Seniors Carried Gaels To County Center

SOMERS—Despite coming off a fourwin season a year earlier, Kennedy Catholic High girls basketball coach Al Morales was confident heading into this season. With eight seniors on the team, Morales expected nothing less than an appearance in the sectional semifinals at the Westchester County Center.

Allison Santini SKIP PEARLMAN Led by seniors Allison Santini, Lauren Tracy, and Alexa Mancuso, the Gaels lived up to Morales' expectations, finishing 17-4 overall and winning League 1-C with an 8-0 record. The Gaels lost to top seeded Irvington in the Section 1 Class B semifinal.

“I feel we surprised the whole section,” Morales said. “Of course that surprise only took effect in the beginning. People started to realize, they started to key in more and that makes your job a little harder. We reached all of our goals except for one, and that was getting the gold ball.”

Santini led the Gaels with two postseason awards. She was named All- Section Honorable Mention and All- League.

Alexa Mancuso SKIp PEARLMAN “For the two years she's played for me, Allison has showed up every day and put 102% on the court, whether it was practice or a game, she left her heart on the court,” Morales said. “She's not one of our captains that wears that title, but she's definitely a captain during the practice or a game, she leads through her work ethic.”

Tracy and Mancuso were also named All-League, while fellow seniors Lauren Foti and Amanda Viteretti earned All-League Honorable Mention. Each one provided something different to lead the Gaels.

“Tracy led us in rebounding both offensively and defensively, Mancuso was our leading scorer, Viteretti was our floor leader and Foti was our defensive jewel,” Morales said. “It's a nice balance, they're all seniors and a lot of them comes from them playing together for so long.”

Lauren Tracy SKIp PEARLMAN Morales also cited seniors Molly Brennan, Katrina Healy, and Sabrina Cruz along with junior Natalie Candarelli as key contributors off the bench.

“When Santini was out Katrina Healy stepped into her shoes, someone who hasn't played a whole bunch, she started and she did her job,” Morales said. “She's one of the reasons we got the last three wins of the season, and the first win in the playoffs.”

The Gaels will lose eight seniors to graduation, including all five starters, but Morales is hopeful the program can continue to build on this year's success.

“It kind of set the tone for the program,” Morales said. “The four girls I have coming back got a little taste of it. They got to the county center, they're gonna want that, and more next year. I don't want to make any predictions right now, but we are going to be a lot quicker, a lot smaller and all brand new, so we're gonna take it step by step.”