Late in the third quarter of Rye’s 54-32 win Friday against Eastchester, Annie Toulouse suddenly found herself tied up.
While fighting for a rebound, the Rye senior’s foot got tangled among a mass of balloons that were placed behind the basket for the girls basketball team’s senior night. After Toulouse freed herself, junior teammate Frankie Chiaravalle pointed to the sky, and the Garnets shared a brief laugh watching the balloons float to the ceiling of Rye High School’s gym.
“It was a super fun senior night,” Toulouse said, “and great to get a team win before playoffs start.”
The décor might not have stuck around until the fourth quarter, but the game was over long before then. The Eagles didn’t score their second basket of the game until the final 40 seconds of the opening quarter. Midway through the second quarter, Rye (14-2) pushed its lead to 29-5.
Eastchester (5-13) eventually found a way to remove the lid from the basket, getting back within 36-17 at halftime, but Rye’s lead hovered around 20 for the rest of the game. The comfortable win was a fitting result for the five Garnet seniors honored before the game: 1,000-point scorer Phoebe Greto, fellow starter Toulouse, first-year varsity players Valeria Medina and Arabella Roberts, and Paige Tepedino, a starter on last year’s section title team who has missed all of this season with a torn ACL.
“It was a wonderful night honoring our five seniors and everything they’ve meant to our program,” said Rye coach Margo Hackett. “Valeria Medina and Arabella Roberts joined us this year, and we’re so thankful for the impact they’ve made in such a short time. Annie Toulouse, Paige Tepedino, and Phoebe Greto have been members of the Rye girls basketball program for many years and have played an integral role in our success.”
While it was a memorable night for an invaluable senior class, the game itself was impacted heavily by underclassmen. Freshman Charlotte Storz led Rye with 14 points, and sophomore Stella Maresca added 11. Greto and junior Frankie Chiaravalle each scored nine, and freshman Ashley Alosi chipped in with five.
Coming off their second loss of the season to a Class AAA opponent, the Garnets bounced back, remaining unbeaten against Class AA competition. Rye sits in second in the Section 1 Class AA standings, trailing only Nyack (13-1), which lost for the first time this season Saturday at Irvington.
Rye travels Monday to Yorktown (6-8), then gets a week off before hosting Fox Lane (9-7) next Monday. The regular season concludes with a home and away game against Ossining (9-5).
“I was proud of our team’s effort against Eastchester, with balanced scoring and great energy throughout,” Hackett said. “We’re excited to be 14–2 with four regular-season games remaining and to continue building as we head toward the postseason.”
Clare Nemsick contributed to this article.
