Bobcat Corelli Breaks 1,000 Career Points; Panas Still Surging

by  Tony Pinciaro

Grace Corelli’s teammates could not contain their enthusiasm when it came to alerting their senior captain of her impending milestone.

“At the beginning of the season I was aware that I was closing in on 1,000 points,” Corelli said. “The game before senior night, I was unaware how many points away I was, but right after the game, my teammates informed me that I was two points away.”

The crowd at BYRAM HILLS was brimming with excitement on Senior Night, to celebrate the seniors, especially Corelli.

The five-year varsity player did not make her family and friends wait long. Corelli swished a step-back 18-footer from the right wing to reach 1,000 varsity points, and the Examiner has the photos to prove it.

Corelli is the second family member in the club as she witnessed older sister, Beth, hit 1,000 points two years ago. Beth is currently a sophomore attending Johns Hopkins University and also playing basketball.

Corelli rang up a game-high 24 points, including four 3-pointers, in a win over Fox Lane. Sarah Gretch added 12 points and fellow senior Alana Vataj had nine points and 10 rebounds.

“We were running one of our plays to get an elevator screen at the top of the key,” Corelli explained. “I saw that nobody was in help, so I decided to drive, but when I saw she cut me off, I stepped back for the jump shot.

“It has always been a goal of mine, and I’m very blessed and happy to have achieved it, particularly in joining my sister Beth, who achieved this same milestone a couple of years ago.

“It was very exciting to hit 1,000 on senior night and it made it particularly special because so many people contributed to my ability to achieve this. I am very grateful for the support of all my family and friends and especially for all the coaches and teammates who helped me along the way.”

Even though Beth was unable to attend the game, she immediately congratulated her sister and welcomed her to the club.

“Beth saw the replay of my 1,000th point and said she was very proud of me,” Corelli said. “I have always admired my sister and her work ethic, and I was incredibly proud of her when she got her 1,000th.

“Playing 1 v. 1 with her in the driveway, playing with her in AAU and also in high school my whole life shaped me into the player I am today. I am incredibly happy that we were both able to achieve this accomplishment together.”

Byram Hills’ Coach Tara Ryan knew she had a special player so she promoted then eighth-grader Grace Corelli to varsity.

“Grace has had an unbelievable career, thus far,” Ryan said. “She started on the team as an 8th grader, who was subbing into the games with her big sister, Beth, to a multi-year starter.

“With such a big change to our lineup from last year, Grace had to step into a new leadership role this year. Grace has found her groove with her 3-point shot, with over 35 3-pointers this season, and she can find her way to the basket. Her teammates give her the ball and set her up nicely to carry the team. We are so proud of her and this milestone.”

The milestone followed a season-high 35-point performance, including five triples, for Corelli against Eastchester. Vataj had an excellent game with eight points and double-digit rebounds.

The Bobcats have been playing good team basketball and Corelli has witnessed the daily progress.

“We have started to play as a team and have been executing our plays better,” said Corelli, who has committed to attend the University of Rochester and also play basketball. “Along with this, we have been taking care of the ball, rebounding and our focus on defense has helped us win our past few games.”

The Bobcats concluded the week with a loss to Brewster as Corelli scored 17 points.

CROTON swept three games, all by double digits, in four days and is now 10-4 this season.

The Tigers handled Haldane, 42-26, behind 13 points from Ava Andrews and Erin Baumiester added 10 points, seven rebounds and four steals.

Lucia Thorsen led the way in a 47-37 win over Blind Brook with a game-high 17 points and six steals. Andrews contributed 12 points and Baumiester had seven points, a game-best 12 rebounds and six blocked shots.

Croton went 3 for 3 with a 56-40 triumph over Dobbs Ferry as Baumeister scored 19 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and had four assists. Andrews added 17 points.

SOMERS had a strong defensive showing, especially Julia Schmidberger, in a 44-42 win at Nanuet. Schmidberger was tasked with guarding Nanuet’s excellent center, Julianna Simone.

“Julia did an awesome job limiting Julianna Simone from getting any offensive rebounds,” Somers’ Coach Kevin Mallon said. “Julia also took a charge, in transition, on Simone which was a big momentum boost for us! Kacey McCullough also played awesome defense in the post.”

Lindsay McCullough and Ashley Kuchinsky scored 13 points apiece.

Somers, 8-7, this season, is at Sleepy Hollow, Friday.

CARMEL turned in its best week of the season with three wins – over Saunders (47-22), Roosevelt (60-49) and Keio (55-31).

Kylie Murphy scored 11 of her game-high 21 points in the first quarter. She also had five 3-pointers. Senior Gianna Herrera added a career-best 12 points and also had six rebounds.

The Rams won on Senior Night against Roosevelt, erupting for 24 points in the first quarter.

Murphy rang up a career-high 31 points, including six triples, and six steals. Freshman Faith Keropian added 15 points and senior Iyanna Mateo snared 13 rebounds. Fellow seniors Herrera and Erin Purr had seven and six rebounds, respectively.

Murphy had eight 3-pointers among her 30 points against Keio.

Senior Ashley Webber had career-highs in points, 12, and rebounds, 13. Herrera added 12 rebounds.

“On the road, we came out with pressure defense and great shooting,” said Carmel Coach John Sullivan of the Saunders’ game. “It was a tremendous team effort. And it was a tremendous team effort against Roosevelt, with all seven seniors contributing.”

After a loss to archrival Westlake earlier this season, VALHALLA was looking forward to the rematch.

The Vikings received that opportunity, hosting the Wildcats in a packed gymnasium, and the home team sent the fans home happy in a 66-42 victory.

“It was a fun night for our players,” Valhalla Coach Dave Berry said. “Friday night, being the home team in a rivalry game. We had a great crowd and the crowd and the team really brought high energy. It was a nice moment for our four seniors.”

Sanai Wilson led Valhalla with 13 points and Giulia Rutigliano added 12 points.

“The team played excellent defense all four quarters and really pushed the ball in transition to keep Westlake from getting set and comfortable on defense,” Berry said.

OSSINING used a huge fourth-quarter surge and balanced scoring to overcome North Rockland, 71-63, for its fourth win in its last five games.

The Pride outscored the Red Raiders, 30-14 in the fourth quarter.

“Our shots started falling and when they were forced to foul us we made our free throws,” Ossining Coach Dan Ricci said. “Sophia (Torrieri) had 11 of her 16 points in the fourth quarter, including seven of nine from the foul line. Ty’asia (Carver) and Saniya (Bell) both hit big shots in the fourth quarter, as well.”

Bell, Carver and Torrieri each had 16 points and Zoey Jowers scored 13 points. Bell, who is averaging a double-double this season – 16 points and 10 rebounds per game – collected 15 rebounds. Nicole Perriott added 14 boards and Carver registered seven assists.

“When Sophia is on the court with Ty’asia, it gives us two confident ball handlers, which has been the key in our recent wins over Horace Greeley and North Rockland.”

The Pride has a busy week with league games against White Plains (Wednesday) and Fox Lane (Friday), and a non-league matchup at Irvington (Saturday).

The Irvington game features two of Section 1’s winningest coaches in Irvington’s Gina Maher and Ricci. The duo has combined for more than 1,300 wins.

PANAS had another perfect week with convincing wins over Class AAA schools Arlington (68-40) and Scarsdale (58-38), and a league win over Hen Hud (64-54).

The 2023 Section 1 and New York State Class A champions are 14-2 this season.

Even though Panas’ offense was clicking, the team was psyched with its defense against Arlington and Scarsdale.

“Our main key on defense was to be relentless,” junior G Cadence Nicholas said. “We trust each other, knowing if one gambles on the pass that there will be someone to help off of that.When we all work together teams struggle to score on us.”

Nicholas netted a game-high 25 points against Arlington and Katie Hofmann and Sofia Tavarez finished with 17 and 12 points, respectively.

Nicholas increased her point-total to 29 against Scarsdale and Tavarez added 12 points.

In a matchup of three of Section 1’s marquee juniors, Nicholas and Tavarez, and Hen Hud’s Kaitlyn Raguso, Nicholas went for 31 points. Hofmann chipped in 14 points.

Raguso led Hen Hud with 26 points.

PUTNAM VALLEY went 2-0 for the week, beating Valhalla, 49-42, and Hen Hud, 50-47.

Nai Torres scored a game-high 28 points against Valhalla. Jona Kabashi registered a double-double – 22 points and  10 rebounds against Hen Hud.

LAKELAND split two games, opening with a 48-40 win over Brewster, but dropping a 66-57 verdict to Suffern. Nichole Ljuljic and Ava Lugo scored 16 and 14 points, respectively, against Brewster. Ljuljic poured in a game-high 26 points against Suffern. Lugo contributed 15 points and Amanda Franco scored 11 points.

BREWSTER dropped a 48-40 game to Lakeland to begin the week. Following the loss the Bears were forced to rebound quickly and bring their ‘A’ game defensively because they were playing Byram Hills and its outstanding player, Grace Corelli.

Brewster came back with a 52-41 win and limited Corelli to just 17 points.

“Lakeland did a great job, defensively, in the first half causing turnovers and dominating the boards,” Brewster Coach Mike Castaldo said. “They were able to get us in foul trouble and it was difficult to get in an offensive flow with our starters out. The girls showed great character and cut the lead to six, but Lakeland took care of the ball and made free throws late.”

Lauren Leon led Brewster with 15 points.

Leon paced Brewster against Byram Hills with a game-high 18 points in what Castaldo called her best game of the season.

Castaldo cited the play of Jordan Niles and Bri Franklin for their play down low and both had double-digit rebounding numbers.

“I’m really proud of the team,” Castaldo said. “This was a great win for us.”

YORKTOWN won its lone game of the week – 41-38 over Nanuet – behind a second consecutive double-double from Kaitlyn Judge. Judge scored 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. In Yorktown’s previous game, against Pelham, Judge had 21 points and 19 rebounds.

HALDANE turned up the defensive intensity in the fourth quarter of its 56-48 win over Peekskill. The Blue Devils held Peekskill to five points in the final stanza. Camilla McDaniel scored a career-high 25 points for Haldane. Kayla Ruggiero added 16 points and Marisa Peters had nine points.

HEN HUD lost two consecutive games for the first time this season – Putnam Valley (50-47) and Panas (64-54).

Kaitlyn Raguso scored 19 points and collected 13 rebounds against Putnam Valley. Elyse Smith added 10 points, Hailey Pearson registered 12 rebounds and Alexa Robinson had five assists and five steals. Hen Hud trailed Panas by two points, 40-38, entering the fourth quarter. Raguso scored a team-leading 23 points and also added 17 caroms. Kate Stratton finished with nine points.