Horne Trumpets Two Milestones; 1,000 Points, Rebounds
When senior Brittany Horne showed up at Carmel High as a gangly eighth-grader some five years ago, Coach Dan O’Hare knew instantly that he had what most coaches refer to as “a blue chipper”, someone to build his program around. So where better than the Ronnie Weaver Carmel Friendship Tournament for Mr. Brittany to square up on her favorite spot on the low blocks – against arch-rival Mahopac – to score the 1,000th point of her stately career.
Horne hit the milestone on a night when this human double-double would drop 20 points, 11 rebounds, seven steals and five blocks in a 53-24 rout of Mahopac before an adoring crowd that took time out to give the 6’1” Georgetown-bound center a standing ovation five years in the making.
The appreciative and ever-humble Horne took it all in last Tuesday night and then went out and dropped 23 points and 14 boards the next night, whereby one of those 14 caroms snared was the 1,000th career rebound in a 60-44 championship win over New Rochelle.
“It felt great to get a standing ovation, and to have most of them be friends and family was definitely a plus,” said Horne, who came to Carmel from Yonkers nine years ago and sat our her sophomore year due to injury. “Doing it at home, in our own tournament, against Mahopac, was very special. We have never lost to Mahopac in my varsity career and it felt great beating them as well as getting my 1,000 point against them.”
It’s stuff like this that puts Horne in a class with other former Carmel greats, maybe even a class by herself should she guide the state-ranked (No.18), undefeated Rams (6-0) to a Class AA championship appearance at the Westchester County Center after securing the league crown in early Feb.
“This was a special moment for Brittany, her family, and Carmel to enjoy,” O’Hare said.
Just getting to the Final 4 for a second consecutive season won’t do in the winter of 2011 after the Rams were defeated in the 2010 semifinals by eventual champion Mount Vernon, 59-49. Yeah, 2010 ended on a high note for Horne and the Rams, but 2011 has some serious potential.
O’Hare’s Rams have, yet again, set their site on the Westchester County Center where they hope to compete for the gold ball this March, what would be the first in school history, and the final feather in Horne’s headdress.
“She is such a hard worker and a great teammate,” junior guard Sabrina Diaz said of Horne, who stars on the AAU circuit for the prestigious NY Pride. “Even missing a year from injury did not stop her from accomplishing this milestone. I’ve only played with Brittany for the last two years, but during those two years she has inspired not only me but our whole team to work hard and accomplish our goals.”
Horne admitted that she’d trade in her personal goal of reaching the aforementioned milestones for a sectional crown or crack at one.
Around the Section:
Brewster’s Mike Parise (25-0) works opposing grapplers with the precision of a surgeon, or a serial killer for that matter. The junior 103-pounder will likely secure the 100th win of his career Tuesday against Carmel, joining 119-pounder Jimmy Duncan (18-2) as the only two juniors in Brewster history to hit the century mark. The dynamic duo, which is a combined 42-2 this season, each walked away from the Somers tournament with titles last Thursday.
Duncan (116-36 career) is potentially a couple of weeks away from etching his name into the Brewster record books. Since bursting on to the scene as an eighth-grader along with classmates Parise, Kyle McAlpin and Harry Erickson, Duncan has eyeballed the 128 wins put up by former Bear Chris Gogatz (128-39).
You have to love the job Coach Tom Looby is doing with da Bears, and if his “bigs” (152-and-up) can get it done in a tournament setting the Bears could be chasing a Top 5 spot in sectionals and possibly Top 3 next year, provided the rivers don’t rise. Mahopac is still the top dawg in Putnam County this year, maybe even Section 1 (we’ll see how that plays out), but the Bears are chasing down the Indians.
“They are a very dedicated and hard working group,” Coach Looby said of his four juniors. “I call them the Fantastic 4. They continue to impress me and the best thing about this group is that they all have another year to go.”…
So my embedded mole “Sackman” over in Put Valley was apparently dead on when he said back on opening night that the 2010-11 Peekskill High Red Devils were a far cry from the Red Devil basketball program that had racked up five consecutive Section 1 championships from 2005-09. NYS Hall of Fame Coach Lou Panzanaro’s Red Devils are 3-4, which is unheard of in the River City, which means that Conference I – League 2 title could be up for grabs if a club like upstart Walter Panas, rebuilding Lakeland or tough and disciplined Croton wants it because the helter-skelter Red Devils are in a bit of trouble. Still, Peekskill is Peekskill and I suspect they will likely find a way to get ‘er done, but it does make for a fun title chase if Peekskill can be had, not to mention Class A overall. State-ranked (No.16) Kennedy Catholic, with six players hailing from Yorktown, are a safe bet to reach the finals…
And speaking of league titles, I don’t know what to make of the Conference I- League 1 boys title chase. Class AA State-ranked (No.22) Mahopac (5-1) may be the most athletic of the bunch with Ryan Wagner and T.J. Foley leading the charge. Yorktown (4-3), fresh off a Budries tourney title, is unquestionably the most skilled with interchangeable swingmen in Jordan Moody and Donta Dixon. Brewster (3-2) is the reigning champion, certainly worthy of an encore performance and a coach with more than three decades behind the bench in Coach Martino.
“We’re on to the league schedule next and it gets pretty tough,” Mahopac Coach Kevin Downes said. “I still think Yorktown and Brewster are at the head of the class, but it’s all pretty equal.”
Not sure what to make of Carmel (6-1), though, seeing how I don’t see much by way of quality W’s, and they sweat out a one-point win over North Salem. The Rams will push the ball with good guard play coming from Mikey Loughran and Aaron Smith, and they have enough athleticism to hang with most teams. I’ll be a true believer, though, when I see a go-to guy emerge.
“We are really excited to be 6-1,” Rams boss George Coates said. “We are still striving to be a consistent team. We feel we are prepared and anxiously awaiting league play. Our goal is to compete for the league title. Like last season, the league is shaping up to be wide open with many games ending with exciting finishes.”
Slice it, dice it, put in the cooker and crank the heat, my friends. It’s about to get awful hot in local gymnasiums.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.