Several St. Joseph’s Celtics CYO basketball teams advanced to the league finals this weekend.
It was do-or-die for the eighth-grade varsity girls team, as it went up against St. Aloysius, a formidable team it went 1-1 against during back-to-back games three weeks ago.
Starting with Sofia Peterson’s smooth layup minutes into the game, St. Joseph’s took an early 15-0 lead and stayed on top the entire game, even as the score got closer and as the already-high intensity ramped up in the final minutes of the game. St. Joseph’s won, 53-49. Highlights included Peterson’s dominance on offense and defense, Violet Kessler playing like Magic Johnson and displaying her trademark grit, Ava Hersh’s momentum-changing three-pointer at the end of the third quarter, Summer Connell’s toughness on the boards, Cassie Maguire’s outside shooting and tenacious defense and Mary Kola’s reliably strong scoring, leading the team with 14 points.
The two-time championship-winning eight-grade team faces St. Thomas in the finals on Sunday, March 10.
The sixth-grade boys beat Good Shepherd Academy on Saturday, March 2, by a score of 46-32.
Top scorers included Evan Fitzhugh with 16 points, James Waller with 10 and Clay Irving with 16. Teddy Chamberlin drained a key 3 and made a foul shot to get 4 points. Luke Macwhannell had three critical steals, while Rocco Edmondson, Xavier Connell and James Saporito played very strong defense. Saporito was especially impressive throughout the game against two big men.
On Sunday, March 3, that same team beat St. Thomas, 56-53, to play in the finals. JJ Sterling, Chamberlin and Peter Stein played fantastic defense, each coming up with multiple steals and rebounds. High scorers were Fitzhugh with 24, Waller with 19, Irving with 8 and Connell with 5.
The sixth-grade boys will play in the finals on Saturday, March 9.
The St. Joseph Celtics 10th-grade boys advanced to the championship game with a 70-35 win over St. Helen’s. Hitting five threes in the first quarter, the Celtics took control early and never let go. Aidan Williams got the scoring going early and finished with 15 points. Lucas Angel dominated the second-half scoring column and finished with a game-high 22 points. Harry Laskowski and Robert Santoro led the Celtics in assists, Charlie Knutsen and Colin Brandt led the team in rebounds and Nick Giannone and Evan Straub led the way on defense.
The Celtics will face Holy Trinity in the championship game on Sunday, March 10.
Going into the playoffs, St. Joseph’s junior varsity girls faced a determined St. Cassian in the first round. St. Cassian held a slight lead at the half, though St. Joseph’s stayed in it with tremendous ball-handling from point guard Jane Kessler and post Olivia Ogunsanya fighting for every rebound.
Despite St Joseph’s putting on a tenacious man-to-man defense, a couple of fast-breaks made all the difference, and St. Cassian walked away with a 16-10 win, although St. Joseph’s Grace Pachal had the satisfaction of nailing one last layup to close the game and the season.
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