St. Andrew’s took on a tough team from St. Cecelia’s from Greenpoint at the CYO neutral site of St. Gregory’s on Sunday, Feb. 11.
St. Andrew’s bought only six players to the gym, while St. Cecelia’s had a full contingent to 12. St….
The Times-Ledger
St. Andrew’s took on a tough team from St. Cecelia’s from Greenpoint at the CYO neutral site of St. Gregory’s on Sunday, Feb. 11.
St. Andrew’s bought only six players to the gym, while St. Cecelia’s had a full contingent to 12. St. Cecelia’s and St. Andrew’s had played last year and both games were tremendous struggles, with each team winning one.
When Saturday’s game started, there was good man-to-man defense and both offenses were held in check. Cecelia’s jumped out to a 6-4 first quarter lead.
St. Andrew’s pushed hard through the second period, but both teams found scoring very difficult. As St. Andrew’s took a 15-13 lead into half time, St. Andrew’s found two of its players in foul trouble as Stephanie Ciotti was on the bench with three fouls and Jessica Kroepfl was playing with four fouls.
While St, Andrew’s had its troubles, St. Cecelia’s also had foul trouble, with Kelly Bolan and Angela Come, both starters for St. Cecelia’s, both in danger of fouling out.
Jessica McEntee continued to dominate the court and was a scoring force for St. Andrew’s, as the rest of St. Andrew’s was incapable of penetrating St. Cecelia’s tough defense.
As the game continued, St. Andrew’s focused on stopping Sam Scanlon and Ivana Palma, the two St. Cecelia guards. Through the end of the third period, St. Andrew’s had successfully held the St. Cecelia’s guards to only nine points and St. Andrew’s held a slim 20-18.
The last two minutes of the game proved to be extraordinary. St. Andrew’s Jessica Kroepfl fouled out of the game and Stephanie Ciotti was playing with four fouls. St. Andrew’s had Jessica McEntee, Stephanie Ciotti, Dana Ribaudo, Fotini Lagos, and Melissa Frapani on the court in the final minutes.
With approximately a minute and a half left, McEntee scored giving to St. Andrew’s a one point lead. Cecelia’s came down the court and scored again to retake the lead.
With approximately 45 seconds left in the game, St. Andrew’s was able to force St. Cecelia into a bad shot and, with approximately 35 seconds left, McEntee recovered the rebound drove down court and lobbed the hall into Stephanie Ciotti, who was fouled. Ciotti went to the line with St. Andrew’s trailing 25-24 with approximately 30 seconds to play and made both of her free throws, giving St. Andrew’s a one-point lead.
Angela Como for Cecelia’s was then fouled and made one of two to end regulation in a 26-26 tie. In overtime. St. Andrew’s was able to pull ahead and serge to a 40-31 victory.
McEntee put up 22 points, Ciotti added 14 and Dana Ribaudo and Fotini Lagos added two.
