Catholic Youth Ministry recently held its championship games for varsity girls basketball in four divisions on Feb. 27 at the St. E Center. Basketball is the agency’s largest sport in terms of number of participants. All information was submitted by the CYM office.
O Division
The championship game was a well-played game by both teams. St. Anthony’s defeated the Mustangs from St. Ann’s, 38-11. These teams knew each other well after two tough battles in the regular season.
Aggressive defense was the key to their win. The Tigers were able to turn steals into fast break baskets.
St Anthony’s counted on each player contributing. The guards, Maleeah Stevens (23 points) and Mia Curtis (15) were a strong offense combo, while Aubrey Messina, Riley Mercante and Angelina Wise were strong on defense and on the boards. St Ann’s leading scorer was Fenner Songle, who hit two three-point baskets.
Y2 Division
The Y2 Division title game was a one-point nail-biter between St. Ann’s and St. John the Beloved, with the Mustangs eking out the 24-23 win.
Both teams entered the final regular-season matchup with identical 5-4 records. Little did they know that it would be a preview of the championship game a few weeks later. In the season ending tune-up, St. John’s defeated the Mustangs, earning the No. 1 seed for the Y2 playoffs.
The championship game was a back-and-forth affair, with the teams separated by a few points for the majority of the game. At the end of the third quarter, it was 15-14 in favor of St. Ann’s. In the fourth quarter, the Eagles turned up their level of play and went up by seven points. But the Mustangs were not done. They dug down deep and began their comeback.
In an unbelievable two and a half minutes of basketball, the Mustangs regained multiple possessions, made a basket, sunk a beautiful three-pointer and, after three consecutive offensive rebounds with 18 seconds left in the fourth, sunk the game winning layup. Madiella Keefer led the Eagles with 12 points, and Charlotte McDerby led the Mustangs with 9 points.
Y1 Division
The most thrilling game of the four took place in the Y1 Division, which needed two extra periods to determine a victor. In the opening game of the four, Immaculate Heart of Mary and Mount Aviat met for the Y1 crown. The Spartans squeezed out a 28-27 triumph.
The game was a roller coaster, with MAA leading by three at half and by nine and the end of three quarters. IHM fought back and actually had a six-point lead with less than a minute to play.
Mount Aviat’s Riley Bransfield sank two three-point baskets in the last minute, with one at the buzzer, to force overtime. That was not enough, so the teams went to a second overtime period to decide the championship. Lillie Guzevich was the leading scorer for IHM.
C Division
Ursuline and St. John the Beloved met for the CYM diocesan championship. Both teams came into the game with evenly matched 8-2 regular season records. A tenacious defense and prolific offense proved to be the difference in an 58-23 Ursuline victory.
Taylor Brown led the way offensively for the Raiders with 21 points and five assists, while Jezelle Banks, Kaity Rzucidlo and Mia Terzaghi contributed 14, 9 and 6 points, respectively. Ursuline had 25 steals.
The leading scorers for the Eagles were Lily DiMarco (8), Olivia Markey (7) and Sophia Baffone (4).
