The teams met twice during the regular season. Both meetings were won by Lourdes. The winner this afternoon will meet the winner of tomorrow’s game between Scarsdale and Mount Vernon at 2 p.m. on Sunday for the Class AA gold ball.

For those of you who couldn’t make it to the County Center, you can watch the game here on Mogulus.

One pregame note. Hayley Awerdick missed practice all week after she had an abscess drained in her lower back. She had been in pain and unable workout, but she returned to practice yesterday and has been pronounced ready to go.

Here are the starters:

LOURDES
Kim Dweck, G, #12
Teneka Whittaker, G, #3
Emily Forzano, G, #20
Cat Thompson, F, #5
Rachel Crittenden, F, #32

OSSINING
Hayley Awerdick, G, #15
Connie Andujar, G, #11
Alex Venuto, G, #20
Christina Rupp, F, #32
Imani Floyd, F, #21

End of the 1st quarter: Lourdes 23, Ossining 16 — Lourdes has shot great (9 for 15 FG) but Ossining has kept up by making 8 for 11 from the line. Lourdes has already committed eight fouls so Ossining will spend a lot of time at the stripe in the second. More at the break.

5:20 left in the 2nd quarter: Lourdes 28, Ossining 21 — Emily Forzano has nine points for Lourdes. Alex Venuto has nine for Ossining.

HALFTIME: Lourdes 37, Ossining 32 — Ossining withstood Lourdes’ hot shooting early in the game and will definitely have a chance here over the final two quarters. Ossining, which can be shaky from the stripe, shot 14 for 20 in the first half. Alex Venuto has 12 points and three rebounds. She’s very active and appears to have regained her confidence. Hayley Awerdick has been held to three points but she has made a few plays. She already has five assists. Kim Dweck has done much of the same for Lourdes. She has 11 points and five assists in the first half. She has helped set up Emily Forzano, who has 10 points so far. Ossining has done a solid job on Teneka Whittaker, who has eight points but has committed four turnovers.

Lourdes pulled away twice in the second half so we’ll see if the Warriors can do it again here. Ossining, despite the fact that it is trailing, seems to be in a very comfortable place. Dan Ricci has he team playing well. He warned me.

3:05 left in the 3rd quarter: Lourdes 46-42 — Alex Venuto just scored her 1,000th career point.

2:04 left in the 3rd quarter: Lourdes 46, Ossining 45 — Venuto is on a roll. She has 10 points this quarter and 22 for the game.

End of the 3rd quarter: Ossining 49, Lourdes 48 — What a quarter for Ossining, which is slowly but surely wearing on Lourdes. The Warriors three best players (Dweck, Whittaker and Crittenden) all have three fouls. So does Venuto, who has 22 points. What happens with the whistle and those four could determine the outcome.

5:10 left: Ossining 54, Lourdes 50 — What a game. This should be some finish.

57.5 left: Ossining 65, Lourdes 55 — Looks like me (and many of you) were dead wrong. Hayley Awerdick has been ice in the fourth quarter. She has eight points and has really controlled the game. She and Venuto have combined for 23 in the second half alone.

FINAL: Ossining 72, Lourdes 61 — This is a tremendous game by Ossining, which did exactly what it didn’t do the last two times. It held tough and came from behind in the second half. Alex Venuto finished with 24 points and scored No. 1,000. She had 10 points alone in the third quarter and helped spark a 20-5 run by Ossining. She also helped out on defense, mostly guarding Kim Dweck, who had 11 points and eight assists but was held without a point in the second half. Teneka Whittaker had 15 points to lead the Warriors but she was frustrated all game. She eventually fouled out. Rachel Crittenden finished with 12 points and seven rebounds but also faced significant foul trouble.

For Ossining, Hayley Awerdick played a strong second half. She had 16 of her 19 points in the final two quarters, including 10 in the fourth quarter alone. Awerdick also had six assists. Christina Rupp added 10 points, as did Angela Soldner off the bench.

A lot of people will point to the foul discrepancy so here it is for the record: 28 fouls on Lourdes, 19 fouls on Ossining. Lourdes shot 8 of 16 from the line and Ossining shot 32 for 48. Warriors’ fans won’t like those numbers. To the credit of Dweck and coach Sarah Mesuch, neither of them mentioned it after the game.

“They took us out of everything we wanted to run,” Mesuch said. “They just outplayed us.”

OK, here it goes…for two tickets to any session of Championship Week…drum roll please…this one’s tough…

Question #4: Can you identify the person in the following picture?

The first correct answer wins a pair of tickets. Please use a valid email address when you post the answer in the comment section so we can contact you. Thanks and good luck!

NO. 1 LAKELAND vs. NO. 5 PEARL RIVER, tonight, 8:15 p.m.: I thought Scarsdale-Mount Vernon was tough to call based on external circumstances. Experience. Atmosphere. History. Etc. This one is entirely different. I don’t know, nor does any fan, coach or parent looking at it objectively, how their two styles on the court will mesh. Lakeland, as you’ve heard me say before, has the most dominant presence in Tori Jarosz. How can Pearl River possibly defend her without anyone taller than 5-foot-9? I don’t know, but I’ve seen the Pirates stump teams before. They routinely stop post players they have no business stopping. How else to explain their dominant win over Minisink Valley earlier this season? It wasn’t just that they stopped Minisink, they bottled up Stefanie Dolson, who’s headed to play some center at a little place called UConn! And let’s face it, it isn’t like Pearl River’s deficient offensively. In fact, the Pirates are much more lethal than last year. Taylor Wilson has matured into a dominant inside-outside scorer. Plus, Nicole Grossbard and Christa Scognamiglio are excellent complementary scorers, and Kelly Mulligan really knows how to get them the ball. Pearl River’s normally vaunted press has shown some holes this year, but I bet Lorraine Moylan turns back to it tonight. She will want to keep the ball out of Jarosz’s hands. Lakeland will try to counter with a couple things, both of which will catch some of its naysayers off guard. These Hornets are more athletic than fans are used to, especially Kristin Pappalardo, Cassie Kardias and freshman PG Emily Alicea. They also can really shoot the 3. Pappalardo, Alicea and Vicky Kowalski will have to hit a few. If they can, Pearl River may have to open up its defense. From there Jarosz could dominate. I’m actually interested to see Jarosz play tonight. Those who haven’t seen her won’t even recognize the player from two years ago. She’s evolved from a raw talent into a wonderfully skilled player for her size. Pearl River will throw everything it has at her; how she responds may decide the game. While the Pirates beat you all across the court, Lakeland still lives and breathes on the back of Jarosz. I think the Hornets keep on breathing in the best semifinal of the girls draw. Prediction: Lakeland 63, Pearl River 61 (OT)

NO. 2 ALBERTUS MAGNUS vs. NO. 3 BREWSTER, tomorrow night, 6:30 p.m.: I can tell from some of the recent comments that the Brewster folks are mad at me. I want to make it clear that A) yes, the Bears are the only County Center team I have not seen play, and B) I don’t know much about them. Contrary to popular belief, I was very impressed with Brewster’s advancement through the tournament and into the building in White Plains. Ardsley was not an easy first round opponent, nor was Nyack, a team in search of a very similar run into the final four, a cakewalk. Truth be told, I’m excited to finally catch Brewster (we were snowed out of covering one, and maybe two, of its games). Emily Tapio sand Vania Simpri hould be a handful inside for Magnus to handle. Plus, freshmen guards Marisa Delzio and Lauren Quattrocchi have played well beyond their years since Devon Quattrocchi went down for the season. Delzio has averaged more than 9.0 PPG in the nine games since, while Lauren, Devon’s younger sister, has struck for double digits the last three games. But I think Brewster will miss the elder Quattrocchi in this game more than any. First, Magnus may very well be the best team in Section 1. Also, the Falcons have terrific on-ball defenders and will make it hard for Brewster to get into its offense (read: getting the ball to Tapio). Tapio can play inside and outside, so she should have her share of touches, but Magnus will be ready. With Joe McGuinness on the bench, it always is. Brewster must contend with Alaina Walker, who consistently gets to the free throw line 10 or more times a game and makes most of them. The Bears will have to guard 3-point shooters Felicia DaCruz, Maura Power and Caitlin Spicer, and they will have to remain sharp when Meghan Richards runs the offense as a point forward, where she can be surprisingly efficient. I think defense and a whole load of experience favor Magnus here. A year after coming up short in their run for the gold ball, I expect the Falcons to take one step closer tomorrow. Prediction: Albertus Magnus 55, Brewster 45

Rye County Day and Holy Child both advanced to the Fairchester championship game via wins in yesterday’s semifinals. You can read about their wins — and some gaudy numbers — in this link to today’s girls basketball roundup.

RCDS will host tomorrow’s final at 4:30 p.m. The teams met last Monday and the Wildcats won to earn the top seed and homecourt advantage.

Only two of the local Catholic schools remain alive in the CHSAA playoffs, both in the B Division. That’s No. 2 Good Counsel, the defending C Division champion, and No. 1 Blessed Sacrament. Good Counsel will face No. 6 St. Vincent Ferrer and Blessed Sacrament will face No. 3 Aquinas. Both games will be played at Sacred Heart tomorrow.

Maria Regina and Victory both fell in Tuesday’s A Division quarterfinals. It ended Maria’s reign as state champs. Victory lost a heart breaker. It was back and forth all through regulation and went to OT but St. John Villa rallied and won 63-51. Ironically, the rivals would’ve met for the third time this season (again!) had both advanced.

We have more tickets available for this week’s games at the County Center. I will post another trivia question at 3 p.m. this afternoon, then another at 7 p.m. The first person who submits a correct answer to the question will win two free tickets good for any day this week.

If you submit an answer, please make sure you log on with a valid e-mail address so we can get in touch with you.

Don’t miss your chance to win. Log on later and give us your best answer!

NO. 1 OUR LADY OF LOURDES vs. NO. 4 OSSINING, today, 4:45 p.m.: Lourdes enters the danger zone this afternoon. Both No. 1 seeds have lost in the girls tournament. Two of the three lost in the boys tournament. Plus, it seems like the regular season means nothing. Nanuet and Haldane both lost games to their opponents in the semis but came back to return the favor. Even Hamilton lost once to North Salem. If everything up is now down, Ossining would be the pick to win here. Heck, I saw them play one another at Ossining and for a half the teams were dead even. My one caveat here is that Lourdes’ greatest strengths (Kim Dweck and Taneka Whittaker) are perfectly designed to give Ossining fits. Add to it Rachel Crittenden, who gives the Warriors the best inside presence on the court. I believe Ossining will need some external factor to win. Lourdes must fall into foul trouble or be plagued by poor shooting or uncharacteristic turnovers. Ossining will also need good shooting games from Hayley Awerdick and Alex Venuto and continued strong play in the paint from Imani Floyd, who has been a difference-maker this postseason. She has cleanup some of the misfires by Awerdick, Venuto and Christina Rupp, who are typically asked to handle the scoring load. A big game by Floyd may be the key, but Crittenden and co. will make it hard in the paint. All in all, I’ll say this: I don’t believe in the adage that it’s hard to beat a team three times in the same season. Talking heads say it in NFL playoff games all the time, and I always yell the same thing back. If Team A beat Team B twice, it’s probably because Team A is better. I believe that applies here, too. Prediction: Lourdes 67, Ossining 56

NO. 2 MOUNT VERNON vs. NO. 3 SCARSDALE, tomorrow, 3 p.m.: I’ve flip-flopped on this one throughout the week. Originally, I liked Scarsdale and the Raiders have done nothing but thrive since then. However, I suspect the timing of the game will cost them fans, and the emotion generated from a pro-Scarsdale crowd would’ve helped overcome the talent gap; that part favors Mount Vernon. The atmosphere is important. Obviously, the Knights have had their County Center woes the last five seasons under coach Patrice Wallace-Moore and may feel some pressure in a tight game, but remember: MV hasn’t lost its way in the semis. The Knights are 3-0 at the arena in semis and 0-3 in finals. Physically, they have several advantages, like size and speed. They also beat Scarsdale twice during the regular season. So why do I, or why did I, like the Raiders? They are more experienced and they are steadier. Mount Vernon, for all its success, is a remarkably young team, with an eighth grader, a freshman, a sophomore and three juniors in its top six. It would be quite an achievement to reach a final with such a young team, but leaders Taylor Palmer and Shanyce Stewart must stay out of foul trouble and Carece Moore and Maquasia Campbell must harass the ball. A key factor is Tatiana Lewin, whose relentlessness gives Scarsdale serious matchup problems. Unlike MV, Scarsdale enters knowing its window may not stay flung open forever. Kerry Ryan and Allison Gage are seniors who are strong leaders. Ryan, Chelsea LoBue and Hayley Kanner must keep Stewart and Lewin off the glass, where they can change games. If MV presses, Danielle Feigin will be asked to move the ball upcourt for easy baskets. To be honest, I have no idea who will win, but I’m flipping for the first time all postseason. Prediction: Mount Vernon 61, Scarsdale 58

OK, you know the rules. First one to post a right answer in the comments section wins a pair of free tickets to any session this week. (Please, just use a valid email address when you post so we can contact you.)

Here’s the question…

After my first look at one team this season, I said it “looked very much like a legit future champ in Class C.” Which team was it?

This is a different type of question, kind of like something you’d see in Spotlight magazine. (Yeah, childhood…)

Remember, the winners will receive a pair of free tickets to one session of Championship Week this week at the County Center. Please, however, use a valid e-mail address when you post your answer so we can contact you.

Good luck to everyone. Here’s the question: Guess who is the mystery woman in the picture? Hint…she plays for Pearl River.

There will be another question at 7. Make sure to check back in then if you miss out on question #2.

We’re about to get day three underway here at the County Center. There’s a very nice crowd on hand from both sides despite the early start, although I’m sure it could’ve been larger a few hours from now.

Here are the starters for both sides:

IRVINGTON
Marley Giddens, F, #4
Tara Gabelman, F, #14
Gillian Morley, F, #20
Lisa Bucci, G, #10
Riley Harrington, G, #13

DOBBS FERRY
Lisa Tessitore, F, #4
Christa Cappelli, F, #22
Jackie Giuliano, C, #33
Kristin Ritch, G, #5
Ashley Riefenhauser, G, #12

More to come…

End of the 1st quarter: Irvington 12, Dobbs Ferry 11 — This game’s off to the best start so far. Both teams have played pretty well, and Dobbs Ferry is certainly an equal match for Irvington. Jackie Giuliano has four points and four boards, and Kristin Ritch has five points. For Irvington, Gillian Morley got off to a fast start with four points and four boards. Christa Cappelli and Allison White each have two fouls for Dobbs.

HALFTIME: Irvington 27, Dobbs Ferry 17 — A strong second quarter has given Irvington a 10-point cushion heading into the break. Tara Gabelman leads the Bulldogs with eight points. She also has four rebounds and two assists. Lisa Bucci has been a difference maker as well. She has seven points and three assists. Gillian Morley has six points and six rebounds, but she sat long stretches with two fouls. She entered late in the second quarter and picked up her third foul on Jackie Giuliano as Giuliano attempted a last second shot. Giuliano has seven points and six rebounds, but she has shot 2 for 9 from the field. Kristin Ritch has five points and four steals. We’ll have to see how the Eagles fare with Christa Cappelli and Allison White back on the floor. Cappelli, a starter, picked up three first half fouls and sat the last 5:43 of the half. White, the top player off the bench, picked up two quick fouls late in the first quarter and sat the rest of the way.

End of 3rd quarter: Irvington 46, Dobbs 22 — The Bulldogs have really pulled away. They look exceptional this afternoon. Lisa Bucci just played a terrific third quarter. She scored 12 points in the period alone. Dobbs had just two field goals in the period and was outscored 19-5.

FINAL: Irvington 60, Dobbs 31 — Irvington completely outplayed Dobbs in the second half, outscoring the Eagles 33-14 over the final two quarters. Lisa Bucci led the way with 19 points, 12 of which she scored in the third quarter. Tara Gabelman also had 19 points, and added 14 rebounds. Irvington held Dobbs to 12 for 50 shooting, or 24 percent.

The Bulldogs will meet No. 5 Nanuet at 7:15 p.m. Saturday night. It will be a rematch of their regular season meetings. Irvington won both.

Here’s a look at all the stories and videos from yesterday…

NANUET 59, BRIARCLIFF 38
— Game story
— Mogulus replay (to watch from beginning, click “On Demand” and select game):

HAMILTON 44, NORTH SALEM 32
— Game story, written by Mike Dougherty
— Mogulus replay (to watch click “On Demand” and select game):

HALDANE 54, VALHALLA 39
— Game story, written by Jane McManus
— Column, written by Rick Carpiniello
— Mogulus replay: