2010 CYM Championship Day
Holy Angels Repeat as C Division Champions
By Jim Charles
(posted 03-01-2010)
You could almost call it a dynasty. Or at least, a mini-dynasty. Talking to Coach Mark Tobin after the team’s Semi-Finals win on Saturday, he told me quite matter-of-factly that his team had not lost one of its last 53 games! Surely, this takes the winning streak back into the late 90s. Okay, maybe not that far! But it’s quite an impressive run for any team at any level. After Sunday’s win in the Finals over rival St. Mary of the Assumption, we can call it a 54 – 0 streak.
For a detailed accounting of what makes Holy Angels the superior team that they are, I would refer you back to DGB.com coverage of the Sherwood Park Shootout a couple of weeks back. Nothing has really changed since then. In a nutshell, this is just a special team, top to bottom. Reminiscent of the St. John’s teams of the late 90s/early 00s. And it’s a team that will send a bushel full of athletes to high school squads in the near future.
For St. Mary’s, if there was any one thing that the game pivoted on it was the inability to work key scorer Rachel Liszkiewicz into the offensive mix. Holy Angels neutralized her fairly well and deprived the Hawks of this formidable weapon.
Props to Lady Hawk, Laura Hurff, for simply being a very talented, fun to watch point guard. Also, Colby Ciarrocca was excellent – leading her team with 11 points.
If championships were awarded solely on effort spent, it would be hard to deny either of these teams the top trophy.
Emma Matthews has been playing such wonderful basketball lately that it is sad to see the season end, if for no other reason than we wanted to see her keep progressing. But hey! AAU is just around the corner!
I can't decide who is the best point guard in CYM. Could it be Holy Angels' Claudia Seemans, as seen above...
...Or is it SMA's Laura Hurff, seen here calling a timeout?
Colby Ciarrocca was her usual awesome self, leading the SMA offensive attack with 11 points.
Neelam Modi (far right) and Caroline Davis (#1, Holy Angels) jostle for position to get a loose ball.
Colby runs in a really nice layup as Claudia Seemans contests the shot.
"The Best Do Battle"
Sabrina Hackendorn is about to put up a just-secured rebound for a putback as Rachel Liszkiewicz tries her utmost to disrupt Hackendorn's plans.
Your CYM 2010 C Division Runner-Ups, St. Mary of the Assumption
Closing seconds of the Diocese of Wilmington (DE) CYM C Division Championship Game. Holy Angels defeats St. Mary of the Assumption, 38 - 28. Game played February 28, 2010 at Padua Academy. Holy Angels went undefeated the entire season: Regular season, all tournaments, and the CYM Playoffs.
St. Matthew's Wins by a Basket to Take the Y1 Crown
St. Ann's phenom, Erin Dodds, was the top scorer on the day -- this includes all three Divisional Championship Games -- with 16 points. Our first opportunity to see her play since winning an iPOW way back in December. She roared out of the gate and almost immediately drained a three-pointer. Tom and I looked at each other and said in unison, "She still has it!"
Rachel Salter shows good form on this 15-footer.
Courtney MacDonald on the line.
Like high school junior varsity, one of our biggest regrets is not having the time in our schedules to go to very many Y Division CYM games. Because of this, we miss catching players like Brittany Harvey, who did a great job at point for the Y1 Champs.
Another look at Dodds. Very athletic. A point guard who is a big-time scorer. In pressure situations, she wants the ball and is confident about what she can do with it.
Some of the St. Matt's girls in an impromptu post-game pose.
In Yet Another One Basket Margin, St. Mary's #2 Takes the Y2 Title
Back in December, we told you about Jasmyn Parker, the point guard for Holy Angels second varsity team. If she was in any other CYM program, she'd be on the first team for sure. Knows her basketball. Led all scorers in this game with 9 points -- every one of them from the free-throw line! Should've had a chance for a couple of more free-throws in the closing seconds of the game when she was nearly body tackled by a St. Mary's player, the result of which was, incredulously, a jump ball call.
Natalie Rinschler looks for targets.
Lindsay Hyatt with the long jumper.
Hyatt again with a closer shot as Julia Musumeci defends.
A true loose ball as Haley McNulty (left) and Bridgette Tullier (right) try to corral it in.
Mackenzie Edler launches the ball.
Jasmyn Parker has the ball knocked loose on a drive down the lane. St. Mary's defenders include Addie Baunchalk (#23), Lindsay Hyatt (#14) and Alyssa Dimiris (#20).