Raguso Becomes 6th Hen Hud Player to Eclipse 1,000 Points

Yorktown Nips Byram Hills; Greeley Crowned at Dobbs Tourney

By Tony Pinciaro

As the clock was winding down to the final minute of the Lakeland game, HEN HUD junior Kaitlyn Raguso did not understand why the Sailors’ fans were overly rambunctious.

“I honestly had no clue until everyone in the bleachers was screaming, ‘Get the ball to Kaitlyn!,” said Raguso with a laugh.

What Raguso was unaware of was that the fans knew she was two points away from 1,000 for her varsity career. The fans did not have to wait long after that as Raguso grabbed a rebound and put the ball off glass to become the sixth Hen Hud girl to hit the 1,000-point club, joining Michele Staten (1986, 1,112 points), Kathleen Staten (1987, 1,777), Joan Staten (1988, 1054 points), Jess Harris (2007, 1493 points), Caitlyn Weimer (2020, 1,617 points) #HolyStatenSisters.

Even though the game was at Lakeland, the game was stopped to celebrate Raguso.

“My teammates hugged me and we took a photo,” Raguso said. “That was really nice of their coach and them for me to enjoy that moment and make it a great memory for me. Their coach is very nice and I also know a few of the girls on Lakeland.”

Raguso finished with a game-high 24 points and she rang up 11 rebounds.

The milestone aside, Raguso was even more pleased that Hen Hud came away with a 63-50 victory.

Following a slow first quarter which found Hen Hud trailing, the Sailors knew what needed to be done after discussing it with Coach Megan Boyle.

“We realized in the first quarter that’s not how we normally play,” said Raguso, who is averaging 19.6 points and 13.3 rebounds per game. “We had to step it up. We felt once we shut down their top two scorers, our defense would help our offense get into rhythm. After the first quarter we worked together as a team. It was a great way to start the new year.”

First-year Coach Boyle noted that her team led at halftime despite Raguso only having six points.

“Even at halftime, Kaitlyn was not worried about herself,” said Boyle, a Hen Hud graduate and former varsity basketball player. “She turned it on to score 24 points by just playing basketball with the team. She is a leader by example on every front and is also a great teammate, friend and athlete.”

It was a good bounce-back game for Hen Hud after it closed out 2023 with a loss to an outstanding Pearl River team.

“The Pearl River game was a tough one,” Raguso said. “Over break we couldn’t dwell on the loss. We needed to grow stronger and better as a team.”

Elyse Smith scored 10 points against Lakeland. Hailey Pearson finished with eight points, 10 rebounds, five assists and six blocks and Kayla McCarthy also scored eight points and added eight rebounds.

Raguso witnessed former Hen Hud standout and current Boston University senior Caitlin Weimar reach 1,000 points. Once Raguso saw this, she was hoping to do the same.

“It was inspiring to see Caitlin do it,” said Raguso, a four-year varsity starter. “When I was pulled up in eighth grade, I wanted to make that one of my goals. The people around me and my teammates have supported me and helped me and I feel honored and grateful for them.”

While her teammates and the fans celebrated her, Raguso received the best gift from her parents.

“My parents brought me for hibachi (dinner),” said Raguso, once again, with a laugh. “It was a surprise. I had the steak and shrimp, low mein and fried rice.”

Hen Hud played in the Slam-Dunk Tournament at the Westchester County Center, but lost to New Fairfield (Ct.).

“It was amazing to be invited to it,” said Raguso of the Slam Dunk. “We were very excited and hyped. We were in it in the first quarter. Once they began hitting their 3’s, we began struggling a little bit on the offensive side.

“That’s okay because we can learn from what we didn’t do well and work on it so we become a stronger and better team.”

Hen Hud plays Panas, Tuesday, in a matchup of three of Section 1’s marquee juniors – Panas’ Cadence Nicholas and Sofia Tavarez, and Raguso.

HORACE GREELEY went to Dobbs Ferry for the Eagles’ annual tournament and the Quakers came away with the title, led by most valuable player Bella Schulman and all-tournament selection Ava Gusba.

The Quakers, now 5-4 this season, opened with a 50-24 victory over North Salem as Schulmanhad 18 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals and Gusba added a pair of 12s – 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Greeley came back with another strong defensive effort in a 60-29 victory over the host in the final.

Schulman led the Quakers with 16 points and she also had  five rebounds, five steals and three assists. Gusba had her second consecutive double-double – 12 points and 10 rebounds – along with four steals and Claire Reynolds also had 12 points and four steals.

“The girls played hard and played together,” Quakers’ Coach Sarah Schum said. “Both games were nice wins. There is a lot to build off of for 2024. Senior captains Bella and Ava are really stepping up into their own, which is nice to see.”

OSSINING extended its winning streak to three consecutive with a 72-32 victory over Port Chester as both teams opened league play. The Pride outscored the Rams, 22-4, in the second quarter, transforming a seven-point lead into a 25-point cushion at halftime. The Pride have surpassed 70 points in each of its last three games..

Claire Schnecker poured in 26 points and also added seven rebounds and four assists. Zoey Jowers chipped in 14 points, Nicole Perriott had a game-best 13 rebounds and Saniya Bell grabbed 12 rebounds.

WHITE PLAINS swept two games and improved to 7-5 after wins over Lincoln (63-25) and Rye (57-50, in the Slam-Dunk Tournament at the Westchester County Center).

Ineivi Plata led White Plains with 16 points and five assists.  Tess Haddad and Sequoia Layne scored eight points apiece and eighth-grader Jade Jackon scored seven points.

“It was a game for us to work on some areas we needed to clean up,” White Plains’ Coach Benj Carter said.

The Tigers registered a good win against an excellent Rye as Layne earned most valuable player honors after scoring 15 points and securing nine rebounds. Plata finished with 18 points and five assists

“We started off slow, but our defensive momentum built up and we were able to pull away in the fourth quarter,” Carter said. “We had a comfortable lead, but Rye fought hard all the way to the end. It was a good test for us.”

HALDANE returned from the holiday break with a 45-28 victory over the Barack Obama School for Social Justice (Yonkers). Camilla McDaniel filled in the stats’ sheet with 19 points, six assists, five steals and three rebounds. Kayla Ruggiero contributed 14 points, five rebounds and three steals.

Ruby Poses finished with six points, six rebounds and five assists, Miley Rider-Pena had a team-best 10 rebounds and eighth-grader Lainey Donaghy scored her first varsity points.

PANAS bounced back from its only loss of the season – to Class AA power Albertus Magnus – with a victory over Sleepy Hollow. Sofia Tavarez led the way with a game-high 20 points. Cadence Nicholas contributed 19 points and Bella Ocampo scored a season-best 12 points.

However, the reigning NYS Class A champs were knocked off by 2023 Section 1 runner-up Harrison in the Slam Dunk Challenge at the County Center Saturday when they met their match.

YORKTOWN beat Byram Hills, 33-26, to open league play.

“We played great defense, all-around, in a tough matchup against Byram Hills,” Yorktown Assistant Coach Anne Darling said.

Olivia Del Gaudio scored eight points and grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds, Ava Costello finished with eight points and six steals and Lexi Livadhi added seven points and 11 rebounds. Yorktown will host John Jay-Cross River, Tuesday.

FOX LANE beat Port Chester, 62-28, as Riley New scored a team-leading 13 points and Cara Drapala and Lauren Antolino added 12 points apiece.

MAHOPAC split two games – a 62-34 win over Poughkeepsie and a 56-36 loss to league foe R.C. Ketcham. Fiona O’Boyle scored a game-high 16 points against Poughkeepsie. Madysen Ford added 13 points and Caily Salon had 10 points. Giana Puckhaber led Mahopac with 13 points against Ketcham.

WESTLAKE began 2024 playing Class AAA power John Jay-East Fishkill. The Wildcats got off to a slow start in the first quarter and dropped a 59-50 verdict. Westlake trailed 22-11 after the first quarter, but outscored John Jay, 39-30, over the final three quarters. Brooke Pfeiffer and Maggie Plotkin paced the Wildcats with 14 points apiece and Olivia Celaj added 12 points.