Baldwin girls basketball falls to back-to-back state champion Albertus Magnus in state regional final
Baldwin head coach Tom Catapano during the second quarter of the Long Island Class AAA girls basketball championship against Whitman on Wednesday in Stony Brook. Credit: Michael A. Rupolo Sr.
YORKTOWN HEIGHTS — There were a couple of guards with a velvet outside touch and a sensational senior center whose next basketball team will be named Clemson.
The Baldwin girls, who lost four starters from the 2025 state title team in Class AA, had a tall task Saturday at Yorktown High.
They were in the AAA Southeast Regional final against Albertus Magnus, the Section I winner and the defending state AAA champ after also claiming the 2024 state crown in AA.
The Falcons owned a 13-point lead after one quarter and cruised to a 73-44 victory.
“They’re pretty good,” Baldwin coach Tom Catapano said. “We didn’t play our best.”
“It’s tough because you lose to a private school in the public school playoffs,” he added. “It’s not easy. … But no sour grapes. Obviously, I’m disappointed in the outcome, but it doesn’t take away how proud I am of this group. A lot of people counted us out this year.”
Yet the Bruins went 21-4 and earned two impressive prizes, their Nassau and Long Island championship plaques. Senior guard Alyssa Polonia topped them in the finale with 16 points and senior power forward/center Leah Williams added 12.
“It’s amazing to come back after a state championship team, lose six seniors and four starters, and win the Long Island championship,” Catapano said. “It says a lot about the Baldwin community.”
Albertus Magnus received 23 points from guard Sara Nezaj, 20 from that Clemson-bound 6-3 center, Julia Scott, and 19 from guard Maddy Zuppe. Scott said the 22-2 Falcons “know what it takes to win.” So they will go for their third straight state title later this week at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy.
“I’m over the moon,” said Scott, Rockland’s all-time leading scorer. “It’s a great experience, especially since it’s my senior year.”
Nezaj scored nine and Scott scored six, and Albertus Magnus led 23-10 after one quarter.
By halftime, it was 37-22 even though Polonia sank three threes in the second quarter.
“We played really hard, but they have a really good big kid and they have a great team,” the Assumption-bound Polonia said.
The margin kept expanding, moving to 28 after three and to 35 in the fourth.
“It was hard,” Williams said of this ending. “But these are my sisters. I went through everything with them. So I’m grateful for all the good things [and] bad things that we went through."
