|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Staten Island Rebels
Athletic Association
Rebels in the News
For the playoffs, a fresh
perspective
A gifted class of freshman girls is eager to have an impact in its first HS
basketball postseason
Sunday, March 02, 2008 By KEVIN FLOOD
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A year ago they were wrapping up their CYO seasons, preparing for AAU play and looking forward to attending high school. Starting this weekend, they'll be playing important roles in the CHSAA playoffs.
St. Peter's Christine Kline and Ashley Motrechuk; Moore Catholic's Jessica Coscia, Taylor Baggs and Nicole Arnone; and Notre Dame Academy's Ashley Iannacone and Casey Bray are all freshmen who made the leap from grammar school to high school varsity basketball without a hitch.
They have something else in common, having played AAU ball with the Staten Island Rebels. Six were long-time Rebels. Motrechuk played some AAU seasons with the Staten Island Diamonds.
"Just a special group of players," said Susan Wagner HS boys' basketball coach Joe Coscia, who coached the girls the last four years. "Mike Tursi is actually the architect of this group. He put them together when they were 9. I was just a parent in the stands. People are going to be reading about this group for the next three years. And it's not just that they're talented, they're the hardest workers I've ever coached. This is the result of hundreds of hours in the gym."
Coscia's assessment is backed up by the girls' current HS coaches.
St. Peter's coach Bob Daggett called Kline the main reason for his young, inexperienced team's midseason turnaround and subsequent run to the Island CHSAA title. "We started playing well when she earned the starting point-guard position," the veteran mentor explained. "She's terrific at the point, plus, even though she's usually the smallest player on the floor, she has a knack for getting rebounds and even blocking shots. I think Christine is only the third freshman to start for me since I've been here. The other two were Jen (Derevjanik) and Ayanna (Phillip). That's some pretty good company."
Motrechuk sees plenty of playing time in the Eagles' frontcourt and is already starting to play up to her 6-foot-1 size.
"A huge upside," is how Daggett describes Motrechuk. "When she develops a little more upper-body strength I expect big things from her. Maybe the most important aspect of both girls is that they're such nice kids who are willing to work hard every day."
Moore Catholic coach Tom Postiglione has seen his fortunes rise with the arrival of his freshman trio.
Jessica Coscia is already one of the quickest guards on the Island, and Baggs has quickly established herself as one of the top forwards.
"We were looking for someone who wanted the ball in crunch time," Postiglione explained. "Someone that wouldn't turn the ball over and was confident with the ball in her hands. Jessica is that player."
Baggs is the Mavericks' leading scorer, top rebounder, and a relentless worker at both ends of the floor.
"She never stops," Postiglione added. "And she does everything well. There are no holes in her game, and she's only going to improve because of her work ethic."
Arnone is the first player off the bench for the Mavericks, and according to Postiglione, "can be as good as she wants."
Forwards Iannacone and Bray have struggled at times with a very young NDA squad, but coach John Hannafin sees promise.
"When I first saw the two of them on the floor, I was impressed," the veteran coach explained. "They stepped right into the varsity program and weren't fazed at all. They both have the talent and drive to become special players."
All seven will begin making an impact on the postseason this weekend, and according to Coscia, the future graduating class of 2011 has others waiting in the wings to make the next three years of CHSAA play especially intriguing.
"There are other girls from our team that are also going to make an impact," Coscia added. "Nicole Francomano and Nicki Fabozzi (St. John Villa) are excelling at the JV level because there just wasn't room for them on the varsity. Kelly Otchet (St. Peter's) and Christine Pariseau (Notre Dame) should also be up at the varsity level next year. It's going to an interesting four-year run." Kevin Flood is a sports reporter for the Staten Island Advance. Contact him at flood@siadvance.com
Congratulations Megan Mahoney for winning the Jacques Award
Megan Mahoney won the Warren Jacques Award for the second consecutive year. The annual award recognizes Staten Island's most outstanding girl's basketball player. Mahoney is only the fifth repeat selection since the award's inception in 1985.
Mahoney finished her 3 year varsity career with the St. Peters' Eagles averaging 17.7 points per game and joined the 1000 point club, finishing with 1376 points. Megan is headed to Fordham University in the Fall.
Congratulations to the Rebels Alumni and Players who participated in the Warren Jacques Games
Warren Jacques Girls' Classic High School Select Senior Game
Lauren Chicolo (Notre Dame Academy)
Caitlin Johnson (McKee/S.I. Tech)
Jessica Montesano (Susan Wagner)
Ashley Olsen (Notre Dame Academy) ***MVP
Samantha Salvatore (Notre Dame Academy)
Brittany Zinke (Notre Dame Academy)
Candice Bellocchio (St. Peter's)
Alex Breines (Tottenville)
Laura Fischer (Curtis)
Megan Mahoney (St. Peter's)
Danielle Negron (New Dorp)
Tara Pisano (St. Joseph Hill)
Allie Shanahan (St. John Villa)
Warren Jacques Girls' Eighth Grade CYO ALL-STAR Game
Nicole Arnone (St. Rita's)
Casey Brey (St. Charles)
Jessica Coscia (St. Charles)
Nikky Fabozzi (Holy Family)
Megan Hollander (St. Ann's)
Ashley Iannacone (St. Rita's)
Christine Kline (St. Ann's) ***MVP
Samantha Laforgia (St. Charles)
Kristen Pariseau (St. Rita's)
Alissa Setteducato (St. Ann's)
Brittany Sullivan (Holy Family)
Taylor Baggs (Our Lady Star of the Sea)
Nicole Francomano (St. Clare's)
Krissa Sagona (Our Lady Star of the Sea)
Congratulations to the newest members of the Staten Island High School 1000 point club
Congratulations to Nicole Capurso (St. John Villa), Candice Bellocchio (St. Peters), Meghan Mahoney (St. Peters) and Ashley Olsen (Notre Dame) for joining the 1000 point club this season. This brings the total of Rebel alumni in the 1000 point club up to 23. Good Luck with the rest of the season, and to the other girls closing in on the milestone.
Look for Rebels currently playing in college during the 2005-2006 season ....
Jennifer Bender (MSIT) - Monmouth University
Elizabeth Gruber (Notre Dame Academy) - Sacred Heart University
Rachel Hudec (St. John Villa) - Sacred Heart
University
Kristy McLean (Poly Prep) - Bentley College
Helen Swartley (St. Joseph Hill) - Wagner College
Christine Trezza (Notre Dame Academy) - Notre Dame University
Congratulations to Christine Trezza who has made the Notre Dame women's basketball team as a walk on!
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
OVERVIEW: Lanky wing player who earned a place on the Irish roster as a walk-on through preseason tryout ... good perimeter shooter who also is not afraid of contact in the paint ... solid fundamental player with strong court awareness and ability to make plays at both ends of the floor ... will see majority of her time as a contributor in practice, helping run scout team offenses ... also provides added depth along the Notre Dame front line.
HIGH SCHOOL: Averaged 10.4 points and 12.0 rebounds per game during her career at Staten Island's Notre Dame Academy High School, earning second-team all-borough honors from the New York Daily News and all-conference laurels as a senior ... helped Notre Dame Academy to a regional title in her final season, averaging 14.8 points and 13.0 rebounds per game along the way ... had career highs of 25 points and 15 rebounds in one playoff game as a senior ... also was three-time captain of nationally-ranked Staten Island Rebels AAU squad that finished second at the USA Junior Nationals in 2003 ... multi-sport athlete in high school, garnering four letters in volleyball and one in cross country ... member of the National Honor Society and "Who's Who Among American Athletes" ... class valedictorian ... student government president.
