The Rye girls basketball team continued their undefeated season this week, winning all three of their games. They are now 9-0 on the season and have emerged as a force to be reckoned with in Section 1.
On Saturday morning at Rye High School, it was Westlake that found itself in the way of Coach Margo Hackett’s machine. In the end, the Rye girls dispatched Westlake, 58-21.
Paige Tepedino and Molly Kennedy led the way, scoring with 17 and 11 points, respectively. Stella Maresca contributed eight points, and Annie Toulouse scored seven of her own. However, neither the scoring numbers nor the inflated margin of victory tells the whole story.
Early on, it appeared Westlake would pose a challenge, lighting up the net in the first couple of minutes. In that moment, the Garnets decided the best way to counter this hot shooting would be to simply prevent the Wildcats from shooting the ball. For the rest of the game, no matter how much their lead ballooned, the Garnets hounded the Wildcats from the moment they inbounded the ball. They pressed full court, getting in the middle of every passing lane and forcing turnover after turnover, then scoring many of their 58 points in transition. Westlake’s shots stopped falling and the team became visibly demoralized in a game where not even inbounds passes came easy.
“We have such great athletes out there on this team…that trap can be a lot to handle,” Hackett said.
RYE 47, IRVINGTON 34 – In Thursday night’s win at home, the Rye offense was not quite clicking the way it had in many games this season, but the Garnets showed no panic. They refused to deviate from their game plan on offense and eventually got into a rhythm on that side of the ball, scoring 31 of their 47 points in the second half.
Even more importantly, they decided to tap into their superpower as a team: their half-court defense. Tepedino had six steals (along with 18 points); Phoebe Greto had five steals (plus 17 points and 13 rebounds); Molly Kennedy had four steals; Toulouse and Kathleen Denvir had three steals apiece. Frankie Chiaravalle also brought down seven crucial rebounds to end the Irvington possessions that were not ended with turnovers.
It was a highly encouraging example of one of the myriad ways that this team can win basketball games. The offense is not firing on all cylinders? Manufacture easy offense in transition to see the ball go through the net. It is not hyperbolic to say that there are stretches in some of these games, including on Thursday night and Saturday afternoon, where this team appears to be able to force turnovers on command. Athleticism surely helps, but there is a dogged determination that they display that must strike fear into opposing teams.
RYE 79, YONKERS 18 – The Garnets’ game of the week was a drubbing on the road at Yonkers. The 61 (!) point deficit in that game tells about all one would need to know about the offensive and defensive play from the Rye girls.
The scoring was not only abundant, but it was evenly distributed as well. Greto had 14 points. Eighth-grader Charlotte Storz had 11 points. Kennedy had nine. Tepedino and Chiaravalle had eight apiece. Toulouse, Maresca, Denvir and Ella Poole each had six. Liz Schwartzman also had three points, and Natalie Guazzo had two.
Yes, that would be scoring contributions from 11 different players in one game.
For another week, this Rye Garnet girls basketball team displayed a cohesion and unselfishness on both ends of the floor that is a joy to watch. It carried them to three wins this week, and to nine wins this season, against zero losses. There are tough tests ahead, but it would appear that their togetherness and style has the potential to carry them to big, big things late in the season.