On March 7, a terrific season for the Tuckahoe girls basketball team came to an end, as the young Tigers met an experienced, formidable Haldane squad for the Class C championship game at the Westchester County Center. The veteran Blue Devils quickly proved why they came into Saturday’s game as the six-time defending Class C champs, earning a decisive 49-22 victory to hoist their seventh-straight Golden Ball.
Bela Monteleone led Haldane with 16 points and four rebounds en route to being named the Class C tournament’s most valuable player, but a number of other Blue Devils stepped up as well, including Monteleone’s sister Liv, who scored 11 points, and Shianne Twoguns, who added nine.
Angelina Mazzuocculo hit three shots from beyond the arc to lead Tuckahoe with nine points. According to Tuckahoe coach Andrew Colasuonno, the Tigers—who have just one senior on the roster—simply couldn’t compete with Haldane’s big-game experience.
“The comfort level of that team really showed,” Colasuonno said. “They played like a team that’s been here before, which they obviously have.”
The Tigers matched the Blue Devils early on but began to struggle from the field midway through the second quarter. Before long, the reigning champs were able to open up a 31-9 lead.
“Our girls did not have their best game, that’s for sure,” Colasuonno said. “That’s not to take anything away from Haldane. They’re a great team and they did a great job.”
Despite the season-ending loss, Colasuonno believes the experience of playing at the County Center was an important one for his team. The Tigers will graduate just one key player in Sabrina Rocco but will otherwise come into next season with a better understanding of what it takes to succeed at Section I’s highest level.
“I think coming into the semifinal game, they didn’t know what to expect, but they rose to the occasion in that game,” he said. “Today they played no-quit basketball, but unfortunately, that inexperience showed.”
With the win, Haldane will move onto the regional semifinals, where they will take on Millbrook on March 11, after press time. The game was originally supposed to take place on Tuesday at Horace Greeley High School, but coronavirus fears prompted the postponement of the March 10 schedule.
