Alexander Hamilton Girls Basketball Capture Section 1 Class C Championship
Saturday was a very sweet day for the members of the Alexander Hamilton Red Raiders Girls Basketball Team. For the second straight season they captured “The Golden Ball,” for winning the Section 1 Class C Girls Basketball Championship 50-40 over Haldane.
The Red Raiders victory on Saturday had so much meaning with so many different angles. Several weeks ago with about five regular season games left the Red Raiders lost their top player senior Maia Hood who tore her anterior cruciate ligament. This injury ended Hood’s season.
Hood is without a doubt one of the most fierce basketball players in Section 1. She isn’t the type of player you can replace and her decorated high school basketball career ended in a Stephen King nightmare fashion. Her team was there to pick Hood up when things were hard for her.
When the Red Raiders took the floor in the semifinals of the Section 1 Class C Championship earlier in the week all of the members of the Red Raiders girls basketball team along with fans had on specially designed t-shirts to honor Hood.
The front of the t-shirt had a picture of Hood in her #2 Red Raiders jersey and the shirt had a message on the front and back of the shirt which dedicated the team’s play this week to Hood. It was a way for her friends and teammates to show how much she is loved and appreciated. This kind act by the Red Raiders touched Hood and her family.
Not only did the Red Raiders have a special shirt for Hood but they also showed that they had a lot of game. The final game versus Haldane was very physical and the outcome of the game was up for grabs until the fourth quarter.
During the first quarter of play there were numerous fouls and turnovers by both teams. At one point in the first quarter it looked like the Red Raiders were going to be in a significant amount of trouble when their two top scorers behind Hood, seniors Tiffany Corselli and Jasmine Robinson each had two fouls apiece.
Robinson was the spark that started the Red Raiders offense on Saturday afternoon. In fact she scored the team’s first seven points. In the closing seconds of the first quarter the point guard Corselli dribbled up, scored and fired a long range 3-pointer just before the final buzzer sounded and her shot rattled through the cylinder to tie Haldane 10-10 after one quarter of play.
Both teams struggled with their offense in the second quarter and Haldane clung to a 17-16 lead when both teams headed to the locker room at halftime.
Early in the third quarter the two teams traded baskets and took brief turns holding the lead in the game. With the Red Raiders down 24-25 late in third quarter Robinson’s and Corselli’s basketball skills took over the game.
First Robinson scored on an old fashioned 3-point play. On the Red Raiders’ next possession Corselli sent a 3-point bomb through the cylinder to give her team a 30-25 lead. Haldane tried to bring the ball up the court quickly but Robinson had another idea and she stole the ball and drove the basket for a layup.
Robinson’s talented defensive play gave the Red Raiders a seven-point lead. Junior guard Nicole Velasco provided great hustle on defense and sophomore Mikayla Brown pulled down a fair number of rebounds for the Red Raiders throughout the game.
What took place in the next few minutes was nothing short of magical. Corselli hit a 3-pointer in the corner and was fouled in the process. Even though she missed the free throw it was a very impressive shot she made. On the Red Raiders’ next possession Corselli hit a soft turnaround jump shot to make it a 37-27 game. In the closing seconds of the third quarter Corselli hit her second buzzer beater shot when she hit a 3-pointer to make it a 40-29 game with just one quarter to play.
Haldane looked like they were going to make a big run at the beginning of the fourth quarter. They made three straight hoops to cut the Red Raiders’ advantage to five points (40-35). What came next was the turning point of the game.
With Haldane making a run and threatening to take control of the game Corselli received a pass and drove to the basket and got fouled. She converted the two free throws with 6:15 remaining in the game. From this moment on the Red Raiders scored six straight points and Haldane’s hopes of winning the golden ball were over.
After the game the celebration was vivacious. Alexander Hamilton’s head coach Benjamin Carter mentioned that the key to his team staying strong after the injury to Hood was he coached “team basketball.”
Corselli and Robinson combined to score 50 points in the game. Corselli scored 29 and Robinson had 21. Robinson was named to the Section 1 Class C Girls All-Tournament team and Corselli was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
The other members of the Red Raiders’ winning team are Neasha Shuler, Alana Watt, Maiya Scott, Nelvine Petitfort, and Kali Gill.
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