WPHS Lady Tigers Could Not Solve Huguenots but Future Looks Bright
On Saturday, Jan. 10, the White Plains High School Girls Basketball Team boosted their record to 7-3 this season with a win over Putnam Valley High School, 37-27, in a defensive battle in Putnam.
The Lady Tigers are in the midst of their best season since 2011-12, when they went 14-5 in the last year of the 11-year reign of legendary Head Coach Sue Adams.
The Lady Tigers presently under the leadership of second-year Head Coach Tara Flaherty were crowned Champions of the Hasting Tournament, which was played at Hastings High School, on December 27 and 28.
The Lady Tigers got a thrilling double-overtime win against Yorktown High School, 62-59, in the opening round of the Hastings Tournament. Tigers’ senior center Isabella “Izzy” Lacarbonara led the way with a remarkable 29 rebounds and 19 points. Junior guard Kaleigh D’Arcy added 13 points in the Tigers first round win.
The Tigers advanced to play Hastings High School the next day, on Sunday, Dec. 28, which proved to be a mismatch. The Tigers crushed the Yellow Jackets, 59-16. Lacarbonara scored 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, while junior Kathleen Rooney scored 12 points and D’Arcy contributed eight points and five steals.
Lacarbonara was presented the Hastings Tournament Most Valuable Player Award for her efforts and D’Arcy took home All-Tournament Team Honors.
The Lady Tigers returned to White Plains High School, on Tuesday, Jan. 6, for the first game of a two-game stint. The home contests marked visits from two of the Tigers staunch rivals Mt. Vernon and New Rochelle High Schools.
The Tigers were coming into the games with a 6-1 record and their performances in these two key matchups would determine whether they were really ready to renew that legendary White Plains Girls basketball competitiveness or was their 6-1 record merely an apparition due to a weak schedule.
Well, the Lady Tigers led by D’Arcy, Lacarbonara and Rooney won their first statement-game against the Mt. Vernon Knights, 53-45. D’Arcy scrambled for 17 points and six rebounds, while Lacarbonara proved she could rebound with any team, while grabbing 16 rebounds. The senior center also scored 10 points and blocked six shots.
Rooney, who transferred to White Plains this season from Ursuline Academy, has showed that she can also compete against any team, while scoring 14 points against the Knights. Rooney’s mid-range jumper and three-point shooting capabilities are key elements that have kept the Lady Tigers competitive this season.
In their second statement-game in two days at WPHS, the Lady Tigers faced nemesis New Rochelle, on Thursday, Jan. 8. The game brought a match-up of two Section 1 AA rivals with records of 7-1.
If the Lady Tigers could have won this game it would have made a loud scream across Section 1 that the White Plains High School Girls Basketball team is back. Although the Lady Tigers lost the game, 54-49, their competitive play against the Huguenots may not have screamed it, but it surely made a statement that the Lady Tigers are a team to be reckoned with this season.
“The coaching staff was looking at this game as a test. This game would prove if we could actually play with the real schools or if we just had an easy schedule at the beginning,” said Flaherty. “This game showed exactly what we can do and it is up to our girls to prove it. We can play with anybody,” emphasized Flaherty.
The Tigers were tied with the Huguenots at halftime 25-25 and were in the game to until the final seconds. The Tigers defense kept them in the game even creating two turnovers in the final 20 seconds of the game, which turned into four points. If not for a few miscues under the basket on open shots in the last two minutes of the game, the Tigers might have won both statement-games against league rivals.
“Our play shows that we can beat any team, we just have to do it,” commented Lacarbonara. “Coming off this loss we will be a lot better while learning from our mistakes and just hopefully we can win the next league games,” said the Tigers center, who scored 11 points in the game. Rooney had a team-high 12 points.
The Lady Tigers led by Flaherty and assistant coaches Amy Ferraro and Spencer Smith have developed a well-balanced team this year. Even with the obvious absence of senior guard Shannon Lynch, who decided not to play basketball this season; the Tigers have “roared” to an overachieving, 7-3, start with playoff hopes a reality for the first time in three seasons.
Flaherty took four freshmen and gave them varsity credentials and never looked back. Two of the freshman guards Madison Povemba and Tatyana Mitchell have made an immediate impact on the team. Also, in the past couple of weeks freshman forward Vanessa Chica has stepped-up, while scoring eights points against Hastings and displaying that her defense can help the team.
“We have a lot of young girls on our team and it is really nice to see them start to play and get confident. And ‘Izzy’ (Lacarbonara) is really working hard and making the baskets we really need now,” said D’Arcy.
