The Our Lady of the Snows Bantam A girls basketball team opened the CYO season with three dominating performances, outscoring their opponents in the first half of the three games by a combined score of 49-6.
Nicole Weinman, Tina Khiani, Adara Simonelli, Nicole Kaouris, Michelle Gasperetti, Kaitlin Frangella, and sisters Christine and Jessica Wrynn have picked up where they left off last March when the fell just short in the Corpus Christi Tournament championship game. Just about every girl on the roster attended one of the local basketball camps over the summer months. In addition, several members of the team combined with players from the Bantam B squad and played in Rockville Center over the summer. The improvement is showing.
All eight players on the OLS sixth-grade girls’ basketball team put points on the board as Snows won its third straight, a 33-12 thrashing of St. Luke’s (Whitestone). Tina Khiani led OLS with eight points and Adara Simonelli scored seven. Christine and Jessica Wrynn scored six of the eight Snows fourth-quarter points. OLS led this game 15-2 at halftime.
Michelle Gasperetti led all scorers with 14 points, as she ran the floor and converted six fast break layups in a 32-12 beating of St. Andrew’s (Flushing). Snows led this game 17-4 at the half. Tina Khiani scored six points and Nicole Kaouris added five for Snows.
The Snows’ sixth-graders opened their CYO season with a convincing 27-10 win over St. Ann’s (Flushing) at the PS 191 gym. The OLS balanced offensive attack featured all six girls in the lineup scoring points. OLS led the home opener 17-0 at halftime. Tina Khiani and Nicole Kaouris led Snows with six points each. Nicole Weinman scored five points, while Adara Simonelli and Michelle Gasperetti tallied four points each. Kaitlin Frangella buried an outside shot for two points to round out the scoring.
The Snows' Bantam girls’ B team also started the season on a winning note with a 13-10 victory over American Martyrs (Bayside). The OLS squad featured a balanced scoring attack, with five girls putting points on the board. Jen Maurer led Snows with four points. Danielle Carberry scored off a pass from Sarah Lagasca off the opening tip and added a free throw for three points. Sarah, Divya Johnson and Valerie Villaneuva also scored for OLS. The game entered the fourth quarter tied at 8-8, but Jen Maurer took control and scored two fourth quarter baskets to secure the win.
Jen Maurer picked up where she left off as the team traveled to St Bart’s (Elmhurst). Maurer rebounded, passed and scored two baskets to give Snows a 4-0 first-quarter lead. Although Maurer led OLS with six points, foul trouble relegated her to the bench for part of the second quarter and most of the third quarter. With Maurer’s defensive presence and rebounding removed from the OLS middle, St. Bart’s was able to grab a lead in the fourth quarter and led 14-10 with just more than two minutes to play. St. Bart’s prevailed 22-10, as they exploded for 12 late fourth-quarter points against the inexperienced bench of OLS. Valerie Villaneuva and Sarah Lagasca also scored for OLS in the game.
In its third game, the B team traveled to Bayside to face Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament. The Bayside team jumped out to a 6-0 first-quarter lead, but the OLS team handled the press well and battled back to tie the game on second quarter baskets by Jen Maurer and Divya Johnson. Sara Lagasca and Valerie Villaneuva scored second-half baskets for Snows. Once again, OLS kept the game close until the final two minutes, but OLBS prevailed 20-10. Danielle Carberry, Stephanie Payawal and Danielle Petrone played guard and helped move the ball against the OLBS press. New players Betsy Paul, Jessica Dhillon and Zarela Zechariah also saw action and contributed plenty of effort and hustle.
