By Stephen Zitolo
Archbishop Molloy had its toughest test of the season against nationally ranked and defending state Federation Class AA champion Long Island Lutheran and passed with flying colors.
In a hard-fought defensive game, Molloy used a third-quarter outburst to help secure a 55-45 victory over the Crusaders at the HoopQueens Winterball girls’ basketball showcase at Francis Lewis Sunday afternoon.
“It’s a really big win for the program,” Queens College-bound guard Kaitlyn Mahon said. “It’s something we’ve been preparing for.”
The unbeaten Stanners went on a 16-1 run in the third quarter. The victory announces them as a serious contender for the state Federation crown with key league games coming against Bishop Loughlin and Christ the King. Molloy, which beat Grand Street on Saturday, is proving it can play with anyone
“We went into this game with the mindset that we were the team that was good enough to beat them,” Molloy senior guard Emer Moloney said.
The Stanners’ seniors and their leadership on the court were crucial to their victory on Sunday. Mahon led the Stanners with 14 points and five assists. Moloney scored 12 points and senior forward Aryn McClure scored nine points and added 10 rebounds.
LuHi guard and University of Michigan commit Lauren “Boogie” Brozoski, a Cambria Heights native, led all scorers with 25 points.
The first half was a tight-knit affair as both teams struggled to gain any of the momentum. The second quarter played out much like the first with both offenses struggling to score against two unrelenting defenses. Molloy (7-0) still led 24-23 at the break.
Molloy came out on fire in the third quarter. The Stanners went on a 16-1 run to end the frame and the Queens College-bound Moloney scored eight of her 12 points during the run. Molloy led 41-26 heading into the fourth.
“We pride ourselves on defending,” Stanners coach Scott Lagas said. “We know if we kept the ball where we wanted it to be on defense, we could get some run outs on the other side and that’s exactly what happened. Our confidence on offense comes from our defense.”
In the fourth quarter things got chippy between both teams at the 5:57 mark as two double technical fouls would be called. Both of the technical fouls for Molloy were called on McClure resulting in her ejection from the game.
Molloy was now without its most talented player and their dominant post presence.
Lutheran (2-2) took full advantage of the hole Molloy had.
The Crusaders went on a 14-2 run to narrow the deficit to 48-40, but Molloy held tough without McClure and was able to contain Lutheran’s late run to preserve the victory.
As big as the victory was, Molloy isn’t getting complacent. It knows they have to keep working to get to their ultimate goal of a Federation title.
“We never want to stay stagnant,” Moloney said. “We always want to do our best to be one step ahead of everybody.”
