Long Island Girls Hoops Top 10 rankings
St. Anthony's teammates, from left, #12 Rebecca Musgrove, #24 Symone Kelly and #21 Johanna Impellizeri host their team's championship plaque after defeating St. John the Baptist. (March 4, 2012) Credit: James Escher
1. St. Anthony’s (23-4): The Friars defeated St. Dominic and Sacred Heart to advance to the NSCHSAA championship game against No. 3 St. John the Baptist and won their second consecutive NSCHSAA championship with a 51-48 win. Symone Kelly had 20 points and 11 rebounds and Johanna Impellizeri had six points, 12 rebounds, and three blocked shots and had a steal with four seconds left leading to two free throws by Tyla Parham with two seconds left to cap the scoring. The Friars will play Molloy in the first round of the CHSAA state “AA” playoffs at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at St. Francis Prep.
2. Long Island Lutheran (17-5): The Crusaders are off until the Class B Federation semifinals on March 23 where they will defend their championship.
3. Riverhead (22-1): Junior Shanice Allen had 24 points as No. 3 Riverhead (21-1) won the Suffolk Class AA Championship with a 60-52 win over Hauppuage. The Blue Wave won their first county championship since 1984. Allen scored the 1,000th point of her career on a free throw in the fourth quarter. Riverhead extended its winning streak to 22 with a 61-59 overtime win over Southampton in the Suffolk Overall championship. Allen had 19 points and Jalyn Brown scored 18 points. Melodee Riley was named MVP of the Suffolk playoffs. Riverhead will play Baldwin in the Long Island Class AA championship at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Farmingdale State.
4. St. John the Baptist (17-10): The Cougars improved tremendously as the season progressed and almost upset St. Anthony’s in the NSCHSAA championship game. Brianna Thomas scored 16 points before fouling out and Anastasia Williams added 11 points. The Cougars will play Nazareth in the first round of the CHSAA state “AA” playoffs at 5:45 p.m. Wednesday at St. Francis Prep.
5. Baldwin (19-1): Senior Alex Hampton scored a career-high 24 points and added four assists to earn game MVP as No. 1 Baldwin topped No. 2 Massapequa, 62-41, in the Nassau Class AA finals. Baldwin won the county championship for the third consecutive season. Amber Harrison added 15 points.
6. Glenn (20-1): Allison McKenna had 23 points, 12 rebounds, and seven blocks as Glenn lost to Southampton in the Suffolk Small Schools championship. Glenn will play North Shore in the Long Island Class A championship at 5 p.m. Friday at Farmingdale State.
7. Hauppauge (21-1): Lauren Descalzo scored 17 points as No. 4 Hauppauge lost to No. 3 Riverhead, 60-52, in the Suffolk Class AA finals.
8. Sachem East (19-2): The Flaming Arrows had their season come to an end after a 47-45 loss to Hauppauge in the Suffolk Class AA semifinals after reaching the finals in four consecutive seasons. Meagan Doherty scored 15 points in her final game.
9. Holy Trinity (19-8): The Titans lost to St. John the Baptist, 49-42, in the NSCHSAA semifinals before beating Sacred Heart in overtime, 54-46, in the NSCHSAA Class A state qualifier. Alyson Brennan scored 15 points and Katie Poppe scored 13. The Titans play Bishop Loughlin in a CHSAA Class A state semifinal at 7 p.m. Friday at Spellman.
10. North Shore (20-1): Top-seeded North Shore defeated No. 2 Garden City, 74-64, to win the Nassau Class A championship. Amanda Johansen had 21 points and 11 rebounds and Caroline Robertson had eight points and 11 rebounds.
