Rye’s girls basketball team is two wins away from repeating as section champions.
After entering halftime of Wednesday’s quarterfinals behind by a point, the Garnets stormed out of the locker room, quickly taking a double-digit lead and defeating Suffern 60-42.
Rye (18-4) started the third quarter on a 14-2 run and never looked back. Senior Phoebe Greto led all scorers with 18 points, and sophomore Stella Maresca was close behind with 16.
For the second year in a row, the Garnets are headed to Westchester County Center, where they’ll face the winner of No. 2 Ossining and No. 7 Lakeland at 3 p.m. Monday in the Section 1 Class AA semifinals. The Ossining-Lakeland quarterfinal was delayed until Thursday due to Westchester’s recent winter weather.
The Garnets, who won their first 17 games against Class AA competition this season, lost to Ossining twice to end the regular season. There’s a good chance the teams will meet for a third time Monday, with a spot in the section championship on the line.
Unlike the first two matchups with the Lions, Rye will have its full complement of players in the lineup. Junior Frankie Chiaravalle scored nine points Wednesday, and senior Annie Toulouse added seven, two players who missed time recently with injuries.
That upper-class core, along with freshman Charlotte Storz, is no stranger to surprises in the County Center. The Garnets knocked off a 22-1 Panas team to claim the section crown a season ago. If Rye can return to the championship game next Saturday, the opponent may be another 22-1 team, top-seeded Nyack.
