Newsday Athlete of the Week is Cassandra Rohan
Stony Brook School's Cassandra Rohan is Newsday's Athlete of the Week. Credit: Bob Sorensen
Cassandra Rohan has been at the center of the Stony Brook School girls basketball team’s success.
Coming off a 24-point and 16-rebound performance in a win over Portledge in the PSAA championship game on Feb. 16, Rohan totaled 27 points and 21 boards in the Bears’ 76-43 win over No. 5 Columbia Prep in the NYSAIS Class B quarterfinals on Wednesday.
“She’s like an energizer bunny,” Stony Brook coach Kevin Foley said. “She’s very encouraging to the team as a whole and as individuals. Very rarely do you see her moping around. She connects with the players on the team that are eighth-graders or freshmen or sophomores with her being a junior. She adds so much to the unity of the team.”
The 6-1 junior posted four straight double-doubles from Stony Brook’s final regular season game against Portledge on Feb. 7 through Wednesday’s quarterfinal. Foley said that Rohan and the entire team played its best basketball of the season during that stretch.
Rohan was quick to credit her teammates, including sharpshooter Meaghan Doherty and point guard Abigail Smith.
“These last couple of games, there’s been a lot of hunger out of the girls and myself,” Rohan said. “We’ve all gained more confidence in each other and we feel more free to do what we thought we could do at the beginning of the year.”
No. 4 Stony Brook suffered a 71-34 loss in the semifinals on Friday to top-seeded Dalton. Rohan had 13 points and eight rebounds.
Rohan is also a standout volleyball player, which she plans to play in college. Rohan wants to study psychology, which she says helps her as one of the leaders of her team.
“I like reading emotions of others and just helping people out,” Rohan said. “I think it translates to the basketball court. I’ve had so many leaders throughout the years to help influence me and become a leader myself.”
Rohan transferred to Stony Brook (22-3) this year after averaging 10.2 points and 10 rebounds per game with Sachem East last season. Despite a major difference in school size, Rohan fit right in with the Bears and made an instant impact.
“There are more important things in life than basketball except for when you’re on the basketball court,” Foley said. “She can talk about other things besides basketball, which is good for a 17-year-old young lady. We talk about history, we talk about life . . . she’s just really enjoyable to be around.”
