Girls basketball: Defending champ Tuckahoe and Hamilton to vie for Section 1 Class C title
WHITE PLAINS — Tuckahoe is the definition of a young basketball team.
One senior, who doesn’t start, three sophomores, five freshman and five eighth graders.
That might make it the youngest varsity basketball team in Section 1.
A basketball team that might be overwhelmed by the big space and bright lights of Westchester County Center.
Before its Section 1 Class C girls semifinal game vs. Haldane Sunday, coach Silvio DiSalvatore and assistant coach Alex Bonci wondered about just that — wondered about their team’s nerves.
But then DiSalvatore saw his squad drawing smiley faces on a board before the game and his worries vanished.
Then, the team took to the court, which, Bonci noted, is 20 feet longer than the average high school court, and played, as DiSalvatore explained, “32 minutes for each other.”
And that translated into a huge win.
No. 1-seed Tuckahoe, which exploded to a 26-6 first-quarter lead with repeated steals and follow-up buckets, punched its ticket to the section championship game against No. 2 Alexander Hamilton with a 58-34 win over fourth-seed Haldane.
Hamilton, paced by sophomore Jaya Oliva’s dominant second half and game-high 23 points, beat No. 3 North Salem 46-40 in the earlier game Sunday at the County Center.
What it means
Tuckahoe, which has won the Section 1 Class C crown the past two years, beat Hamilton twice during the current season — 48-45 in late January and 56-47 earlier this month.
The two teams, which are both 14-7, will face each other for the Section 1 Class C crown next Sunday at 5 p.m.
Tuckahoe on a tear
The Tigers’ game followed a disappointing showing by the Tuckahoe boys team, which fell to Leffell in the boys Class C semifinals after holding a halftime lead.
But from the opening tip of the girls game, there was little doubt Tuckahoe would be vying for another Section 1 championship gold ball after winning one in 2022 and one last year.
The Tigers’ defense was all over the place — mostly where the ball was.
In the game’s opening minute, tiny eighth-grade guard Juliana Manginelli recorded two steals in what would become a theme of the first half.
In fact, Tuckahoe recorded five steals while jumping out to a 13-0 lead.
A block by the quick, athletic Manginelli and a steal by her preceded teammate Grace Kern’s 3-pointer, which put the Tigers up 17-2.
By the time the quarter ended, six Tigers had scored, led by Chloe Angello’s eight points and Cara Doherty’s seven points.
Haldane showed heart after that, finding some of its scoring touch and nearly scoring as many points as Tuckahoe did over the next three quarters. But it couldn't overcome that 20-point first-quarter deficit.
Leading scorers
The eighth-grader Angello, who was big on the boards, finished with a game-high 16 points.
Doherty hit for 13, Brooke Matarazzo had seven points and Grace Kern had two of the Tigers’ five 3-pointers for six points.
For Haldane, which finished the season 9-13, senior Camilla McDaniel had a team-high 13 points, all coming in the second half.
Fellow senior Ruby Poses and freshman Elaina Johanson each hit for nine points.
Quotables
Tuckahoe certainly didn’t play like a team with seven losses but some of those setbacks came against much bigger schools with very good programs, including Ursuline and defending Class A state champion Panas, both of which won 17 games during the regular season.
“We loaded up our schedule and wanted to play all the greats. It humbled us,” said DiSalvatore.
His team, he said, shared the ball better Sunday than it ever did this season.
Hamilton comes back in second half
Unlike Tuckahoe, Hamilton got off to a slow start, trailing 18-14 at the half before putting up 14 points in the third quarter to send the game into the fourth quarter tied at 28 on Oliva’s steal and end-to-end rush and score.
Hamilton recorded multiple steals in the final quarter and also dominated on the boards, although North Salem freshman Freyja Smith’s offensive rebound, score and follow-up foul shot made things interesting, cutting Hamilton’s lead to 43-40 in the last minute before Oliva essentially put the game away with two foul shots with 17.1 seconds to play.
North Salem, which ended the season 10-11, was stung by foul problems in that final period. Noemi Torres fouled out with 3:12 to play and Madelynne Horel followed suit with 1:29 left.
The Tigers last led 32-30 with just over six minutes to play when Sarafina DiPaola drove in for a layup.
But Hamilton’s Gabrielle Harper grabbed an offensive rebound and put the ball in to tie things before Cassidy Williams stole the ball and was fouled and hit two free throws to put the Red Raiders up 34-32 with 5:43 left.
The senior DiPaola led the Tigers with 18 points and fellow senior Donovan also reached double figures with 11. Torres had six and Smith had five.
Ten of Oliva’s 23 points came in the third quarter. The second-year varsity player was the player of the game not just for her scoring but for her overall play. She played shutdown D with multiple steals.
Senior Folasade Alli-Balogun finished with nine points and e Williams had eight.
Girls basketball: The Journal News/lohud Section 1 playoff scoreboard keeps you up to date
Quotables
Oliva said her team changed direction at the half.
“In the first half we had a slow start. We didn’t realize how serious it was until we were down,” she said, referring to the realization the Red Raiders’ season could end.
Hamilton fell to Tuckahoe in last year’s Class C championships game but Oliva, who called her team her “second family” and noted it includes actual family since the eighth-grader Williams is her cousin, expects a different outcome this year.
“(We have) more energy and because of how badly we want it. It’s a better group,” she said.
Nancy Haggerty covers cross-country, track & field, field hockey, skiing, ice hockey, basketball, girls lacrosse and other sporting events for The Journal News/lohud. Follow her on Twitter at @HaggertyNancy.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Girls basketball: Tuckahoe and Hamilton to play for Class C championship
