Baldwin ready for playoff journey

The Baldwin girls’ basketball team, the defending state champions and winners of 18 straight games, enter the Nassau Class AA playoffs as overwhelming favorites to win their fifth consecutive county championship. 

The Lady Bruins ripped through Nassau Conference AA-II with a 12-0 record, winning games by an average margin of 40 points despite typically playing their starters for no more than two quarters. Baldwin hasn’t lost to a Nassau foe since the 2012-13 season.

The top-seeded Lady Bruins will get their playoff journey underway on Tuesday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. when they host the winner of the first-round game between No. 9 Oceanside and No. 8 Calhoun this Friday.

“As a team, we’re in a real good place,” Baldwin head coach Tom Catapano said. “The girls bought into their roles and understand the importance of working as one as opposed to playing as individuals. This is a completely selfless group. They enjoy seeing each other experience success.”

Evidence of the team’s unselfish approach is easily found by looking at the scoresheet. While Baldwin does have two players who have reached 1,000 career points in seniors Aziah Hudson and Jenna Annecchiarico, the number one and two scorers in school history, respectively, you won’t find any Lady Bruins among the top 15 scorers in the county, this season.

Hudson, who will play college ball at Old Dominion, is averaging 15.9 points per contest. She scored a season-high 23 points when Baldwin knocked off St. Frances Academy, the defending Maryland state champion, 62-46 back in January.

Annecchiarico, who has committed to play at East Michigan, joined her teammate in the 1,000-point club during a recent win over Westbury. She and Hudson each scored 20 points in a 54-47 victory when the Lady Bruins met St. Laurent (Manitoba, Canada.)

In addition to playing powers from Maryland and Canada, Catapano got his team battle-tested by scheduling games with Staten Island Academy, Monsignor Scanlan, and Mary Louis Academy (New York), and St. John’s (Washington DC.) St. John’s is currently the second-ranked team in the country.

Like Hudson and Annecchiarico, senior Donnetta Johnson, who will take her game to the University of Georgia, has played well against some of the country’s best. Johnson, who is averaging just under 10 points per game, scored a team-high 17 when the Lady Bruins beat Monsignor Scanlan 64-50.

Senior Destiny Samuel, who consistently tallies double-figures in the rebounding column, and junior Kaia Harrison both played significant roles in the team’s win over St. Frances Academy. Harrison had 11 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in the game, while Samuel scored 10 points and pulled down 10 rebounds.

Catapano has used more than a tough non-league schedule to ready his team. “We try to make practices harder than the games,” Catapano said. “We go hard for three hours every day. We’ve been able to get everyone a lot of playing during the league games and used the non-league schedule to gear up for the playoffs. We’re battle-tested. Hopefully, we’ll be playing deep into March.”