The Rye girls basketball team lost their final two games of the regular season, but heading into the playoffs, the campaign as a whole has been a resounding success. With a record of 17-3, the Garnets nearly doubled their win total from last season, when they went 9-12 and lost in the first round to Tappan Zee.
This season, the team has its sights set on much more than just a postseason appearance. As the No. 2 seed, Rye hosts 15th-seeded Somers (6-14) at 5 p.m. Saturday. A win would secure another home game Thursday, Feb. 27, against either No. 7 Gorton (12-6) or No. 10 Yorktown (12-8).
Winning both games at home, on the court where Rye went 10-0 this season, would qualify the Garnets for a trip to the Section 1 Class AA semifinals, March 4 at Westchester County Center.
In their regular-season finale on Feb. 14, the Garnets lost a tight contest, 53-50, on the road against league rival Harrison (9-9). The game was back-and-forth throughout, but the Huskies prevailed in the end, led by 22 points from senior Mia Strazza, the school’s all-time leading scorer.
Earlier in the week, coach Margo Hackett’s team lost their second-to-last game of the season, 73-54, on the road against Walter Panas (19-1) on Feb. 10. The loss secured Panas’ spot atop the Class AA standings for the season, finishing two games ahead of Rye. Junior Phoebe Greto led Rye in scoring with 18 points, while eighth-grader Charlotte Storz scored 12, and senior Molly Kennedy added 11.
Rye’s final home game, and final regular-season win, came Feb. 7 against a 15-4 Pelham team that had previously given the Garnets all that they could handle on Jan. 22, when Rye eked out a seven-point win. That margin remains Rye’s smallest in a victory this season.
This time around, the Garnets made sure they could be more comfortable on Senior Night in front of a full house at Rye High School, winning 51-32. Before the game, the team had a lovely ceremony honoring seniors Kennedy, Kathleen Denvir, and Natalie Guazzo. In the game itself, junior Paige Tepedino scored 17 points to lead the team. Greto and Kennedy each added nine points.
Two of Rye’s three losses during the season came at the hands of Ketcham and Walter Panas, two teams with a combined record of 38-2. Rye’s third loss came against a wily Harrison team, on the road in a rivalry game.
The Garnets not only won games against tough opponents like Hendrick Hudson and Pelham, but they dominated most of the teams they played. Fifteen of their 17 victories came by double digits, including their first 11 wins.
As Hackett reminded her team all year, regular-season records don’t mean much of anything once the playoffs begin. Every game from this point on will take on a greater weight and carry more pressure than the Garnets felt thus far. However, despite losing two of their last three games, this Rye team has compiled a body of work that shows, beyond a doubt, they have what it takes to compete for a section championship.
