The entire Holy Child squad with beloved Math teacher Carolyn Walters, who is always on hand to cheer cheering for the team.
Holy Child Basketball
Gryphons Celebrate Senior Day Big Win Over Greens Farms
BY MICHAEL YU
On Senior Day, when four graduating Holy Child players were recognized for their contributions, juniors Julia Valentino and Caroline O’Neill provided the offense and defense needed to help the Gryphons convincingly top highly touted Greens Farms Academy Dragons, 56-40.
Valentino carried the offensive load, scoring eight of her team-high 20 points in the first quarter. GFA’s Georgia Grabowski had the hot hand early as well, scoring the Dragon’s first six points on two consecutive three-pointers. In response, Holy Child employed a box-and-one defense with O’Neill shadowing Grabowski throughout the game. This effectively shut down GFA’s designated shooter who managed only three free throws from then on.
The Dragons struggled offensively for most of the game. They scored just four points in the second quarter, with Grabowski ineffective and the team’s top player, Allie Palmieri, out of action due to the flu. “Our strategy was play top defense on the top player and then doing what we had to do everywhere else,” said Holy Child’s first-year head coach Scott Alvarez said.
With defense taken care of, Holy Child’s offense hummed under the steady leadership of graduating captain Kayla Hanley. The team tallied 14 points in the second, many off fast breaks initiated by center Amanda Spillane’s solid rebounding. Hanley scored six of her 15 points in that stretch and Spillane added 13 total points.
Even if the Gryphons started the second half with two consecutive turnovers, they maintained control throughout and led by as many as 27 points before easing up in the fourth quarter. O’Neill, who Alvarez referred to as “the star of the game”, was subbed out with four minutes remaining to much appreciation from team and fans alike.
GFA, a highly ranked team that has beaten their opponents by an average of slightly under 20 points, absorbed only their second loss of the season.
The Gryphons are enjoying a breakthrough season of their own with 12 wins, a marked improvement over last year. “We’ve had a lot more success this year. We’ve done a lot of work defensively in practice and really focused on our fundamentals. We struggled a little bit with that last year,” Hanley said.
Before the game, the Holy Child community honored the team’s seniors (Catherine Brady, Hanley, Tiffany Jones, and Mairead Lynch) in a touching ceremony attended by family and friends.
“Regardless of whether their star player was there or not, they are still at 16-1, they are still a very good team,” Alvarez said. “So for us to win…is pretty special, especially for the seniors. I’m glad they got to have this moment. Last year, they only had four wins. For them to have this season will set the table for years to come.”
“It’s a really special day,” Hanley said. “We’ve had a great season so far and have improved a lot. It’s really good to be out there with my teammates, my classmates, especially getting the win.”
The Gryphons improved to 12-9 and have three games left before the playoffs begin in late February.
The entire Holy Child squad with beloved Math teacher Carolyn Walters, who is always on hand to cheer cheering for the team.
