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Sports

Albertus Magnus Muscles By Tappan Zee, Sets Up Rematch With Pearl River

The Falcons withstood a pair of runs by the Dutchies to earn a 60-40 victory Tuesday night.

There were swings in momentum Tuesday night at Albertus Magnus, shifts that, at other points in the season, could have impacted the outcome of the Falcons’ 60-40 victory over Tappan Zee.

Third-seeded Albertus, however, didn’t flinch when the Dutchies threatened to make a game of it late in the second and third quarters. The Falcons, who were powered by a monstrous effort from Meg Richards, pushed aside Tappan Zee in the Section 1 Class A quarterfinals, setting up their much-anticipated showdown with Pearl River in next week’s semifinals at the Westchester County Center.

Albertus [19-1], ranked ninth in New York State, stretched its winning streak to six games. Tappan Zee [14-6] closes out its season having lost three times to the Falcons and twice to Pearl River.

“We’ve been a moody team the last few games,” Albertus coach Pat Buckley said. “We’ve spent a lot of time and have been working lately on keeping the same mood and not changing our expressions out there. We don’t want to get overly excited if we go up and if someone makes a run at us, we want to keep our cool.

“Tappan Zee, which is an excellent team, made two runs at us tonight and we were able to keep our composure. We feel good defending them. There were some breakdowns but when push came to shove we felt confident that we could defend them and that’s a nice thing to be able to say you can do. I’d say this is one of the top three games we played this year.”

Tappan Zee was cold to start the first, third and fourth quarters, twice going nearly four minutes before connecting for a field goal. When the Falcons appeared as if they would pull away in the second quarter, the Dutchmen went on their first run, cutting the lead to three with just over two minutes remaining in the half.

The same scenario played out in the third quarter with Tappan Zee staging a furious comeback only to have Albertus squash it in the final two minutes. While the Dutchies were able to run with the Falcons for much of the game, the lack of scoring early [five first-quarter points] and late proved to be too much to overcome. Kristen McLaughlin led Tappan Zee with 10 points.

“We knew we just had to put our heads down and work because they were coming at us,” said Richards, the Nanuet resident who scored eight of her game-high 17 points in the third quarter. “They are a good team but we couldn’t let ourselves get down. Usually when a team comes at us like that we get down but this is our last game at Albertus and the seniors wanted to play hard and go out with a bang,”

Tappan Zee scored only six fourth-quarter points, managing only one field goal as Richards continued to dominate on the boards. She made several spectacular outlet passes to help fuel the Falcons’ fast break and was dynamite in the paint, driving to the basket with abandon.

“She was the difference maker tonight,” said Buckley, whose team finished the season undefeated [11-0] at home. “She tore her ACL last year and it took time to get her back and she has played great over the last seven or eight games. She’s worked real hard and is so versatile. Those outlet passes, the way she throws them, no one can do. She’s a fast break in and of herself when she’s throwing those passes.”

Buckley can now focus on Pearl River, which swamped Byram Hills Tuesday afternoon for its 10th consecutive victory. The Pirates have split a pair of games with Albertus this season with each team winning on its home court. Pearl River coach Lorraine Moylan and many of her players were at Albertus Tuesday night watching as the Falcons muscled by Tappan Zee.

“Pearl River is a great team,” said Albertus senior Felicia DaCruz, who added 12 points. “They are like a sister team to us, just like Tappan Zee. It should be a great game and we’re expecting a fight.”




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