Sports
St. Anthony's Girls Basketball Heads for CHSAA Class AA State Semis
The Friars will face top-ranked NYC Catholic team Nazareth High School.
coach Ken Parham spoke in the most basic of terms following his team's 59-33 victory over St. Peter's (Staten Island) in the first round of the CHSAA Girls Basketball Class AA State Tournament.
"Basketball is pretty simple," he said. "The closer you are to that rim, height-wise, the easier the game is."
The strategy, while straight-forward, was an effective summary of his team's dominance on Friday night. With two effective low-post presences in Micki Impellizeri and Symone Kelly, the Friars were able to dominate the low post at both ends of the floor, cutting through lanes easily on offense and clogging them on defense.
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"We had a definite height advantage, and we took advantage of it early in the game," said Impellizeri. "We talked to the guards about getting it inside to Symone and me. We got strong points in the paint early, and it helped us out towards the end."
The result was a dominant performance, one that propelled St. Anthony's into Saturday's semi-final.
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Heroes: At 6'2", Impellizeri usually towers several inches above the other players on the floor. "It definitely helps," she said. "An extra couple of inches here or there makes it easier for the team to see me."
Her teammates had no trouble seeing her Friday, as she led all scorers with 14 points, most of which came right underneath the basket. Kelly, her partner in the post, added 6.
St. Anthony's was also effective driving into the paint. The Friars only connected on two three-pointers over the course of the game. Many of guard Kerrin Maurer's 11 points came on drives into the lane.
But the Friars' effectiveness wasn't limited to the points column, either. Kelly led all players with seven rebounds (three offensive), and she and Impellizeri notched four blocks apiece on defense.
Their defensive presence went beyond the stat sheet as well, as it disrupted St. Peter's normally methodical game plan, forcing them out of their comfort zone.
"They're a patient team offensively," said coach Parham. "When they get behind, it makes it difficult for them to score. They're a team that runs 15 to 20 seconds off the shot clock every time down. When you're losing, it's not as easy to do."
Turning Point: After posting 20 points in the first quarter, the Friars were unable to consistently dominate at both ends of the floor in the second, to the point that they were out-scored 10-9 by St. Peter's. Parham knew he needed to make adjustments at halftime to get his team back on track.
"We talked about a couple of things that we didn't do a great job of in the first half," he said. "We tried to focus on that a little more, and we did a pretty decent job. There were a couple of holes in their zone that we saw. We talked about it, and the kids found that."
"We talked a lot about getting back on transition," said Impellizeri. "In the middle of the second quarter, we had a couple of points where we really didn't get back on defense as well as we should have. We talked about crashing the boards, getting good rebounds, running the floor on offense to get a couple of easy baskets."
Quotable(s): With the game well in hand by the start of the fourth quarter, Coach Parham was able to get a glimpse into his team's future. He emptied the bench, giving some of his younger, lesser used players experience. They did not disappoint, either. Junior Jennifer Sixsmith netted four points, freshman Tyla Parham had three steals, and junior Shannon White contributed a rebound, an assist, and two steals.
"Those kids are actually pretty good," Parham said. "Unfortunately they just have to wait their turn. There are some kids who are older than them that are a little better, but those kids are good. Hopefully they'll have the time to do exactly what these older kids are doing."
One of those younger players was Micki's younger sister, Johanna, who got extended minutes in the second half as well. Johanna scored four points, both on assists from her sister, who seemed to have a knack for where Johanna was going to be.
"I love playing with her," said Micki. "We see each other really well, and we know where the other is cutting, so it makes an open pass very easy."
Who's Next: St. Anthony's will play Nazareth High School (Brooklyn), widely regarded as New York City's top Catholic girls basketball team, in Saturday's semifinals at St. Dominic High School in Oyster Bay. That game tips off at 2:30 p.m.
Box Score
Teams..................1.....2.....3.....4 -- F
St. Peter's............10...10.....6.....7 -- 33
St. Anthony's......20.....9....19...11 -- 59
Scoring
St. Peter's: O'Hare 12-9-21. Kline 6-1-7. Wilkes 2-0-2. Motrechuk 0-2-2. Santiago 0-1-1.
St. Anthony's: M. Impellizeri 8-6-14. Maurer 7-4.11. Musgrove 5-2-7. Kelly 4-2-6. Taylor 3-2-5. Jackson 2-3-5. J. Impellizeri 0-4-4. Sixsmith 0-4-4. Williams 0-3-3.
Rebounds: St. Anthony's 29 (7 O, 22 D), St. Peter's 24 (9 O, 15 D).
St. Anthony's: Kelly 7 (3 O, 4 D), Maurer 5 (1 O, 4 D), Jackson 4 (1 O, 3 D), Taylor 3 (3 D), Musgrove 3 (1 O, 2 D), Williams 2 (2 D), J. Impellizeri 2 (1 O, 1 D), M. Impellizeri (D), White (D), Parham (D).
St. Peter's: O'Hare 5 (2 O, 3 D), Kline 5 (4 O, 1 D), Motrechuk 3 (2 O, 1 D), Burns 3 (3 D), Geisler 2 (2 D), Baro 2 (2 D), Otchet 2 (1 O, 1 D), Wilkes (D), Tasca (D).
Assists: St. Anthony's 21 (Musgrove 5, Taylor 5, Maurer 4, M. Impellizeri 4, Williams 2, J. Impellizeri), St. Peter's 4 (O'Hare 2, Kline 2).
Steals: St. Anthony's 14 (M. Impellizeri 3, Taylor 3, Williams 2, White 2, Parham 2, Musgrove, Sixsmith.), St. Peter's 11 (O'Hare 6, Kline 3, Wilkes, Santiago).
Blocks: St. Anthony's 8 (M. Impellizeri 4, Kelly 4), St. Peter's 2 (Motrechuk 2).
