The season may not have ended the way they had hoped, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a Tuckahoe player or coach who wasn’t absolutely thrilled with the way the year turned out.
On Thursday, March 14, the Tigers’ season came to an end as the Section 1 champions fell 54-42 to Moravia in the New York State Class C semifinals in Troy.
After playing 16 minutes of some of their best basketball of the year, Tuckahoe headed into halftime holding on to a five-point lead over the Blue Devils. But the second half told a different story entirely, as a comeback led by Caroline Wasileski’s 18 point, 10 rebound performance paved the way for a Moravia win.
Tuckahoe head coach Silvio DiSalvatore said that the breakneck pace that has been the Tigers’ calling card this year simply wasn’t sustainable against a skilled, gritty Moravia team, leading to the Blue Devils’ second half surge.
“We played great for 16 minutes, but Moravia did a great job, they kept up the energy the entire game which isn’t something we have been used to teams doing,” said DiSalvatore. “They were physical, aggressive, well coach, and I think they wore us down by the end of the game.”
Eighth-grader Julianna Manginelli led Tuckahoe with 11 points and is one of several underclassmen who were key contributors for the Tigers this year, something DiSalvatore said bodes well for the future.
“When you look at what this group was able to accomplish this year, with so many eighth graders and freshmen, I’m so proud of what they did and it really raises the bar for next year,” he said. “The girls know what they need to do to get back there and we know, as coaches, what we need to do to get to this next level.
In the end, DiSalvatore believes that the loss to Moravia has a chance to be a teachable moment for his young team, something that they call back to next year when they are gearing up to defend their Section 1 crown.
“From my position, the sky is the limit for us,” said the head coach. “I think this loss might be the best thing to happen to us as a program, we told the girls at the end of the game that this isn’t the end of something, it’s only the beginning.”
Contact: sports@hometwn.com
