By Dylan Butler
He likened the cramped confines and the electric atmosphere of Pitaro Gymnasium to Duke University's Cameron Indoor Stadium and knowing that The Mary Louis Academy basketball team would be especially emotional on Senior Night, Archbishop Molloy coach Dom Cecala had a simple message for his team.
“Cool, calm and collected,” he said after his team fell behind early in the battle for second place in CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens Division I.
The message sunk in for the Stanners, because after surviving the early barrage, they controlled the game and beat the Hilltoppers, 48-37, Wednesday night.
The victory, Molloy's fifth consecutive in the league, complete a remarkable turnaround that saw the Stanners go from fifth place in the standings to second, earning a bye into the Brooklyn/Queens Diocesan semifinals next Thursday.
“This is such a big win for us,” Molloy senior Kerri White said. “After beating Christ the King and Bishop Ford, this just shows how far we've come since the beginning of the season.”
Much of the team's success can be traced back to a coaching change, when Cecala, who is also the junior varsity coach, took over for John McGlynn, who resigned, along with his assistant, Jan. 16 following parental complaints.
Cecala, though, said the credit should be given to the players, in particular White, who again came up big in the clutch Wednesday night.
The Manhattan-bound senior finished with 10 points, including going 6-for-6 from the foul line in the final 1:25 after a critical three-point play by Shannon LaVelle stifled an 8-0 run by Mary Louis.
“I asked her to be an example tonight and she was probably the best rebounder on the court,” Cecala said of White. “She played with toughness and she hit some big free throws at the end of the game. I think she was so calm, she could have closed her eyes and still wouldn't have missed.”
Mary Louis jumped out to an early 11-6 lead after an emotional pre-game ceremony, which saw senior Maral Javadifar step on the court for the first time this year after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her knee during the off-season.
Still about two months away from being cleared to play, Javadifar suited up and started. She was allowed to hit a short jumper for her first points of the season before being taken off the floor 10 seconds later.
But led by White and sophomore forward Kyra Aloizos (12 points), Molloy responded, closing out the first half on a devastating 20-4 run to take a 26-15 lead into the halftime break.
The Stanners led by 12 in the third quarter, but Mary Louis chipped away, going on an 8-0 run to get within 39-35 on a step back three-pointer by Amanda Burakoski, the St. John's-bound junior who was held to just eight points on 3-of-18 shooting.
With the jam-packed gym ready to erupt, LaVelle drove the baseline and buried a clutch layup while getting fouled. She converted the three-point play and White knocked down a few big free throws for the red-hot Stanners.
“We're confident, but we're not over confident,” White said. “We still have a lot of work to do. But we came all the way back from fifth to second. We can play.”
Mary Louis had a chance to earn the bye and clinch second place in the division for the first time in recent memory. But instead the Hilltoppers will face St. Francis Prep in the tournament's first round Tuesday at Christ the King. A Mary Louis win would set up a winner-take-all semifinal game between the two teams next Thursday at Christ the King.
“It would have been nice to have the privilege of a first-round bye,” Mary Louis coach Joe Lewinger said. “But if you look at the bright side, the things we need to do are all fixable.”
