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Light Rain Kennedy surges past Calhoun
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Calhoun's Dana Silvester drives against Kennedy's Carly Thea in Monday's Conference AA-II game won by the playoff-bound Lady Cougars, 46-45.
Jeff Wilson/Herald
It was fitting that Kennedy's 46-45 come-from-behind Conference AA-II girls’ basketball victory over district-rival Calhoun on Monday night ended with Allie Keller breaking up a full-court inbounds pass on the final play.
The junior's defense and all-around effort were crucial for a Lady Cougars team that found itself in early foul trouble and then had to fight back from a seven-point deficit in the second half.
Keller finished with five points, nine rebounds and four steals and followed up a pair of late baskets by senior Taylor Kruter and junior Morgan Kitton with a free throw as Kennedy (11-6 overall, 9-3 in Conference AA-II) scored six of the game's final eight points.
Junior Carly Thea paced the offense with 12 points, while senior Stefany Roney. Kitton had nine points and eight rebounds, and Kruter scored five of her seven points in the final 5:30.
"Everyone got in foul trouble in the first half and she held us down," Lady Cougars coach Debbie Cipolla-Menafo said.
Kennedy earned its second consecutive playoff berth and as the No. 9 seed opens up the Nassau Class AA tournament Friday at eight-seeded Great Neck South. The Lady Colts (6-11 overall, 5-7 in Conference AA-II), meanwhile, needed a win and Freeport loss in the regular-season finale to make the postseason and didn't get either.
"I've never been around a group that shows their emotions like they do," Calhoun coach Dave Radtke proudly said of his team, which followed its gameplan perfectly in the first half and had the Lady Cougars on the ropes. "We wanted to get inside and get them in early foul trouble."
Sophomore Jessica Ruggiero (15 points, eight rebounds) and junior Meghan O'Sullivan (11 points, seven rebounds, four blocks, four assists) were the central figures in the low post on both ends of the floor. They combined to score six of the Lady Colts' first nine points in the third quarter, helping open a 29-22 lead. Sophomore Danielle Losee drained a three-pointer and added a pair of free throws in the middle of Calhoun's 13-4 scoring run to open the second half.
"It's important that they get in close games like this and show that they can do it," Radtke said.
Kennedy handed Great Neck South its only Conference AA-II loss of the season on Jan. 30, winning a 49-40 home decision on the strength of a balanced scoring attack that placed seven players in the scoring column but none with more than Thea's 11.
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