The irony of this 2016 basketball season is that these starved-for-baskets Rye Neck Boys’ and Girls’ teams are led by two of the most prolific scorers in Section 1 history.
By Mitch Silver
The irony of this 2016 basketball season is that these starved-for-baskets Rye Neck Boys’ and Girls’ teams are led by two of the most prolific scorers in Section 1 history.
The Rye Neck Boys, coached by first-year coach James Mooney in his first season, lost to a strong Mamaroneck team by 73-40 in the Tigers’ recent tournament. Then they dropped the consolation game 59-31 to a beatable Alexander Hamilton squad. Throw in losses to Dobbs Ferry, Blind Brook, Bronxville, and North Salem, and the Black Cats were feeling pretty blue.
A second win over Irvington — the Panthers reeled off the first 15 points of the game by pressing and scoring on turnovers, before Irvington made a game of it before falling 55-52 — gave hope that the boys had found their shooting eyes. But Tuesday’s 43-32 defeat at the hands of Hastings suggests otherwise.
The irony? James Mooney was one of the game’s elite sharpshooters, first at Iona Prep and then at Mount Saint Vincent in the Bronx. His 1,793 career points for The Mount broke the school’s scoring record.
During Mooney’s senior season, he produced 20 points or more in 18 games (scoring at least 30 in ten of them) and converted 101 three-point field goals. After graduating in 2006, he played professionally at shooting guard across the Atlantic.
“The good news is, we started off strongly,” Coach Mooney said. “Our kids quickly bought into the team aspect, and we had some nice wins over Valhalla, Martin Luther King, Clark, and Yonkers Montessori…and, of course, our two victories against Irvington. But when we play the better teams who go at a faster pace, our guys try matching it instead of slowing the game down. It’s got us all out of sorts. And when you rush, your shooting suffers.
“We let some games slip away from us, but I’m really proud of my guys and the effort they’ve shown. It’s been a constant battle of fighting bad habits and shifting the losing mindset, The Panthers played Blind Brook at home post-press time.
On the Girls’ side, Coach Cathy Toolan — now in her 18th season at the helm — critiques her squad’s play with similar words. “When teams press you and try to make you play faster than you want to, a young team will fall into the trap. We’re working to stay calm and play our game.”
Toolan lost seven seniors to graduation. Her only returning starter is sophomore Alexa Garcia. Which means her senior co-captains, twin guards Cayla Casas and Rosella Salanitro lacked varsity floor time coming into the season. The team’s inexperience shows.
So does the lack of height: only sophomore Olivia Beach approaches the six-foot mark. Still, the team’s three Olivias — Beach, Martino, and Dunn — make up in hustle what they lack in experience. (By the way, whoever heard of three Olivias on one team?)
What makes it even tougher is this: Toolan and her assistant coach Kaitlin Degnan both played under Irvington High School coach Gina Maher, a Section 1 Hall of Famer for producing powerhouse women’s teams, including the triumphant one Toolan and Degnan played on.
Four years later, Toolan graduated from Concordia College as that school’s all-time leading scorer, receiving all-Tournament honors every year she played.
So, all in all, watching her team struggle to score (they dropped a 29-26 decision Tuesday to almost equally cold-shooting Hastings) must be tough. But she’s philosophical about it.
“I think what made me most successful was my never-ending desire to become a better player. I was never afraid of working hard and was always willing to put in the time to work on my skills with my team or on my own. And quite frankly, I’ve never been a fan of losing, so if I could do anything in my power to change that I would.”
She went on to say, “I try hard to instill in my teams a love of the game and the motivation to improve. I am impressed with the time and effort my players have put in and in the long run, they will benefit from it. It just doesn’t always transfer as quickly as I’d like it to.”
The Black Cats wrap up their league season with a home-and-home series against rival Blind Brook High. They traveled to Rye Brook post-press time, and will host the Lady Trojans this Monday at 4:30.
