Class A Girls Playoffs, Section One

Class A is stacked this year. And the winner from section one could go on to make noise in the state tournament. Between 2015 in 2020 class B was stacked. Now class A has a lot of firepower.

First and foremost is Panis. They won the state title. They are reigning champions. They looked like the clear favorite back in late December when they beat Ursuline and battled Magnus to the very end. They had a couple of injuries and it’s a little bit more up in the air now.

At full strength, they have two of the most dominant players in the section: Cadence and Sofia. The challenge for them is similar to what Putnam Valley dealt with last year. Panas can go 17 and three with two players dominating. But I wonder if they can make a deep run in the state tournament without getting all five players involved. The starting lineup played CYO together and won state titles. They can all play. They’re going to need all five players to make a deep run. they have an excellent three point shooter in Katie Hoffman. And Jill and Kiara give them toughness, but also have to gain confidence taking shots. A case could be made that they would not have won the state title last year without kiara’s two big three-pointers in the semi final game. Panas needs to be more fab five and less dynamic duo to go far. Magnus and Harrison both planted defenders in the paint to take away the drive and that caused problems. This all being said they need their two superstars to be healthy and good. Sofia and Cadence are two of the best guards in the section and translucent. But even superstars need help sometimes.

The best game of the quarterfinals probably will be Tappan Zee at Ardsley. Both squads are tough. Ardsley made a really nice run last year and battled Putnam Valley tough. They have a solid coach and really good pieces. Claire Tierney will need to have a big game and also get contributions from a talented supporting cast. Tappan Zee is led by Kristin Phelan, who is a dynamite, shooter and really good all-around player and their coach is locked in. She’s got that Irvington pedigree.

Speaking of Irvington, no one wants to face Gina Maher in the playoffs. She’s got that team playing well. It’s classic Irvington stuff. Incredible teamwork, passing the ball, playing the right way. It’s gonna be a good battle between them and Hendrick Hudson today as well, led by Kaitlyn Raguso. Also one of the best players in the section. Who also played with all the Walter Panas girls on CYO by the way. Think about that for a second. You probably have to give the nod to Gina and Irvington. But Kaitlyn is one of those players who has an extra gear that can kick in.

I’m thinking Panas will get by Lakeland today. I feel bad for Lakeland. They have lost a couple players most recently Ava Lugo to injury. Lugo is a wonderful outside shooter and Nichole is going to miss her old CYO running mate. They are going to have a tough task against Panas.

All of this, and we haven’t even mentioned Pearl River, who has the one seed. They are going to be a force to be reckoned with. And good thing for them also that they do not have to play Panas or Tappan Zee, or a Ardsley before the championship game.

Should be some really good competition. This seems the most wide-open class. With a bunch of teams that could do damage at the state level.