Raiti, Lutheran girls to Federation final

ALBANY -- The last time Christina Raiti played a game was on Feb. 25, so if the Long Island Lutheran shooting guard came out a little flat for the Federation Tournament, it would've been understandable. Instead she came out sharp . . . as in sharpshooter.

Raiti nailed a trio of three-pointers in the first quarter to set a tone, scored a game-high 23 points and helped the Crusaders cruise to a 67-45 victory over Lancaster St. Mary's on Friday in the state Federation Class B Tournament at the Times Union Center.

"She's a great shooter and when she's on, you've just got to keep getting her the ball," said eighth-grade point guard Lauren "Boogie" Brozoski, who had eight assists and 11 points.

Raiti was indeed on, making five of eight treys and shooting 7-for-11 from the field overall as the Crusaders (19-5) advanced to play in Saturday's championship game at 10:30 a.m. They will play Irvington, which defeated Scholars' Academy, 63-43, and which defeated Lutheran in last year's Federation semifinals, 70-42.

"They killed us last year and we want to win it so bad this year," said Raiti, who admitted she is a "streak shooter" who "got help from my teammates. They got me the ball."

The Crusaders' monthlong hoops hiatus is thanks to the peculiarities of being an independent school. LuHi's boys and girls teams are automatic qualifiers for the Federation Tournament because there are not enough independent teams locally for them to form a league. Both play strong non-league schedules that they believe prepares them for tournament play.

And they didn't rest, lest they rust, during the time off. "We scrimmaged hard and we practiced hard," coach Rich Slater said.

It showed early, as Lutheran scored the game's first 11 points, including two close-in baskets by Samantha Milhaven (nine rebounds) and a three-pointer by Raiti. Lutheran closed the quarter on another Raiti trey for a 22-10 lead. Though the Crusaders appeared to be in control, St. Mary's, led by its own sharpshooter Raeann Stilwell (21 points), rallied to within 50-39 with 6:13 left.

That's when Lutheran sharpened all its tools and put it away with a 9-0 run that included two baskets by Paige Kriftcher (16 points, six assists). "Everything just jelled for us in the fourth quarter," Raiti said.

Of the time off, the 5-5 junior said: "I think it made us more hungry. We were definitely ready to do the little extra things, like make those defensive stops," Raiti said, referring to Lutheran's effective trap that produced 14 steals, six by Brozoski, and 22 turnovers.

Raiti certainly satisfied her hunger for meaningful long-distance shots. "There aren't many three-point shooters like Christina," Slater said.

And not many coaches would make this statement: "When she doesn't shoot, she's coming out of the game," Slater said.

The only time Slater had to take out Raiti, and his other starters, was in the final minutes, when their first victory in a month was secure.