MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The St. Joseph’s Celtics basketball teams had a stellar weekend with several wins in the CYO league. With a month away from playoffs, the Celtics clocked win after win, sometimes turning the tables on teams that had beaten them before.
The rematch to watch was Saturday’s game between the Junior Varsity girls – which includes fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders – and the St. Cassian Cougars, which bested the Celtics in a close game just one week ago. But St. Joe’s came out strong and kept their intensity throughout, beating St. Cassian, 13-11, with clutch baskets from point guard Jane Kessler and forward Grace Pachal. The Celtics also overpowered the Cougars on defense, thanks to Sydney Francois putting up a wall under the basket and Keegan Donahue’s ability to steal the ball at key moments.
Next up for the team is a doubleheader on Super Bowl weekend with games versus St. Thomas and the always dangerous St. Aloysius — truly the team to beat in the Liberty league.
In a display of grit, heart, class and tenacity Saturday night, the eighth-grade girls lost, 44-43, to St. Catherine–Fiore in a nailbiter after the Celtics battled back from a 12-point deficit. Cassie Maguire had an incredible game with multiple clutch baskets, ultimately leading the team with 14 points. Mary Kola was not far behind with 12 points.
It was a different outcome on Sunday night when the Celtics brought home the ‘W’ against Good Shepherd Academy with a score of 35-24. Mary Kola was the leading scorer with 14 points, followed by Summer Connell and Cassie Maguire with 6 points each. Violet Kessler had 5 points, including a 3-point Hail Mary to end the first quarter at the buzzer. In related news, the team will continue to say the Hail Mary as its pre-game prayer.
The next home game for the eighth-grade girls team will be played against St. Catherine–Fiore at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 4. The team would love to pack the house for this important game.
Also on Sunday night, the eighth-grade boys put on a commanding performance at Good Shepherd Academy, earning a 46-20 win. The boys took the lead early on as Murphy Walsman lit up the gym with layup after layup for 10 points, and Remy Baptiste added to the lightshow with 9 points, including a 3-pointer. Andrew Terry had four assists and four rebounds.
The St. Joseph’s Celtics sixth-grade boys had a big win over Good Shepherd Academy in Nutley on Sunday, 51-34. Evan Fitzhugh poured in 27 points and added five assists, five rebounds and four steals, while James Waller scored 16 points, along with eight rebounds, four steals and four assists. James Saporito led the Celtics in rebounding with eight and added 2 points. Teddy Chamberlin scored 4 and had three steals and two assists, while Rocco Edmondson rounded out the scoring with 2 points.
The Celtics fifth-grade boys played great team basketball this weekend, splitting their two games, losing a tough match to St. Cassian and winning a close one against Lacordaire Academy. Jamese Meade had an incredible run in both, leading scoring for the Celtics with 19 points versus St. Cassian and 15 points against Lacordaire. The team showed a lot of character coming back to win against Lacordaire, starting the game down, 13-0, and ending the first half down, 21-7. Solid defense from all players and six steals from Declan Monagle held Lacordaire to only 8 points in the second half and helped the team earn a 31-29 victory.
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