Sports

Baldwin girls basketball standouts prepare for a new season

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For Baldwin High School basketball players Jenna Annechiarico and Aziah Hudson, the summer was another opportunity for them to work on their game, showcase their talents for college coaches and prepare for the upcoming season. The two Lady Bruins, who were members of an All-Long Island team, traveled to Georgia and South Carolina to compete in multiple Amateur Athletic Union basketball tournaments for Team Exodus in July and August.

Team Exodus, an AAU team sponsored by Nike and coached by Baldwin girls’ basketball coach Tom Catapano, went 5-0 in the Tournament of Champions in Atlanta. The squad then traveled to Augusta, S.C., to play in the 15 & Under Nike National Championship, one of 16 teams across the nation that qualified. In pool play they went 2-1, losing to Georgia Elite, the top-ranked AAU team in the country.

“It was definitely harder this year, but we wanted to actually go to the championship game,” Annechiarico said. “We worked hard. We beat teams that thought they were going to run over us, but we didn’t let that happen.”

In the playoff rounds, Team Exodus defeated squads from Texas and the Midwest Elite (Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana) to advance to the national semifinals, in which it narrowly lost to North Tartan (Minnesota), 60-57. Despite coming up short, Annechiarico and Hudson both said they were proud of their tournament play over the summer, as they drew the attention of Division I college coaches.

“It was good exposure for us, because they were all great teams,” Hudson said. “We just had to play really hard and put ourselves out there for college coaches to see us. It was a good experience.”

Following the tournaments, they spent the rest of their summer in the gym and the weight room, accompanied by some of their teammates, preparing for the upcoming high school season. Baldwin’s athletic director, Eduardo Ramirez, has seen the two girls training throughout the summer, and said he respects them for the amount of time they spend in the gym.

“They sacrifice two and a half hours every day just on strength and conditioning,” Ramirez said. “They’re focused, they’re Division I prospects and they have that mentality and that work ethic, and that’s why they’re going to go far. The program as a whole — their work ethic is incredible.”

Annechiarico, who plays point guard, leads her team on defense and excels in assisting her teammates to score baskets. This season, she said, she wants to drive more fear into her competition and become more of an offensive threat on the court.

“My goal this year is to actually be a little more selfish with the ball, because I’m usually passing it a lot,” Annechiarico said. “I need to score more for our team to win.”

Hudson is a shooting guard/small forward whose strength is “attacking the gaps” on offense to score. She hopes to help her team by expanding her shooting range and taking more perimeter jump shots. “Lately I’ve been working on my shot, specifically my three-point shot, and being shot-ready,” Hudson said. “Mostly, I’ve worked on my first step, going straight to the basket and being explosive.”

Annechiarico and Hudson have played basketball since third grade, have played for Baldwin’s varsity team since seventh grade and grew up playing for Catapano. The chemistry among them has contributed to their growth as young women and athletes.

“I look at him as my second dad,” Annechiarico said of Catapano. “He’s always there for me, both on and off the court. We’re family.”

Hudson, who was the top scorer for Baldwin last season, said that the coach’s tutelage has motivated her to give it her all in every game. “I always play hard for him because he’s been there since day one,” she said. “He’s taught me everything, so I basically try to give back what he gives me. I just play hard for him and do what I have to do, and that’s how we’ve created a good connection.”

Coach Catapano said the two were always gifted athletes, and he appreciates the sacrifices they have made through the years to become Division I prospects. “People don’t realize how much time these two ladies put in,” he said. “They’re always grinding in the gym. The first thing college coaches comment on about these two is their toughness. They’re built with a refuse-to-lose mentality.”

Ramirez said that Catapano has always expected the best out of them, along with their teammates, and holds them to the highest standards. “He tells them upfront that he searches for the best things,” Ramirez said. “He’s not worried about the wins and losses. It’s about the year-end results and their individual improvement over the course of the year.”

The girls’ varsity team has won six of the last seven county championships, and players have their sights set on competing upstate in the playoffs and winning the state title. Last season they were ranked among the top 10 teams in the state, so they hope to carry that level of excellence into the upcoming season.

“Anything short of getting to states is a failure for them, because they’ve set the bar so high over the last half a decade and the girls buy into that,” Ramirez said. “They have the same standard, the same goals, and if they don’t end up at states, it’s not a good season. That’s the mentality they’ve had.”