After an exciting Section 1 tournament that included a few thrilling comebacks, a couple improbable upsets and plenty of showstopping individual performances, we’ve reached the proverbial goal line. For the 10 local girls basketball teams still competing, the gold balls are not only in sight, but within their grasp.
Follow along as we’ll have coverage of each of the five section finals over championship weekend, including live updates from the Westchester County Center.
Yonkers Montessori tops Hamilton to repeat as Class B champ
WHITE PLAINS – Well, the do-over might be better anyway.
“I think this one will be much better,” Arsela Mustafaj said. “This was so meaningful to us, so I think we were even more emotional this time and it’ll translate.”
She was talking about the celebratory photos, the ones snapped candidly as a gleeful group of Yonkers Montessori players rushed their teammates on the Westchester County Center court.
There was a similar picture framed in their athletic department, commemorating a long-awaited championship, but it was removed last fall. In preparation for this season, the players said, it would benefit them to forget about what was accomplished last year. A bit of selective amnesia.
But this one will conjure some, uhh, photographic memories.
Because the more significant do-over was the Eagles’ repeating on March 8, an impressive 55-39 win over top-seeded Alexander Hamilton that captured their second consecutive Section 1 Class B title.
“We tried to ignore it, but I felt like there was pressure on us coming into this season,” said Grace Gleeson, whose team last year delivered the first Yonkers girls basketball championship since 1995. “We knew how important going ‘back-to-back’ would be, especially for a Yonkers school.”
Defending the title, coach Elie Moise said, would be “validation” of their ascent — proof that 2025 wasn’t a fluke, and evidence of a foundation sturdy enough to sustain.
Yonkers Montessori opened this season on fire, carried the second longest undefeated streak in Section 1, and fit the image of a squad capable of duplicating its run. But a spate of injuries and persistent illness slowed their momentum enough for Hamilton to eke ahead in the league standings.
It’s because of that, Arsela Mustafaj said, that this triumph was so, well, picture perfect.
“It’s so much more fulfilling,” said the senior, who dealt with a bone bruise in her knee. “We went a long time without having all of our starters healthy, and we needed to overcome that. It was a bumpier road this time, but that makes it sweeter.”
What’s next
The Eagles face Section 9 champion James I. O’Neill in a subregional Wednesday, 7 p.m. at Mahopac High School.
“This is awesome, but we’re not done yet,” said Emilee Doherty, who helped YMA reach the regional final last winter. “We’ve gotta put our heads down and keep working, because there’s more to do.”
Turning point
Hamilton forced seven turnovers in the opening six minutes and raced to a 9-1 lead. At that point, Moise said, “it was about settling down and just getting out the jitters.”
The Eagles slowed their pace a bit and were more deliberate with passes, working their half-court sets. Adding to that was Gleeson snagging several offensive rebounds. Doherty scored five straight points, including free throws that tied it at 11.
The teams exchanged the lead twice early in the second quarter, then Doherty hit 3-pointers on two straight possessions to give YMA a 20-15 lead that wasn’t relinquished. Jaya Oliva’s layup got the Raiders within two with 44 seconds left in the half, but Anisa Mustafaj immediately answered with a three and Arsela’s basket beat the buzzer and sent them to intermission up 30-23.
YMA pulled away in the third quarter, easing back into its uptempo offense and thriving in transition. Gleeson’s corner three seemed like the back-breaker, putting the Eagles up 50-36 with 5:40 remaining.
Yonkers Montessori is a primary-through-secondary school, so several of these players have been classmates since kindergarten. “It sounds corny,” Arsela said with a grin, “but there’s something to the power of friendship. We’ve got great chemistry and it helps us connect on the court.”
Player of the game
Doherty had 19 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals. Her two-way game and the three momentum-shifting threes helped earn the sophomore Class B tournament MVP.
“It definitely means a lot,” she said of having achieved this much early in her career. “But a lot of the credit goes to my teammates for finding me, and my coaches for building up my confidence.”
Box score
Yonkers Montessori (20-3) — Eighth-grader Anisa Mustafaj added 13 points, providing a spark off the bench. Arsela had nine points and nine rebounds, and Gleeson had five points, 13 rebounds, three assists and two steals. Liliana Toro and Keira Peters each scored four and did well defensively, pressuring the back court.
Hamilton (19-3) — Oliva had 12 points and five steals, and Somaya Blackman had 10 points and 12 rebounds. Cassidy Williams added eight points and Kiara Surrell scored seven.
They said it
“This is one of those seminal moments for Yonkers and these girls are an excellent representation of the community,” said RoseAnn Collins-Judon, assistant superintendent of the Yonkers Public Schools district. “Elie is a Saunders grad, too, so this program is Yonkers through and through. They’ve made the ‘10701’ proud.”
Stephen Haynes covers sports for The Journal News/lohud.
Live game updates
Starting lineups
Yonkers Montessori: Emilee Doherty, Liliana Toro, Keira Peters, Grace Gleeson and Arsela Mustafaj.
Hamilton: Jaya Oliva, Cassidy Williams, Gabrielle Harper, Kiara Surrell and Somaya Blackman.
Fourth quarter
Final: YMA beats Hamilton, 55-39, to win its second straight Section 1 Class B championship.
Je’Vaeh Thompson with two straight baskets puts the Eagles up 55-36 with two minutes to go. And that about does it; YMA will repeat as Class B champion.
YMA is up 51-36 with 2:57 remaining.
Third quarter
End of the third: Hamilton scored four straight to get within 43-31, going to the fourth.
Everything is clicking for YMA now and they’ve extended to a 41-25 lead with five minutes left. A technical foul led to a five-point possession, essentially, with Doherty canning both at the line and then Anisa Mustafaj hitting a three.
Doherty opens the third with a three-point play. Caught an outlet pass in stride and finished a layup through a collision in the paint. YMA goes up 33-23.
Second quarter
End of the half: Arsela Mustafaj hits a layup with three seconds left, sending YMA to the half with a 30-23 lead.
Doherty has hit threes on back-to-back possessions, the last one in transition. She got the outlet pass and had no hesitation pulling from the wing. That gave YMA a 20-15 lead with 4:34 left.
The Eagles take a 14-13 lead on Arsela Mustfaj’s layup with 6:22 left in the second.
First quarter
End of the first: The teams are tied at 11, going to the second. YMA charged back in the last minute, sparked by threes from Emilee Doherty and Anisa Mustafaj. Doherty’s free throws tied it at 11 at the end of the quarter.
Hamilton has raced to a 9-1 lead after Oliva’s transition layup with 2:21 left in the first half. That basket followed the Raiders’ sixth steal of the first five+ minutes. Yeah, YMA has been as out of sorts offensively as that stat suggests.
Albertus Magnus tops Ketcham to win Class AAA title
WHITE PLAINS – The subtle advice of a former teammate still resonates with this group.
Lauren Thomas remembers well that once, during a difficult stretch, Riley Harold said the best thing they can be is themselves.
“‘Don’t try to do too much or try to be something you’re not,'” Thomas recalled. “It was a reminder to keep things simple and be ourselves, because we’re good enough.”
After all, who better to be than Albertus Magnus?
Because this leviathan, in pursuit of another girls basketball state title, has throttled local competition and its championship form has seemingly become clearer and more defined with each round.
So when Ketcham put up an early fight, and the Falcons trailed briefly in the second quarter, those ol’ wise words echoed. What followed was these standouts being, well, standouts, and Albertus Magnus putting forth one of its signature runs in an eventual 56-31 win over the Storm in the Section 1 Class AAA final.
“This feeling never gets old,” Maddy Zuppe said of the Falcons winning a third straight Section 1 championship. “Especially as a senior, being able to go out on a win here is amazing. We’re still motivated by that loss, and we haven’t forgotten what we said.”
She was referring to their loss in the section final as a freshman, when she and Julia Scott promised each other they would never end another season with regret. And, sure enough, that was the last time their team walked off the court after a playoff game without reason to celebrate.
What’s next
Albertus Magnus, in its quest for a third straight state crown, will face Section 9’s Newburgh in a subregional at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, at Yorktown High School. They’ll be heavily favored against the Goldbacks, who lost games in the regular season to North Rockland, Arlington and Suffern.
But, of course, managing the pressure of expectations and obviating the traps of complacency is nothing new for the Falcons.
“We play every game as if that’s the best team in the country,” Zuppe said. “It doesn’t matter what their reputation is, what their record is, we know we have to be at our best.”
Turning point
Third-seeded Ketcham had overcome the loss of star center Ja’Kayla Cook and rebounded from a late-season swoon to pull a semifinal upset, creating this section final rematch with the Falcons.
Ally Kaminski had two quick baskets to close the first quarter, then opened the second with a floater that gave the Storm a 13-12 lead. For a moment, the idea of another upset floated. And it quickly flitted.
Scott answered with 4:12 left in the period, converting a three-point play that put the Falcons ahead for good. Keira Bresica followed with a corner three off a dish from Scott, and Sara Nezaj hit a jumper as Albertus began building a 10-point lead.
Kaminski’s buzzer-beating three pulled Ketcham within 25-18 going to halftime, but that was their last point until Alexa Feuer’s layup early in the fourth. Albertus pulled away during that eight minute, 16-second scoreless drought.
Camila Nunez’s layup off a bounce pass from Scott upped their lead to 49-25 with 3:34 remaining before both teams began pulling starters.
Scott’s shot-blocking is at times a drive deterrent, and Zuppe, Brescia, Nezaj, Nunez and Ella Grijalva contributed to a defense that held hot-shooting Ketcham to two 3-pointers.
“We did a much better job of following our defensive scouting against them in the second half,” Zuppe said. “We got up on them on the perimeter and didn’t give them many open shots or much room to drive.”
Player of the game
Scott was named Class AAA tournament MVP after racking up 21 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and three blocks. The Clemson-bound forward has made the sectional and state tournaments her playground the last three years and she’s especially inspired by the possibility of a fairytale high school finale.
Box score
Albertus Magnus (20-2) — Nezaj added 15 points and four steals, earning all-tournament honors, and Zuppe had seven points and five assists. Brescia scored seven points and Nunez had six.
Ketcham (15-8) — Kaminski had 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Feuer scored six.
They said it
“We know people expect a lot of us and we hear the outside noise, but we don’t listen to it,” said Thomas, a senior. “We’re always humble and know not to take anything for granted, just because of what we’ve accomplished in the past. That mindset has helped us get to where we are, and it’s why we appreciate these moments so much.”
Stephen Haynes covers sports for The Journal News/lohud.
Live game updates
Ketcham: Raia Allen, Ally Kaminski, Maia Schiavone, Alyssa Venditto and Kiera Weatherwax.
Albertus Magnus: Maddy Zuppe, Sara Nezaj, Camila Nunez, Keira Brescia and Julia Scott.
Fourth quarter
Final: Albertus Magnus beats Ketcham, 56-31, for the second straight season in the Section 1 Class AAA final, capturing its third consecutive section championship overall. They’ll face Section 9’s Newburgh on Wednesday, 7 p.m. at Yorktown High School in a subregional.
Albertus Magnus has extended to a 56-29 lead with a minute left.
Zuppe’s driving layup makes it 47-25 with 4:51 remaining.
Alexa Feuer ends Ketcham’s drought, scoring from under the basket 14 seconds into the fourth quarter.
Third quarter
End of the third: Albertus took control and created separation in this quarter, holding Ketcham scoreless while building a 37-18 lead. The Storm contributed to that, missing a couple free throws and some makeable shots inside. Scott’s jumper with 1:07 left accounted for the last points of the period.
Zuppe’s three and Nezaj’s pull-up jumper have the Falcons up 35-18 with 2:39 left in the third. More troubling for Ketcham, of course, is the fact they haven’t scored since the second-quarter buzzer.
Nezaj’s free throw and Zuppe’s basket extend Albertus’ lead back to 10. And Scott followed with a jumper, making it 30-18 three minutes into the quarter.
Second quarter
End of the half: The Falcons take a 25-18 lead to halftime. Scott’s lefty scoop and then another three-point play have pushed the Albertus lead to 25-15 before Kaminski hit a three just before the buzzer.
Albertus retakes the lead, 15-13, on Scott’s three-point play with 4:12 left in the first half. Brescia then followed with a corner three off a pass from Scott, then Nezaj hit a short jumper in transition, quickly upping the lead to 20-13 with 2:39 left.
Kaminski has scored six straight, including opening the second with a floater that gave Ketcham a 13-12 lead.
First quarter
End of the first: Kaminski got Ketcham back within 12-11 going to the second. She hit a layup and, on the last possession of the quarter, walked them down before driving for a floater before the buzzer.
Zuppe’s steal and outlet pass leads to Nezaj’s jumper, giving Albertus a 10-5 lead with two minutes to go.
Ketcham got off to a quick 4-2 lead, but Albertus Magnus got in front on Julia Scott’s three-point play, finishing a hook shot through contact and hitting the free throw with 5:36 left in the quarter.
Friday, March 6
Class A
No. 1 Tappan Zee 47, No. 2 Pelham 31
Saturday, March 7
Class C
No. 1 Tuckahoe 67, No. 2 North Salem 50
Class AA
No. 1 Nyack 46, No. 2 Ossining 44
Sunday, March 8
Class AAA
No. 1 Albertus Magnus 56, No. 3 Ketcham 31
Class B
No. 2 Yonkers Montessori 55, No. 1 Alexander Hamilton 39
Stephen Haynes covers sports for The Journal News/lohud.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: YMA repeats as ‘B’ champ, Albertus wins 3rd straight girls basketball title
Reporting by Stephen Haynes, Rockland/Westchester Journal News / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
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