 of 20 in the first half, used hot shooting from Krystal Watson (four points), Natalie Coppola (six points), and Meaghan Daley (six points) to open a 16-7 first quarter lead. Sacred Heart built a 22-11 advantage midway through the second quarter before Notre Dame woke up and outscored Sacred Heart, 12-6, the rest of the half. At halftime, Notre Dame coach John Hannafin told his team to tighten up its defense and drive to the hoop and the Gators responded. Brittany Zinke, who was a thorn on defense all game against the Sharks, stole the ball from Watson and threw a long pass to Sam Salvatore, who laid it in to tie the game at 28-28 two minutes into the second half. The lead would bounce back and forth in the third with a turnaround jumper from Salvatore giving Notre Dame a 40-39 advantage at the end of the third quarter. "Our defense carries our offense," said Hannafin. "That's the way it's been for us all season." Sacred Heart's last lead, 45-42, came early in the fourth quarter courtesy of an inside layup from Watson. The Sharks were held scoreless for about five minutes as the Gators went on their run. Sacred Heart committed most of their 15 turnovers in the second half despite shooting 8 of 16 from the floor. "I got to give Notre Dame credit but I give my kids credit," said Pares. "I really thought the second half was the difference. They beat us down the court every single time. They're a very good team." Watson finished with 12 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Daley and Katie Keller each scored 10. Coppola grabbed six rebounds. Sacred Heart finishes 23-3. Keller, Daley, Gina Ricotta, Liz Subjeck and Katelyn Killian graduates. Pares said the loss does not diminish a great season. "I would have liked to have won this game and have beaten Mt. Mercy (lost 42-38 in Monsignor Martin Association finals on March 4)," said Pares. "This has been one of the nicest and hardest working groups I've coached." e-mail: pnagy@beenews.com |
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