Spartans Win 2009 Catholic Conference JV Tournament

 by Jim Charles

March 3, 2009

Padua's grizzled old veteran, Kerry Delaney (a junior), stays with St. E's freshman, Kelly Williams as the latter prepares to shoot.

If the two-night junior varsity showcase hosted by Ursuline Academy this year is any indication, the next 2 or 3 seasons of varsity basketball in Delaware should be in good shape.  At least as far as the Catholic schools are concerned.  The four teams involved, Padua Academy, St. Elizabeth’s, St. Mark’s and UA, all boast rosters that could compete at the varsity level in many other conferences.  And surely many of these players will make their presence felt in high school prime time as early as next season.

This year’s tournament came down to a final featuring the home team Raiders facing up against the perennially strong St. Mark’s Spartans.  UA sent out lineups that not only gave everyone a sneak peek at the future face of the Ursuline varsity, but that even had a sense of “all-star” about them.  A year ago, on this very website, we declared Lindsey Henzes the best point guard in CYM (7^th/8^th grade).  We declared Meghan Carter CYM Player of the Year.  Katie Desmond was a hero of the Y1 CYM Championship Game, and for that performance, an iPOW recipient.  Brenna Williams, then in only 7^th grade, became our first iPOW winner that was not a high school player.  All of these girls play for Ursuline JV today!  That’s how loaded they are.

What the Spartans may lack in high visibility, marquee names they more than make up for in highly competent, team basketball.  And that’s been a hallmark of the St. Mark’s program for as long as this correspondent has been following the sport.  Watch any Spartan team.  Each girl shoots the same way, passes the same way, runs her routes the same way, gets back on transitions the same way and executes her defense the same way.  This regimented way of life for the Green & Gold results in an on-court product that wins much more often than not, and that can score upset victories against squads that look clearly better on paper.  Yet, for all that, there are impressive individuals on the Spartan roster.

Point guard Natalie Clark got major props from Tom for her composure and steady play out of the 1 position.  The poise and decision making of a junior in a freshman.  We both appreciated the grit and heart of another great guard, Jenny Cusack.  Forward (sometimes wing), Kara Gallagher, could run through a brick wall if her coaches asked her to.  She is determination personified.  And there was our “new discovery” during the tournament, freshman Emily Houck.  Here’s a player with so much innate ability and potential.  She has that in-between great size of a swing player.  She shows a nice court sense and is good at setting up others and making her teammates look great.  If she’d shoot a bit more – dial her own number a little more often – we could then with confidence predict a great future for her.

Lastly, we’d like to cite three or four individual performances of note from the Championship Game.  Katherine Durbano had the kind of night a player dreams of when she led all scorers with 15 points, all on threes!  She shot out the lights!  …And in the process, became the first Spartan to claim an iPOW award.  On the Ursuline end, Lindsey Henzes was having a great night until a rolled ankle sidelined her.  Meghan Carter was simply all over the court.  If we had an “All-Heart” performance award, she surely would’ve captured it.  And then there was Jill Lyons.  Jill led all Raiders with 10 points, her best scholastic offensive effort that we’ve been privileged to witness to date.  All four girls, Durbano, Carter, Henzes, and Lyons are freshmen.  All four should be mighty proud of the way they played.

Big contributors for the Spartans included:  Kat Durbano (15 points); Jenny Cusack (9 points); Kara Gallagher (8 points).

Leading the way to the basket for Ursuline were:  Jill Lyons (10 points); Julie Garcia (9 points); Lindsey Henzes & Meghan Carter (6 points each).

Leading scorers over the course of the tournament were:

For Padua:

Jen Pierce, 21

Sara Weiss, 15

Julianne Lambert, 13

Ariel Hyderkhan, 13

For St. Elizabeth:

Paige Cornelius, 23 (overall tournament leader)

Karena Puckham, 12

Natalie Immediato, 11

For St. Mark's:

Katherine Durbano, 21 (on 7 threes!)

Jenny Cusack, 16

Kara Gallagher, 16

For Ursuline:

Meghan Carter, 20

Jill Lyons, 17

Julie Garcia, 16

Here's our new find, St. Mark's freshman, Emily Houck.  She is being guarded nicely by St. E's frosh, Paige Cornelius.

Natalie Immediato with the overhead pass.  This is one very good point guard and among the 2 or 3 best players on the Viking JV squad.

Junior, Nicole Immediato taking it to the hoop.

Kelly Williams dominated CYM in years past.  This season, various injuries and ailments have limited her time and ability to be consistently effective.  We know she'll bounce back big-time next year.

Perhaps known better for her defensive & rebounding prowess, Kara Gallagher really displayed her offensive skills averaging 8 ppg and going 7-for-10 from the free-throw line over the course of the tournament.

Jenny Cusack with the overhead pass.

Lindsey Henzes is da bomb.  There's just no other way to say it!  A ball of energy and basketball know-how, she brings a lot of skills to the 1-guard spot.

Unfortunately for her, Henzes rolled an ankle and was sidelined in the second half of the Final Game.  Adding to her pain must've been the final score which resulted in a Spartan win.

Your 2009 JV Catholic Conference Champions, the St. Mark's Spartans.

Photographic technical note:

Taking photographs at Ursuline Academy is uniquely challenging.  The harsh orange lights play havoc with cameras.  Much "post-production" work has to be done on the photos to make them even marginally acceptable.  Still, it is impossible to get most colors (other than UA red, of course) to turn out true.  We ask for your patience with all photos from UA's gym.

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