Gaels Pick It Up, Punch Ticket to Semis

SOMERS—Anyone watching the Kennedy Catholic girls basketball team in the first quarter of last Wednesday’s playoff game would have had a hard time believing the Gaels were going to the County Center.

Kennedy’s Molly Brennen (12) battles for rebound in Gaels’ win over Westlake. SKIP PEARLMAN Teams that score one point in a quarter are not usually rewarded with a trip to the semifinals.

But since the opposing team was not playing much better—Westlake finished with four points in that sloppy quarter—the door remained open for the Gaels.

And given a chance, Kennedy eventually broke through—coming up with a clutch, 16-point fourth quarter that included a number of key three-pointers, en route to a 37-32 victory over Westlake in a Class B quarterfinal playoff game at Kennedy High.

The win put No. 4 Kennedy (17- 3) in the Class B semifinals at the Westchester County Center, where the Gaels were scheduled to take on top-seeded Irvington Tuesday night (too late for this edition). The winner advances to the Class B final, set for Saturday at 7 pm.

Amanda Viteretti of JFK drives to the hoop for two last Wednesday at Kennedy.Westlake. SKIP PEARLMAN Gaels coach Al Morales knew the only positive to come out of his team’s first quarter scoring drought was the fact that Westlake (15-5) was shooting almost as poorly.

“We weren’t playing well at all offensively,” Morales said. “But they only had four points, so obviously we were doing something well on the defensive end. I think we had some jitters…. they knew that with a win they go to the County Center.”

Kennedy came back to win the second quarter, 11-9, and trailed 13-12 at halftime. Westlake carried a 23-21 advantage into the fourth, which was won by Kennedy, 16-9.

“A big sparkplug for us was (Natalie) Canderelli,” Morales said. “She had two big three’s in the fourth quarter, and Amanda Viteretti also had a big three in the fourth.”

Morales said he told his players to put their early shooting woes out of their minds.

“I told them to forget about it,” Morales said. “I told them to keep taking shots, and it will come. We just had a bad shooting night. They played good defense, but open shots just didn’t go.”

Alexa Mancuso led Kennedy with 10 points and five assists, Viteretti added eight, Canderelli had seven points, Lauren Tracy had six points and 11 rebounds, and Molly Brennan collared seven rebounds to go with four points.

Amy Marron led Westlake, the No. 5 seed, with 17 points.

“Amanda gave us great leadership,” Morales said of Viteretti. “She took over as our floor leader. And Canderelli couldn’t hit a shot in the first half, but I told her to keep shooting – and she hit the big shots in the fourth. And Molly Brennan had a bunch of deflections and a bunch of rebounds for us.”

Alexa Mancuso of Kennedy drives toward the lane Wednesday night. SKIP PEARLmAN The trip to the County Center came as no surprise to Morales, who prior to the season opening predicted his girls would end up playing in the Westchester basketball mecca.

“I expected it because I knew we had eight seniors, and as long as they put in the work, it would happen,” he explained. “It feels good, and it’s attributed to the hard work, and the coaching staff.”

Morales pointed to the efforts of assistant coaches Joe Casenza and Mount Vernon veteran Marshall Reiff as being crucial. “A lot of our success is due to them,” Morales said. “Marshall is one of the all-time great coaches in Westchester County.”
JFK’s Natalie Cantarelli fires a jumper in win over Westlake. SKIP PEARLmAN
Kennedy’s Lauren Tracy puts up two points in win over Wildcats. SKIP PEARLmAN
The Gaels and coach Al Morales talk strategy during timeout. SKIP PEARLmAN