Section One Class A and Class B payoff primer

Section One Girls Playoffs Class B and A

Class B

Can any team in B challenge Putnam Valley? That is the big question. Somehow PV lost two starters, but came back even stronger this year—only one off game separating them from a perfect season. The offense is more streamlined, flowing through Eva DeChent and Nai Torres. They’ve a lot more size. The shot hierarchy is clearer. PV should glide through Section One. But will they have enough fire power to make it back to Troy?

One could make the case that PV would not have gotten by Red Hook last year without Amanda Orlando (who is having a great freshman season at Manhattanville). Will PV need that potential third scorer to make it back to Troy? But I am getting ahead of myself—first they have to make it out of Section One.

What two teams realistically could challenge PV the most? Irvington and Croton.  Who happen play each other today at Irvington.

7^th seed Croton might seem like an unlikely choice, but 1. they only lost by ten points to PV a few weeks ago and 2. Croton’s new coach Donnie Lucas matches up well with PV. He may be the PV whisperer. Or the invert of that. Lucas was the coach of Bronxville girls last year. Bronxville did not have a great regular season last year, but they did take PV to the proverbial brink in the early rounds of the Class B sectionals. It was a three-point game with a couple minutes left, and Eva on the bench with 5 fouls. The table was set for a massive upset. Croton has been playing really well of late, and they beat Irvington recently. They just knocked off Grace Corelli and Byram Hills. Their swarming defense creates a lot of havoc. Hard to get a clean look. And Lucia Thoreson, and Ava Andrews, and Maddie Sena get them just enough points most games. But they are missing starter Emma Windrum for one more game. Will they have enough to beat Irvington without her?

Irvington is the two seed, but has had an up and down year, by Irvington standards anyway. Injuries haven’t helped. Irvington does not have the level of talent from years past, but they do have Gina Maher, who lives for the post season. One has to think she has a few tricks up the sleeves of her green sweater. Yes, PV beat Irvington by a ton in November, but Gina Maher has been there, done that so many times; you just can’t rule her squad out.

Class A

For the first half of the season, class A seemed like a story of parity. A number of teams had a signature upsets, but as the post eason is upon us, does that parity slip away and this really comes down to Harrison and Panas, with Tappan Zee as a dangerous wild card?

Harrison has had a very strong season. They have a nice mix of weapons: Mia Strazza from deep, Liv Fernandez slashing, Stella Parini in the paint. They play strong on both sides of the ball. A lot of Blue Flame experience there.

Panas was dealing with injuries for the first half of the season and finally have been playing like the team we thought they were. Their speed and defensive intensity is fierce. And they have a lot of scoring in sophomores Sofia Alvarez and Cadence Nicholas, plus a few other interior scorers mixed in. This team is playing great. The only thing I would have wished for Panas is a much tougher schedule. They should have been playing Lourdes, Ursuline, Ketcham. The top of the top. To prep for a potential deep run into the state tourney. One strong team that Panas played (and beat), that I wonder if they should have held off on is Harrison. Because Harrison has probably not faced a team that was so fast and frenetic defensively. So might be better to not let Harrison get multiple cracks at it. Just a thought.

Tappan Zee you can’t count out. They are not as strong as last year, but they still have Ariana Kupi and Kristen Phelan, and a team of players who will run through a brick wall for coach Riley Chevrier. You know TZ is coming to play.

Probably coming down to Harrison and Panas, like last year.

Note to Class A teams: you got Wallkill looming in section 9. They look pretty strong. Zoe Mesuch will get you buckets. But they got other scorers too. Thinking the Section One vs Section Nine showdown will be good.