St. Anthony's finds silver lining despite loss to Moore Catholic
St. Anthony's Colleen McCullagh works against a Moore Catholic defender during the Staten Island vs. NY/NJ Showcase at the College of Staten Island on Sunday. Credit: Howard Simmons
There weren’t many bright spots in St. Anthony’s 54-33 loss to Moore Catholic in the Staten Island vs. NY/NJ Showcase at the College of Staten Island Sunday night, but as the Friars walked off the court, they were still able to find the silver lining.
St. Anthony’s switched up defenses in the second half, playing full-court man, and outscored the Mavericks 18-10 in the fourth quarter. The Friars scored 15 points in the first three quarters combined.
“I think we relaxed more,” said sophomore Colleen McCullagh, who scored all six of her points in the second half. “We realized that we needed to push the ball up the court, which helped us get points.”
The defensive change came after the Friars (2-4) fell behind early, with Moore Catholic passing its way through St. Anthony’s 3-2 and 2-3 zone defenses. The Mavericks (9-1) took a 17-5 lead after the first quarter and held St. Anthony’s to four field goals heading into halftime.
“I said, ‘You can’t play them in zone because they pass very well,” coach Hugh Flaherty said. “[Moore Catholic moved] the ball quick and they made their shots. You’ve got to tip your hat to that.”
While Moore Catholic hit its offensive stride, St. Anthony’s struggled to hold onto the ball. The Friars recorded double-digit turnovers, including 13 in the first half, a trend Flaherty said has hurt the team recently.
“You can’t do that, you can’t afford that,” Flaherty said. “We had one game this year we turned the ball over 37 times and probably 20 of those were uncontested turnovers. That’s the way it’s been.”
It was a disappointing loss for the Friars, who have also been without junior forward Gianna Santacroce all season because of an injury. But as St. Anthony’s turns its attention to league play, the squad is determined to use the game as a learning experience and something to build off.
“We need to know that we can’t take anything easy now,” McCullagh said. “We’re definitely learning from this and we need to use this for the rest of the season, to push forward and get better.”
