Kennedy Falls to Blind Book in Class B Semifinals, 39-33
No. 3 seed in Class B Kennedy (18-3), after an impressive quarterfinal win over Ardsley, fell just short of reaching the finals; losing 39-33 at the hands of No. 2 Blind Brook at the Westchester County Center in the semifinal round last Tuesday. The Gaels had won 16 in a row going into the semis, Coach Lance DeMarzo’s girls’ win streak halted by a strong defensive Blind Brook presence.
“I’m still trying to figure out why we didn’t play very well offensively – we played well defensively, we held Blind Brook to 39 points,” he said. “Blind Brook played good defense against us; they had a good game plan, and unfortunately we picked the wrong night to go 13-for-52 from the floor. You have to give kudos to Blind Brook.”
Kiera Hennessy was the Gaels’ leader with 13 points – and she, along with Meg Weidenhamer, Shayna Gaskins, and Leah Greene were selected to the All-League Conference D-1 team. Gaskins was named Conference D-1 League MVP and DeMarzo was named D-1 Coach of the Year, proving although the Gaels’ season ended too soon, it was nothing short of successful.
“I haven’t coached in 20 years and to take over a veteran team and go 18-3, 8-0 in the league, we go to the county center – I’m just so happy for these girls,” DeMarzo said. “Do we all wish it ended differently? I think so. But the girls played hard all year and I’m so proud of them, for what they accomplished.”
DeMarzo is now set to coach most of his girls from the Kennedy squad on the AAU team in the coming weeks, and next year the Gaels will make the switch from Section 1 to the CHSSA: a move DeMarzo is looking forward to, his expectations remaining high.
“It’ll be a new adventure,” he said. “From a coaching standpoint, it’s not going to change for me – it’ll still be a challenge. We’re going to be an experienced team, and hopefully we’ll get some Section 1 crossover games.”
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.