Hen Hud MVP Raguso Propels Sailors to Briarcliff Tourney Title

DeChent Breaking Records Regularly at Put Valley

By Tony Pinciaro

When a team has that one player who can take over a game, offensively, you keep feeding her.

HEN HUD possesses this lethal offensive force/impact player in sophomore Kaitlyn Raguso, who scored 94 points in three more Hen Hud victories last week as the Sailors improved to 5-0 this season.

The sophomore forward netted 29 points and added seven rebounds and six steals in a 64-41 win over Nyack to open the week. Raguso also poured in 34 points, including a game-winning three-pointer in the final seconds, propelling Hen Hud to a 48-46 overtime win over Somers in a Briarcliff Tournament first-round game. She followed that with 31 points, 15 rebounds and six steals in a 51-41 title-game win over Briarcliff  #RagusoIsLegit.

“Kaitlyn has made the next step from a freshman on our squad last year to a sophomore who can take over a game,” Hen Hud Coach Ken Sherman said. “The Briarcliff game was impressive because Coach Hamlin put sort of a box-and-one on Kaitlyn and she still produced 31 points. It took our team a half to figure out what would work. We also did a good job defensively in the championship game.”

Through five games, Raguso is averaging 27.6 points a game and 10.2 rebounds per game.

While Raguso excelled offensively, Sherman came away from the Briarcliff tournament also impressed with other players and facets of the game.

“In both games our defensive intensity was a key to victory as was the play of our forwards, Maddy Porter and Hailey Pearson,” Sherman said. “They did a great job on the boards to give us extra possessions.”

Sherman also has liked the energy and effort his team has displayed through five games along with his team’s unselfishness.

“I know this sounds funny with Kaitlyn taking over games, but we are a very unselfish team,” Sherman said. “Nobody cares who is scoring as long as we get a W.”

In the Somers’ game, Porter grabbed 14 rebounds and Pearson added nine rebounds. Porter collected eight rebounds against Briarcliff. Porter, who had 15 rebounds against Nyack, currently leads the team, averaging 11.4 rebounds per game.

PUTNAM VALLEY improved to 3-0 after beating two major Class B rivals – Irvington (68-34) and Hastings (76-47). PV super senior Eva DeChent, who is on pace to set every scoring record at PV and #Perhaps Section 1 Class B, scored 34 points and Nai Torres added 16 points against Irvington.

DeChent, the 2021 NYS Class B Player of the Year, poured in a game-high 40 points and also added six assists and a career-best 13 steals against Irvington. Torres finished with 18 points and four thefts and Jona Kabashi added nine points and eight rebounds. Additionally, DeChent bested her own school record by dropping 52 points in a win over Yonkers, just days after going for 40 points, seven assists and eight steals in a 76-47 win over Hastings. Torres added 18 points and four steals while Jona Kabashi introduced herself with nine points and eight rebounds.

FOX LANE was impressive in its season-opener as the Foxes defeated Ramapo, 50-30. Maddie Broghammer had a team-leading 14 points. She also added five rebounds, four assists and four steals. Freshman Morgan Clinton had nine points and 10 rebounds and fellow freshman Riley New finished with eight points, eight rebounds, six assists and six steals.

After opening the season with two losses, including one to Dobbs Ferry in a tournament, VALHALLA reversed the final outcome in a rematch with the Eagles. Tvisha Sivaramakrishnan scored a team-best 19 points in a 49-39 victory, the Vikings’ first of the season.

Valhalla coach Dave Berry was proud of the way his team handled the necessary adjustments against Dobbs Ferry.

“We went to a pack-line defense and cut back on our turnovers,” Berry said. “The girls are hard-working, coachable and dedicated to one another. This leads to strong communication and allows them to implement new concepts in a short amount of time.”

Cydney Waterman and Paige Williams added seven points apiece. Bronxville beat Valhalla, 50-35, to close out the week.

CARMEL won its first two games of the season for new Coach John Sullivan. The Rams opened 2022-23 with a 54-37 victory over Lincoln and followed it up with a strong second half, rallying to a 37-32 triumph over East Ramapo.

Carmel trailed 20-6 at the half and 26-19 after three.

“Defensive intensity and rebounding were the keys to the turnaround,” said Sullivan of the East Ramapo game. “Clutch free throws from seniors Maeve McGlynn and Sadie Zion in the final minute closed it for us.”

Megan Whitford and Devin Fusco each scored nine points against East Ramapo.

McGlynn finished with 14 points against Lincoln, highlighting three Rams in double figures as Fusco added 13 points and Zion had 10 points. McGlynn also registered six steals and Fusco collected 11 rebounds.

WESTLAKE won both of its games last week — 54-38 over Tuckahoe and 52-31 over Croton.

Allie Castellone finished with a team-high 14 points and Ann Mastracchio added 11 points against Tuckahoe. The pair combined for eight steals. Riley Giaccone finished with nine points and 10 rebounds.

Giaccone was Westlake’s leading scorer, with 12 points, against Croton. Sami Oswald and Brooke Pfieffer each scored nine points.

LAKELAND received a game-high 24 points from Nichole Ljuljic and 11 points from Ava Lugo in a 50-45 victory over Nanuet.

“Nanuet is a physical and tough team,” Lakeland Coach Miranda Mangan said. “It was a good win on the road for us. Our next four games are away so we are hoping to keep the same intensity and focus.”

The Hornets (3-0) were scheduled to play Yonkers, but Mangan said it was canceled at the last minute.

PANAS opened its season with an overwhelming win over Edgemont as Cadence Nicholas led the Panthers with 20 points. She also added six assists and seven steals. The Panthers had balanced scoring with Katie Hofmann adding 10 points and five steals and Sofia Tavarez had nine points and eight steals. Julia Gallinger finished with eight points and nine rebounds and Jillian Cinquina also had eight points along with six rebounds and six assists.

BREWSTER won its third consecutive game to open the season – 55-44 over Clarkstown North – but then Harrison dealt the Bears their first loss.

“We started off playing great defense and jumped out to an early 10-point lead, but Clarkstown North never backed down,” Brewster Coach Mike Castaldo said. “They attack the glass very well on both ends and play aggressive defense. It was nice to win our home-opener and get balanced scoring from three different players. Madison (Dakin) played great on both ends and hit big shots when we needed it.”

Dakin had 21 points and 11 rebounds against Clarkstown North. Olivia Francis added 13 points and Jordan Niles chipped in 11 points.

“Harrison is a team that could be playing for a gold ball in March,” Castaldo said. “They are big, fast and can score at every position. We were up 7-1 halfway through the first quarter, but Harrison went on a 14-0 run and never looked back.”

Dakin finished with nine points, eight rebounds and three steals against Harrison.

Brewster will host its sixth annual tournament 12/15-12/16 with Poughkeepsie, John Jay-East Fishkill and Pelham in the field.

A veteran WHITE PLAINS’ team kicked off the season with a dominant 28-point win over Scarsdale behind a balanced scoring effort.

Ineivi Plata led the way with 19 points and six steals. Aliya McIver finished with 15 points and 10 assists and Capri DeMara added 13 points and five steals.

White Plains welcomed Harrison in the 28th annual Harry Jefferson Showcase, but the Huskies came away with a 49-44 win.

“We were excited and prepared to match Scarsdale’s intensity by playing good, solid offense and moving the ball quickly to get quality open baskets,” White Plains’ Coach Benjamin Carter said. “Defensively, we played good 1-on-1 and help rotation that caused Scarsdale to rush and play faster than they usually do. We went into the Harrison game with the same mindset, but got complacent, shots stopped falling and our defense broke down at times. That allowed Harrison to take advantage of extra scoring opportunities that propelled them to victory. That was a tough learning lesson that we now have to grow from. When the offense is off, we have to remain focused, defensively, for 32 minutes.”

McIver and Plata each had nine points in the Harrison game and Anneliese Reggio received the Sportsmanship Award.

OSSINING split its first two games of the season. The Pride defeated Yonkers Montessori Academy, 58-41, behind an outstanding game from Nicole Perriott. The junior led the Pride with a game-high 19 points and 18 rebounds. Angelica Rios added 12 points and seven rebounds and Zoey Jowers chipped in nine points. Freshman Claire Schnecker began her varsity career with 11 assists and Saniya Bell grabbed 16 rebounds. New Rochelle handed Ossining a 64-45 loss.

SOMERS lost a tough game to open the season as Hen Hud scored a last-second basket to pull out a 48-46 overtime win in a Briarcliff Tournament first-round game. Tusker senior Ava Giuidice led Somers with 27 points. The Tuskers bounced back to overwhelm Gorton, 64-28, in the consolation game as Chloe Gabriele had a team-leading 14 points and Giudice added 13 points.

BYRAM HILLS opened the season with losses to Pelham and John Jay-East Fishkill (Suffern Tournament first round). However, the Bobcats salvaged their week with a last-second 49-47 victory over Suffern in the consolation game.

Grace Corelli swished a three-pointer with 6.1 seconds on the clock to give Byram Hills the thrilling win. The Bobcats trailed, 34-22, at halftime. Corelli, who scored a game-high 24 points, was also named to the all-tournament team. Eighth-grader Lucianna Parrotta added 11 points.

Corelli scored 13 points against John Jay and Pelham. Kiley Blackmar chipped in nine points against Pelham.

BRIARCLIFF began its season with a big win over Gorton in a first-round game of the Briarcliff Tournament. Unfortunately,  for the Bears, they faced a red-hot Hen Hud team and lost, 51-41, in the final.

“We hung real tough with a very, very good Hen Hud team,” Briarcliff Coach Denise Hamlin said. “I was super proud of our effort. We got into foul trouble early and that hurt us. Hen Hud is tremendous on defense.”

Cat Carrafiello led Briarcliff with 18 points, six rebounds and six steals in the final. Caroline Barbalato added 14 points.

In Briarcliff’s first-round win, Barbalato scored 22 points and Carrafiello added 21 points.

PEEKSKILL began the new season with an emphatic 59-35 victory over Poughkeepsie as Amari Murphy scored a game-high 25 points.

Croton handed PLEASANTVILLE a 43-38 loss in the Panthers’ first game of the season.

Meghan Raefski led Pleasantville with 19 points.

HORACE GREELEY and MAHOPAC did not play last week.