Westlake Snags Sleepy Title; Panas Crowned at Somers

By Tony Pinciaro @Finch63

WESTLAKE opened the season achieving a first in program history. The Wildcats began by beating Class AAA Mamaroneck, despite being an underdog, in a first-round game of the Godwin (Sleepy Hollow) Tournament. They followed it up by beating Peekskill for the title, the first Godwin championship for the Wildcats.

“That was a really great feeling,” said senior and three-year varsity starter Maggie Plotkin of the title. “The first game, against Mamaroneck, everyone had us as the underdog and we had lost the past two years in the first round. We came out with a bang.”

Westlake added its third win of the season – 47-27 over Hastings – as Olivia Celaj and Plotkin each scored nine points.  Brooke Pfeiffer and Megan Nebel added eight points apiece.

The quick start is no surprise for the experienced, talented Wildcats, who have been 2023 and 2024 Section 1 Class B runners-up to Putnam Valley.

In Plotkin, Celaj and Pfeiffer, Westlake has three of Section 1’s most dynamic players. Celaj provides the Wildcats with strong play and rebounding down low while Plotkin and Pfeiffer can light it up from the perimeter.

The trio will be key factors in Westlake’s success especially this season as the Wildcats make the step up to Class A. However, Westlake was prepared for this by putting in the work during the offseason.

“During the summer we played in the summer league at Irvington High School,” Plotkin said. “We had a good turnout during open gyms and we did a lot of team bonding, on the weekends, including our freshmen and current juniors new to varsity.”

This also allowed Plotkin, Celaj and Pfeiffer to embrace their roles as captains.

“This enabled us to make the new players feel comfortable during the offseason, have fun and make them be ready for preseason and when the games matter,” Plotkin said.

Westlake has a busy week. The Wildcats played Woodlands, Monday. They play Briarlcliff, Tuesday, then close out the week against 4-1 Croton, Friday.

The schedule will continue to get tougher once 2025 arrives, but Westlake welcomes the challenge.

“Class A is more challenging, but we are ready for it and  playing challenging games is more fun,” Plotkin said. “I think we all believe we have the will to win.”

FOX LANE had a pair of good wins to open the season as the Foxes beat Brewster (56-39) and Poughkeepsie (77-40).

Cara Drapala led three Foxes in double figures against Brewster with 17 points. Riley New added 15 points and Morgan Clinton chipped in 12 points.

New had the scoring honors against Poughkeepsie with a game-high 24 points. Clinton finished with 14 points while Dylan New came off the bench to score 11 points.

“The girls are working very hard,” Fox Lane Coach Kris Matts said. “The team concept is defense and run-and-gun and the girls continue to push their limits.

“The trio of Cara Drapala, Riley New and Morgan Clinton provide most of our offense, but Cora Moore, Kam Boniello and Dylan New are integral to the way the system works.”

OSSINING improved to 3-1 on the season with victories over Tuckahoe (70-61) and Scarsdale (66-43). In the wins the Pride used surges in the second and third quarters, respectively, to seize control of the game.

Leading Tuckahoe by four after one, the Pride outscored the Tigers, 26-18, in the second quarter to take a 12-point lead into halftime.

Pride F Saniya Bell led the Pride with 23 points, 12 rebounds and seven steals. Claire Schnecker added 22 points and nine rebounds and Ty’asia Carver scored 12 points. Point guard Sophia Torrieri finished with nine points, seven assists and six steals.

Ossining held a four-point lead at halftime against Scarsdale then outscored the Raiders by 10 in the third quarter.

Carver led Ossining with a game-best 19 points and she added four assists and four steals. Schnecker had 17 points, five rebounds and four steals and Bell contributed 10 points and six rebounds.

“We are playing well as a team with different girls stepping up each game,” veteran Ossining Coach Dan Ricci said. “Against Tuckahoe, it was Claire and Saniya, plus we had much-needed help off the bench which we were not getting earlier.

“Against Scarsdale, we got six points from Reese Caparelli and six points from Kinya Green plus some strong rebounding and defense from freshman Lyla Strippoli.”

Ossining is Florida-bound this week to play in the KSA Invitational Tournament. The Pride open with Edison (Va.), 12/19. It will also play 12/20 and 12/21 against a yet-to-be-determined opponent.

PANAS is now 6-0 through two weeks after defeating Nanuet (48-17) then winning the Somers Tournament over Tuckahoe and Mahopac (title game) Saturday.

The Panthers will put their undefeated record on the line Tuesday, when they travel to Tappan Zee. This could be a preview of the 2025 Section Class AA championship game.

“Tappan Zee is always a high-energy game for us,” Cadence Nicholas said. “We are definitely thrilled for the competition. I feel that our team has improved from last year so I’m excited to see how that will play out against a strong team.”

Nicholas scored 21 points and Sofia Tavarez added 17 points against Nanuet.

Nicholas netted 22 points in the first round against Tuckahoe. Tavarez added 17 points and Katie Hofmann scored 12 points.

Nicholas was named tournament MVP after scoring 27 points against Mahopac. Tavarez contributed 11 points and was chosen all-tournament.

After winning the Eastchester Tournament in week one of the season, CROTON added a second tournament championship; its own. The Tigers beat Rye Neck (44-22) in the first round, then vanquished Woodlands, 51-33, in the long-prestigious Mayclim Tournament championship game. Croton has now won four of its first five games.

“This year’s team has lots of talented players,” Croton Coach Don Lucas said. “Led by senior captains, Ava Andrews and Alana Walsh, the team has started off the season well by winning the Eastchester Holiday Tournament and Mayclim tournament.

“Considering that we lost three starters from last year’s team that played major minutes, the team has balanced scoring and we have a deep rotation which will only help us as the season goes on.”

The Tigers held Woodlands to four points, combined, in the second and third quarters.

Johanna Hough scored a game-high 13 points and was selected to the all-tournament team. Ava Andrews was named the tournament MVP. She and Julia Junkovic each scored 10 points.

Andrews led Croton with 12 points against Rye Neck. Junkovic added nine points and Hough contributed eight points.

PLEASANTVILLE placed three starters in double figures in a 57-26 victory over North Salem.

Megan Raefski had a team-leading 14 points and also registered three steals. Maddie Becerra added 12 points, five assists and three steals and Ella Collins had 10 points and six rebounds.

WHITE PLAINS had a tough week as the Tigers got acclimated to playing together.

The Tigers lost to North Rockland (48-33) and Clarkstown North (50-43, in the Harry Jefferson Showcase).

The loss to Clarkstown North was especially frustrating for Coach Benj Carter as his team was outplayed in the second half.

“It was a tough loss after losing a comfortable lead going into the third quarter,” Carter explained. “Our defense and communication broke down. Clarkstown North got easy transition baskets, a few 3-pointers, and won the quarter 23-10. The fourth quarter, our shots didn’t fall, and we lost that quarter 15-3.

“Despite being a young rebuilding team, we can’t use that as an excuse. We continued to get out hustled and allowed the team to play with more heart and smarter than we do.”

Emily Plata scored 12 points and Paige Kearon had eight points against North Rockland.

“We were turning the ball over a lot, giving up too many fast breaks and second chance opportunities,” Carter said.

PEEKSKILL split a pair of games – dropping a 35-22 verdict to Nanuet, but rebounded to beat Montfort Academy (Mount Vernon), 56-36. Amari Murphy scored 12 points against Nanuet. Murphy poured in a season-high 26 points and Riley Jenkins chipped in 12 points against Montfort Academy.

HEN HUD went 0-2 for the week, dropping games to Tappan Zee (64-36) and Rye (65-54).

The Sailors had a tough first half against Tappan Zee, scoring just eight points.

Kaitlyn Raguso led the Sailors with 14 points, Avery Motko nine points and Katie Stratton had eight points.

In the loss to Rye, 65-56, Raguso paced the Sailors with 25 points, 12 rebounds, 10 steals while Elyse Smith added 12 points and Stratton finished with 10. Hen Hud was outscored by 12 points in the first quarter and that proved to be the difference in the game.

LAKELAND lost twice to Eastchester (39-36) and Ardsley (60-47). Sarah Devane led Lakeland with 13 points against Eastchester and Lil Aguirre added 10 points. Aguirre had a game-best 17 points, Devane added 11 points and Riley Waters netted 10 points against Ardsley. 

Examiner-area coaches are encouraged to contact Girls’ Hoops Notebook scribe Tony Pinciaro at tfinch23@optonline.net or tag on X @Finch63 on a game-by-game basis for inclusion in our weekly notebook

 

ANDY JACOBS/DAVID TABER/GIL McMAHON/CHIRS SMAJLAJ PHOTOS