It took less than a week, but we’ve already had our first minor upset (I think). Albertus Magnus beat Ursuline 63-52 in the final of the McNichol Turkey Tip-Off today at Magnus.

Alaina Walker (right) had perhaps her best game ever, scoring 37 points, including No. 1,000 of her career.

“Alaina was unbelievable,” coach Joe McGuinness told me over the phone. “Just Superwoman.”

It was an interesting game on many levels. The coaches believed Walker was 39 points shy of 1,000 before yesterday’s win over Maria Regina until McGuinness remembered the result of last season’s regular-season finale against Ardsley was never recorded online. Walker had 22 in that game, and started the season off with 16 against Burke Catholic on Friday, giving her 999 points. He told her parents, Ron and Barbara, but they kept the news from Walker, who was surprised when the game was stopped after she sank a free throw in the first quarter. The team presented Walker and her parents with roses and a commemorative ball.

“It was a big surprise,” she said. “I wasn’t expecting to get it today. It was a little overwhelming.”

Walker’s effort spurred a big game from Magnus, which trailed after the first quarter but took a five-point lead into halftime. The Falcons outrebounded Ursuline and its five 6-footers, and they never allowed the Koalas to launch a comeback.

Walker, who also posted a new career high, told me it was nice to join the 1,000-point club, but said she’d take a big win any day over reaching some milestone. She would know the feeling. This was an impressive win for Magnus. My question: Was it an upset??? I’m not sure at this point.

Anyway, the Falcons received several strong efforts this weekend behind Walker. Meghan Richards, a sophomore, had eight points and seven rebounds today. Caitlin Spicer played tough defense, earning her a spot on the all-tournament team. Kerry Higgins was named all-tournament as well after scoring 13 against Maria Regina yesterday. (Walker was the MVP, of course.)

Shelby Sferra had her second straight 18-point game for Ursuline. She was joined on the all-tourney team by Shannon Ray, who had seven points today, and Maria Regina’s Bianca Kowgios.

Kowgios had a huge game today. She scored 30 points and had four rebounds, five assists and five steals, leading the inexperienced Tigers to a 54-53 win over Burke Catholic. “She was all over the court,” coach Tim Pitrulle told me. (Maria is still looking to find help for Kowgios and Samantha Marinucci, particularly from its young post players, but Pitrulle sounds confident they will come around soon.)

I had other obligations today, so if anyone caught this tournament let me know how the teams and the players looked. It was quite the way to start the season.

There is no official opening day for the basketball season, but today is about as close as it gets. As you may’ve heard, there’s a big tournament today at Albertus Magnus. The Falcons host Burke Catholic at 3, followed by Ursuline and Maria Regina at 5.

Obviously, any time you have three contenders (Ursuline in AA, Magnus in A and Maria in the CHSAA) plus an annual Section 9 champ, you have a good field.

I had originally thought about publishing the first Top 10 today, but I decided it’s best to wait. Our preview will run next weekend, so I think I’ll wait until then.

I plan on swinging by Magnus later for the games so hopefully I’ll have more on those teams later tonight. It’s pretty much all basketball for me after this weekend so I will have much more to come in the coming days.

6:23 p.m.: Immersed in the basketball preview, which will publish on Dec. 6, I did not make it to Bardonia today. (That, for the non-Rocklanders, is where Albertus Magnus is.) But I do know that Magnus won quite easily, 72-43, over Burke Catholic. The Falcons led 50-13 after an impressive first half.

Alaina Walker scored a team-high 16 points and six steals and Kerry Higgins added 13 points, all in the first half. Cassie Cayser made five 3’s in her Magnus debut. Wow. … The other debut by a shooter was by transfer Melissa Place, who scored four points in her first game since coming over from Holy Angels in Jersey.

9:10 p.m.: I just spoke to Beth Wooters on the phone. Ursuline knocked off Maria Regina 58-43 behind 14 points, eight rebounds and six assists from Shannon Ray. Shelby Sferra scored a game-high 18. Arianna Apostolopolous scored eight in her varsity debut.

For Maria Regina, Bianca Kowgios scored 14 points on the strength of two 3’s. She had five boards, five assists and two steals. Katherine Sayegh, who missed last season with an injury, added 10, and Samantha Marinucci — the only other returning player with experience — had 11.

Ursuline led 32-19 at the half, but Maria cut it to single digits after three quarters. The Koalas responded and put the game away late, outscoring the Tigers 18-12 in the fourth.

For anyone interested in the game tomorrow, Magnus will host Ursuline in the championship game at 3 p.m. Maria and Burke Catholic will play in the consolation at 1.

I’ve been out and about the last few days, leaving you with the County Center cuts to ponder. I covered football on Saturday at Dietz Stadium in Kingston – the single coldest day I’ve worked outside in five and a half years. If you are reading this and you’re from Rye or New Rochelle, you may even have felt the chill first hand.

Anyway, I haven’t forgotten hoops completely. I’ve actually been to a few gyms in the last week, and I’ve traded phone calls and e-mails with a number of coaches. Here are a few of my first impressions:

We may see three or four brand new champions. It’s true. Not only is White Plains expected to fade from the gold-ball picture in AA (it has to, right???), but Pearl River, Briarcliff and North Salem will face serious challenges in their classes. In fact, if you include the catholic schools, Maria Regina, which lost all but one starter to graduation, should be challenged for local CHSAA supremecy by Victory.

In Class AA, Ursuline and Lourdes look awfully strong. Mount Vernon and Ossining should be exciting and dangerous teams. I hear Scarsdale is better than people think. And John Jay-East Fishkill will start nearly every game with the best player on the floor.

Class A is tough to call, too. Pearl River returns a strong core that includes Section 1 tournament MVP Kelly Mulligan. But between Lakeland, with Tori Jarosz; Beacon, with Kara Tancredi; and Albertus Magnus, with Alaina Walker, Class A is filled with game-changing players. Those are three of the best players in the section. You also can’t forget about the sleeping giant of the north, mighty Peekskill.

Briarcliff is obviously the champ in B. It is also the favorite to retain all those plaques. But it will not go unchallenged. Sure, Magnus is gone, but Irvington and Nanuet and their great junior classes will almost certainly provide better competition than ever. Briarcliff will need to play just as well this year to win, and if it does it will be every bit the team it was in 2007-08.

Class C will be a whole new ballgame for Haldane without Brittany Shields. But is 6-foot-7 Danielle Fiacco the next force at that level? North Salem not only has her in the paint, it also has a Hall-of-Fame coach in John Lauro. Right now, I truly believe the Tigers are the favorite.

These girls are good. Real good. A couple years back I wrote a story about the remarkable group of 1,000-point scorers and Division I players in the Class of 2006. There weren’t necessarily Cori Chambers types among them, but the depth of the class was startling.

The Class of 2009 isn’t quite there overall, but the top players are all outstanding. Six of them signed with D-I schools: Porsha Postell (Kentucky), Alaina Walker (St. Bonaventure), Sophia Aleksandravicius (Davidson), Caitlynn Moran (Boston University), Maggie Blair (Manhattan), and Shelby Sferra (Quinnipiac), and Bianca Kowgios and Kara Tancredi are still possible D-I players. You also can’t quibble with Postell’s talent; she’s the first player since the aforementioned Chambers to sign in the SEC, the best conference in women’s basketball.

Depth will reign. Depsite all those I just mentioned, the deepest teams will rule. Ursuline has five players 6-foot-1 or taller and nine players will significant varsity experience. Briarcliff has seven players who played on a state championship team, and another who has been the top scorer on two straight state soccer champions. Magnus returns six players from a Class B finalist. Irvington has three junior starters, two of which played as eighth graders, the other as a freshman. Pearl River has four starters back from the Class A champion.

None of those teams I mentioned has more than one Division I-bound player on its roster. They won’t be carried to a gold ball by stars the way White Plains was in 2007, or lifted to an unbeaten regular season the way Mount Vernon was in 2005 when it had four Division I caliber players.

This season will be about the deepest teams – the ones with the greatest resivoirs of talent – winning championships.

Don’t expect to see Section 1 look like this again. Not only will the season miss five full days of play at the County Center. There are more changes to come in the future. Teams will play just 18 games (rather than 20) in 2009-10. Some will play in vastly different leagues inside larger conferences as Section 1 tries to cut down on travel. Expect Rockland schools to play more Rockland schools. Sound Shore schools to play other Sound Shore schools. River towns to stick with river towns.

Realignment is coming. If you’re a devout fan of the nightly battles in League I-A and League III-C, enjoy them while they last.

Here’s the schedule for the Slam Dunk Challenge, which I got tonight from organizer Lou DeMello:

Boys —
Sat., Dec. 27:
Croton-Harmon vs. Valhalla, 10:15 a.m. (Challenge game)
Gorton vs. Long Island Lutheran, 1:45 p.m.
White Plains vs. Collegiate, 3:30 p.m.
Greece Athena vs. Iona Prep, 5:15 p.m.
Peekskill vs. South Side, 7 p.m.
Sun., Dec. 28:
Losers bracket semifinal, 1:45 p.m.
Losers bracket semifinal, 3:30 p.m.
Semifinal, 5:15 p.m.
Semifinal, 7 p.m.
Mon., Dec. 29:
7th place, 10:15 a.m.
5th place, 12 p.m.
Consolation, 5:15 p.m.
Championship, 7 p.m.

Girls —
Sat., Dec. 27:
Ossining vs. Woodlands, 12 p.m. (Challenge game)
Sun., Dec. 28:
Albertus Magnus vs. Greece Athena, 10:15 a.m.
Our Lady of Lourdes vs. Cornwall, 12 p.m.
Mon., Dec. 29:
Consolation, 1:45 p.m.
Championship, 3:30 p.m.

As has been rumored the last couple of days, Championship Week at the County Center has been trimmed from seven days to two, with only the championship games for both the boys and girls scheduled to be played at the White Plains mecca.

The decision was made by new Section 1 executive director Jennifer Simmons, who was encouraged to cut costs by superintendents. The school districts have had to tighten their belts because of the country’s current financial situation, which, in turn, has an impact on Section 1’s budget.

We’ll have a story in tomorrow’s paper on the decision, which was confirmed yesterday by Simmons and Joe Stout, the Westchester County Parks commissioner. The story says Section 1 lost $12,000 last year during the course of Championship Week. The county donates the building for the week, but the section is responsible for the various employees who work that week as well as operating costs.

I had been told this was a possibility in the spring by outgoing executive director Greg Ransom, but he had told me all semifinals and finals would still be held in the building. That plan, which was also intended to cut the budget, called for two long days of basketball on Saturday and Sunday, followed by four or five nights of championship games during the week. (The normal schedule started on a Monday and ran through Sunday.) It would cut one or two days, but still keep all semis and finals at the County Center.

Obviously, this is a huge disappointment for players and coaches in the section. We’ll have comments from a few of them, who were all crushed.

At the same time, if the section really is losing money, it’s difficult for it to continue to lose $12,000 a year, assuming that was normal losses for an average year.

My favorite part about Championship Week was the opportunity to watch 24-30 games over seven days. It gave me — and thousands of others — the chance to see players on a big stage. But it was more than a showcase. It was the week Section 1 boys and girls basketball came together as a community. The County Center was part basketball tournament, part town square. The scarcity of games will make the finals a hotter ticket, but the semis will have lost a lot of luster. They will likely be held opposite one another, at the higher seed, so crowds will be drastically reduced. That’s a shame, too.

As always, your thoughts on this decision are appreciated. Fire away…

Last season it was supposed to be impossible. The team had graduated two Division I players from a championship team that had graduated two Division I players from a championship team the year before that. But as you know, this dizzying array of talent at White Plains had left one player behind, and it turned out Angelei Aguirre and an ever-improving supporting cast were enough to upend the No. 1 and No. 2-ranked teams in the section to win a fourth straight Class AA title.

It was a stunning achievement for the 10th-seeded Tigers, but at least then they always had the best player on the floor. It will be much tougher now to launch a deep run into February and March. Let’s look at the reasons for optimism and pessimism:

Sue Adams is back. The coach who has won four straight Class AA titles with a program that had won just one ever returned after a prolonged flirtation with retirement. Adams stepped down, but returned this fall when a panel headed by boys coach Spencer Mayfield asked her to fill the void she left behind.

Adams is just a coach and we all know success is based largely on the players on the floor. However, Adams’ ability on the bench gives White Plains an edge in any given game.

Aguirre is not. The Journal News’ Westchester/Putnam player of the year dominated in every facet, handling the ball and putting it in the basket. The Tigers should be strong on defense but must find players who can replace Aguirre’s production. Of course, that will require way more than just one person, but they must make up the difference collectively.

Only one starter returns. Aguirre was the show, but her success took away attention from a group of strong supporting players. Donika Rexhepi shot the ball well. Simone Tharkur was a terrific defender. And Valda Heyward could handle the ball and facilitate plays to take pressure off Aguirre. All three were probably better than they were given credit for, so White Plains will miss them, too. The only starter back is 5-foot-10 forward Shelby Fields, whose rebounding and defense were integral down the stretch of the season. Fields was an excellent role player as a sophomore, but White Plains will need her to emerge as a scorer and as a leader if it hopes to compete in its league and beyond.

The only returning senior is Abby Revers, a 5-foot-7 guard who has impressed Adams so far. Junior Sara Franco saw limited action last season but is expected to provide scoring behind Fields.

A bevy of new faces. After years with the same cast of characters, Adams has a handful of new faces ready to infuse youth into the program. Sophomore forward Linnae Fargo should play right away, as will freshmen guards Kim Hanlon and Sophia Roman, a duo Adams said “remind me of the next Kim and Liz,” speaking of her daughter, Kim Adams, and Liz Flooks.

White Plains will also welcome the return of Brittany Marbury, a senior who didn’t play last season and will likely take over point guard duties from Aguirre and Heyward. The Tigers did, however, lose Bree Bradley, a 5-foot-9 forward who was a member of the rotation as a freshman and battled through injuries as a sophomore. Bradley opted to not play this season.

“I look at this year as such a challenge but that is why is was enticing to return,” Adams said. “A lot of people think there is no one left at White Plains but my feeling is there is always somebody at White Plains.”

Adams always preaches the importance of preparing the team to make a deep run in February and March. That preparation will be harder than ever this season, but you never know. White Plains certainly bears watching.

The Tigers open with Clarkstown South and Roosevelt before they host the Lynne Kahn tournament Dec. 11-12. They could open strong, but this nine-game stretch to end the season will determine their fate:
@ Mount Vernon
@ New Rochelle
vs. Scarsdale
@ Ursuline
@ Mamaroneck
vs. Mount Vernon
vs. New Rochelle
@ Scarsdale
vs. Ursuline

I spoke to Gina Maher today and Maher, by her own admission, is lucky. Considering the size of the school and the class it plays in, Irvington has about as much returning from last season as any team in Section 1.

The Bulldogs have been very young the last season, but they were quite a precocious group, reaching back to back Class B semis at the County Center. Maher, as you may remember, had never coached there despite two significant facts: She is the longest-tenured basketball coach in the section and she patrolled the bench for two state championships. Girls didn’t play at the County Center back then. Now that they do, it appears Maher and Irvington are late-winter staples at the White Plains mecca.

Here’s why…

Four starters return. And they are all very good. Forward Gillian Morley and Tara Gabelman and guards Riley Harrington and Lisa Bucci. Only Morley is a senior, but all four players have a great deal of experience. They all played the last two seasons, and have practically as much experience as any quartet in the section.

Maher knows it. “All along they were the babies. Now they’re no longer the babies,” she said. “They’re older, and they’re showing it.”

The next youth movement is coming. The Bulldogs have a number of eighth graders and freshmen knocking on the varsity door. Some are already through. In fact, Maher has three eighth graders set to play on either the JV or varsity, and all are very good according to her and others I have spoken to.

A freshman, 5-foot-10 Marley Giddins, played on the JV last year and is expected to play immediately. She actually played point guard on JV, but will likely shift to the post this year. Obviously, Giddens is very versatile, so she should fit in well.

Morley is healthy. It was a frustrating junior season for Morley, who struggled with leg injuries, first in mid-season, and later in the playoffs. Morley was injured in the classic Class B quarterfinal win at Nanuet and simply wasn’t the same at the County Center against Albertus Magnus, a game Irvington ultimately lost. A healthy Morley gives the Bulldogs someone who can score in the post and rebound as well as anyone on the team.

Still, the favorite is a school 20 minutes north and the Bulldogs know it. Undoubtedly, Irvington still begins the season looking up at Briarcliff, the defending Section 1, state and state Federation champ. But the Bulldogs have a chance. They lost one starter, forward Jasmine Macies, a steady contributor and strong team leader. But with the young players no longer so young, Irvington, along with Nanuet, should provide Briarcliff its stiffest competition.

Take a look at Irvington’s schedule. Not to apply the pressure here, but the Bulldogs could be 10-0 before visiting Pearl River on Jan. 6.

So as you probably already know, another Briarcliff soccer season bled into a Briarcliff basketball season. The Bears yet again dominated on the pitch, and won a second straight Class B state championship.

The basketball team matched the soccer team last year; now they’ll have to do it again.

Here’s the 411 on Briarcliff —

Anything you can do I can do better. Briarcliff, like everyone else, began its 08-09 hoops campaign eight days ago, but it didn’t truly begin until this week, when Katie Weiner, Savina and Briana Reid, and Liana Cornacchio returned to practice with their third state championship in 12 months — a remarkable achievement. Don Hamlin told me the Bears spent the previous week practicing against the JV and said the difference in practice the last couple days has been stark.

“Our athleticism ramped up in a hurry in just one day of having those four kids,” Hamlin said.

Filling in up front. Briarcliff returns all but two members of its rotation from the team that won Class B state and Federation state titles last year. The missing starters are 6-foot-1 Shelby Coon and 5-foot-11 Jamie Heyda, who were key factors, particularly on the offensive and defensive glass — an area Briarcliff simply dominated.

Coon was one of the top rebounders in the state, and she also scored in two key areas: off offensive rebounds and at the foul line. Those are the attributes Briarcliff will struggle to replace. Hamlin said he knows one play can fill Coon’s role, but he believes the Bears have the talent to do so collectively.

“We’re not really that much smaller to tell you the truth,” Hamlin said. “Losing Shelby in the middle is tough because she did a tremendous job rebounding. We will probably have to have a couple kids step, but I think we’re capable.”

One is Weiner, who has the aggressiveness to chase rebounds and the size to get them. Another is Cornacchio, a 5-foot-11 forward who played JV ball last year but was called up to join the varsity late in the year. She practiced with the varsity for two weeks and was expected to join the lineup before she suffered a torn ACL playing club soccer in Florida. (Cornacchio is a top scoring threat on the soccer team and ranks among the best scorers in the area as a sophomore.)

Of course, the Bears’ cupboard is hardly bare. Maggie Blair, who is headed to Manhattan, is back after winning MVPs in both state tournaments. She is joined by sharp-shooter Taylor Pescetti, who made some of the biggest shots of the season last year, both at the County Center and beyond.

They also return the Reid twins, who played integral roles defensively and proved to complement one another well. Another returning sophomore, Kasey Heyda, Jamie’s little sister, showed flashes and is expected to become an even bigger contributor in the front court.

My bad. I made a mistake about transfer Laura Krey, who won’t be eligible to play this season. Krey is from Mamaroneck and is therefore ineligible to play basketball this season. I erred when I stated last week that Briarcliff was her home district. She can’t begin play with the Bears until 2009-10.

Still the favorite. All in all, Briarcliff is easily the favorite to win Class B again, with teams like Irvington and Nanuet the closest contenders and Woodlands looming as a scary potential matchup. (Just ask Hamlin…)

Last thing: The Bears have a challenging non-league schedule to keep an eye on:
— at Scarsdale, Dec. 4th
— at Pearl River, Dec. 9th
— vs. Albertus Magnus, Jan. 6th
— at Nanuet, Jan. 30th

I wasn’t able to post this on Friday because of my state football playoff obligations, but Lourdes senior Kim Dweck signed a letter of intent on Friday to play ball at New Jersey Institute of Technology.

NJIT finished last season 10-19, but the new Division I program had been an independent. Now the Highlanders have moved into the Great West Conference, which will begin play in the 2009-10 season.

Dweck, who is from Cortlandt Manor, led Lourdes in scoring last year and is a key member of the Warriors, who are expected to compete for the Class AA title. I’ll track her down and let you know what she has to say about NJIT.

The preseason chatter now takes us to Mahopac, where the Indians return five seniors and one junior who have helped form the core of the team for three years running.

Mahopac, you may remember, started strong last season, and headed into the New Year undefeated at 6-0. But the Indians battled injury, inconsistency and a tougher schedule the rest of the season and finished 5-10 in their final 15 games.

The returnees are led by 6-foot-2 center Gillian Felix (right) and shooting guard Jessie Kavana, a pair of seniors who will play ball in college. Felix orally committed to Division II Caldwell College in New Jersey and Kavana is still deciding between several strong Division IIIs, and both had interest from Division I and Division II programs.

Felix has the height to dominate on the glass and in the paint, while Kavana is a nice compliment because she can score from the perimeter (she has made 48 3’s the last two seasons). They have been Mahopac’s stars for two years, but both must take another step for the team to step into the elite in its league and the section.

They have an experienced supporting cast led by senior guards Bari Chavis and MacKenzy Ryan, senior forward Sarah DeMarzo and junior forward Alexa Madden, who have all played quality minutes the last two seasons. Coach Jerry Fioretti, who took over last year, said he expects two newcomers, guard Samantha Nardo and forward Brittany Craig, to contribute immediately after strong JV seasons as freshman. (Fioretti said another sophomore newcomer, Caitlin Hynes, is expected to miss the season with a knee injury.)

“We have a tough schedule and a lot has to go right for us to be standing in late February,” Fioretti said. “Our defense and rebounding need to improve.”

Mahopac will start with a tough opener. The Indians host North Rockland on Dec. 8.