Federation championship: Briarcliff vs. American Studies (PSAL)
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- March
- 29
12:25 p.m.: Final stats —
Briarcliff: Shelby Coon (19 points, 13 rebounds); Maggie Blair (14 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, four steals); Taylor Pescetti (18 points, 6 of 10 FGs)
American Studies: Crystal James (13 points, 13 rebounds); Raquel Gutierrez (17 points, 8 of 13 FGs); Diani Mason (15 points, 11 rebounds)
11:49 a.m.: All-tournament team —
Brittany Thompson, Fieldston; Crystal James, American Studies; Raquel Gutierrez, American Studies; Diani Mason, American Studies (sportsmanship); Taylor Pescetti, Briarcliff; Shelby Coon, Briarcliff; Maggie Blair, Briarcliff (MVP)
11:44 a.m.: It’s all over in Glens Falls. Briarcliff wins 61-49.
Shelby Coon, Maggie Blair and Taylor Pescetti combined to score 51 of the Bears 61 points. Coon led the way with 19.
This is the first Federation championship by a Westchester school since Ursuline won in 1994. It’s the first by any Section 1 school since Lourdes in 2002.
I’ll have more stats later, plus a quick thought on the HOF induction of John Lauro and Ken Thomas, both of whom I spoke to earlier.
11:32 a.m.: Briarcliff 53-41 with 4:22 left.
Right now, all three Briarcliff stars are in double figures. Coon has 18 points and Blair has 14. Pescetti has 11.
11:29 a.m.: 49-39 with 5:20 to play. Briarcliff’s defense has made it much harder on American Studies in the second half and it has keyed the run.
11:24 a.m.: After three quarters, Briarcliff holds a 47-37 lead. Shelby Coon had a great third, scoring 10 points. Maggie Blair also hit a big 3 to end a 6-0 run.
James is back on the floor but has not been as effective. The Reids have done a solid job on Mason in the second half, holding her to just one point. Brianna Reid has been on the floor a lot, even knocking down a jumper earlier.
11:30 a.m.: Photog Matt Brown was kind enough to provide the photo of Shelby Coon from the first half.
11:15 a.m.: American Studies has answered with a 7-3 run of its own. The score is now 39-31 with 3:30 left in the period.
11:12 a.m.: Briarcliff is up 36-24 now. James has two fouls, but she is currently on the bench. I don’t know if she’s hurt or what, so I’ll have to find out later.
Coon hit two baskets during the quick 6-0 run to open the half and now has 11 points.
10:56 a.m.: It’s halftime and Briarcliff has taken a 30-24 lead on the strength of a 10-2 run over the final 5:22 of the half. James, who has 11 points to lead American Studies, spent the last half of the quarter on the bench with two fouls. Her absence really hurt the PSAL champ, which struggled on the glass without its best rebounder.
The Bears had to work to take the lead. They drove it into the heart of the zone and got to the FT line. Coon made 5 of 6 FTs during that stretch and the team made 6 of 8.
Taylor Pescetti extended the run to 10-0 when she made a layup after a steal. American Studies then ended a 4:46 drought with a basket just before the half.
10:46 a.m.: Great second quarter so far. Katie Weiner just tied it on a putback of a Maggie Blair miss 22-22. Briarcliff’s getting great play out of Maggie Blair, who has really been aggressive attacking the AS zone. Coon has played most of the period and has yet to pick up another foul, so that’s a positive sign for the Bears.
10:38 a.m.: Briarcliff still down 15-13 after one quarter. Hamlin inserted Coon back on the floor with 1:31 to play in the period, hoping to spark a comeback. She hit a pair of FTs with six seconds to play in the period.
The same problems persist for Briarcliff, handling Mason on the perimeter or Crystal James in the post. Hamlin told me yesterday he was concerned about those two, and his concerns are real so far. They have combined for 11 of AS’s points.
10:32 a.m.: Briarcliff trails 13-7. If the Bears are going to win, they’ll have to find an answer for Diani Mason, who already has five points but has caused a lot of trouble with her speed.
Also, Briarcliff faces a confounding 1-3-1…not a fun defense to play against.
10:27 a.m.: Taylor Pescetti opened the game with a 3, but American Studies has tied it 3-3. Shelby Coon has two fouls already and is on the bench. Right afterward Don Hamlin called a TO.
I have to say, American Studies is definitely a more worthy opponent than Fieldston. It’s a very athletic team.
10:19 a.m.: Looks like it’ll be another early tipoff. They’re running through the lineups right now…again, not a lot of people in the house today.
Also about to start in 30 minutes, the HOF induction John Lauro and Ken Thomas. I’ll try to get some thoughts on that as well.
This entry was posted
on Saturday, March 29th, 2008 at 9:22 am by Josh Thomson. 
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Josh Thomson has done some of everything since joining The Journal News in March 2003. He began working for the Gannett weeklies during the winter of 2002 as a freelance writer. He joined the daily staff soon after and has since covered various high school and pro sports. Away from sportswriting, Josh lives in Westchester and spends his free time either with his fiancee, Sarah, or expertly managing his various championship-winning fantasy sports teams. He's visited 21 major-league baseball stadiums and insists that Fenway Park and Wrigley Field are the best by far. Josh graduated from Carmel High School in 1998, then went to Boston University, where, in 2002, he received a degree in communications with a minor in history.
Josh, Thanks for the updates. Briarcliff what a great season congratulations on your or accomplishments and winning all of it.
CONGRATS TO THE BRIARCLIFF GIRLS AND COACH HAMLIN ON A GREAT JOB THIS WEEKEND YOUR HARD HAS PAID OFF.ALSO CONGRATS TO MAGGIE AND SHELBY ON THEIR MILESTONES.
Another GREAT job by the Bears! Congratulations to the Briarcliff Community and da Bears entire team and coaching staff. Well done!
Congrats to Braricliff for all of their hard work, it really paid off and you have made this section proud!!! Shelby Coon was amazing in this tournament and all through playoffs. She proved to be the leader of the team statistically and vocally and she is a very talented player as well as fun to watch. Also congrats to Blair and Pescetti for great performances and all-tournament awards as well. Josh, I have to ask, what makes a player an mvp. When the mvp award at states couldve gone either way it went to Blair because she scored more. Now, Coon scores 4 points in total better then Blair and grabs twice as many rebounds while spending less time on the floor but Blair still gets MVP? Either way, congrats to the team and to Shelby Coon who I know will go on to do great things. After the regualr season so many people were bashing her and putting her down but she showed up and out-shined all of the forwards she played and led her team all the way. And, for all of you who doubted she has announced this week that she will be playing division 1 basketball next year so i think everyone should get there facts straight before making statements. Same thing happened with Walker, who also announced she is playing d1 ball at Bonnies. Congrats to her as well!
Same thing didnt happen to Walker
Said she would be a good D2 player, she is going to a LOW D1, which is the same as a good D2.
what is low d1???? and d1 is better then d2. The Patriot league, ivy league, maac, and big east…the leagues that are recruiting her… are very good leagues. What are you talking about?? admit you were wrong!!and yes the same thing did happen to walker some people said she couldnt play d1 and she is. You people need to check your facts and quit saying things before you know them. How do you even know if she is being recruited by low or high d1 schools?? see thats the same accusation that you made saying she wouldnt be recruited by a d1 school …. low or high and she is…. how do you know these things? you dont. so quit saying your own personal opinions if you dont know fact dont say anything. You dont know what you are talking about. and if those leagues are low d1 then with the exception of Cori Chambers you are saying you have never had a “high” d1 exceptional player come from here. Nice try. NAd also surrounding those comments was “lets see if she shows up when it counts” and guess what she did. She is a great player and will go on to do amazing things whether you want her to or believe she can.
THis issue should be dropped as it is evident that mike hoops doesnt know what he is talking about. All of these opinions about what schools kids can play at are nuts. What do you know, who are you? Coon is going to a d1 school and deserves it. She has a huge upside and so much talent already. Let it go. She has played amazingly through all of playoffs and led her team. And yes, she showed up when it counted. Just shows how right you all are on here, when a month or so ago you all said she doesnt/cant show up when her team needs her. If there is nothing positive to say dont say it. If you dont know fact your opinion about an athletes future is bs so stop trying to say u now stuff that you have no idea about. It seems like you all think you know a lot but really know very little. All that should be said is congrats to Briarcliff and Coon, Blair, Pescetti on a great season. And congrats to Shelby on deciding to go division 1 (although not determined where yet!)
My comments were about Walker, not the Briarcliff girl.
It is my opinion that Walker would be a great D2 player.
Is is that bad to have an opinion? Is saying someone will be great bad?
And no Division 1 is not always better then D2.
The LOW Division 1 schools are not competitive with the mid majors and the top teams.
The top 50 D2 teams(Holy Family, Calif(PA), Franklin Pierce,Stonehill) are better or equal to the bottom 50 Division 1 teams.(Fordham,Cen Ct State, Colgate,Howard, Navy, Penn,Wagner, Columbia, Rider,NJIT, Hofstra)
Dan,
You are wrong
Janice Wilcox went to Providence (Big East)
Betsie McManus went to Villanova (Big East)
Hillary Howard went to Duke (ACC)
Jenna Viani went to Villanova (Big East)
Other Vianni is at Marist (MAAC is low, but Marist isnt)
That is all great but Mike Hoops you are forgetting something, You dont know all of the schools that are recruiting her so how do you know if they are the best or the worst teams in those leagues? (which are some of the best mid-major leagues and the big east) I think everyone should just wait and see after Coon commits to make comments. And even then the comments should just be great congratulations. And St.Bonnies is a good basketball team and they play in the A10, a great mid major conference. And you can say those teams are the worst but teams change and improve and come up (just like Marist has) so really any division 1 school or any college to play basketball at is a great accomplishment. And if the article was correct one of the schools that is recruiting Coon is Bucknell who just won the patriot league (a great conference) which puts them near the top of mid-major schools.
Again I NEVER commented on COON.
Right now St Bonaventure is a low D1 team, hopefully they become like Marist
Why can’t everyone just be happy with the girls’ win? Whatever school the seniors pick should be their choice – based on what they want for their future – both in the classroom and on the basketball court. If it’s D1, fine. If it’s D2, great. If it’s D3, terrific. The players and their families need to look at the person coming out after the four years of college and make sure that they had the best education and experience that they could hope for no matter what division it was. Every player should be looking for the best fit for themselves.
Thank god someone has sense! Thank you enough already. This will end till player of the year gets picked!