The Pearl River girls basketball team earned its share of honors this past season, winning a Section 1 Class A championship and reaching the state final four for the first time in the program's history.
They took in one more Tuesday as they were recognized for their accomplishments at the Orangetown Town Council meeting in the town hall.
"It is an honor to come here in front of you," Pearl River Head Coach Lorraine Moylan said. "These girls worked extremely, extremely hard in the offseason and during the season. The thing that stands out about these guys is no matter what adversity we faced, they came through. They came through together. They set the bar high, but they pulled each other through some hard time and hard practices. That's what you want, to raise your level and achieve whatever you possibly can. This particular team did that. They did everything for each other and they brought out the best in each other."
Pearl River overcame the loss of all-section point guard Nicole Grossbard to a knee injury before the season to win the second section championship in the program's history, though Grossbard by adapting into an unofficial coaching role. Grossbard and fellow seniors Christa Scognamiglio and Kerry Sullivan were also on the team that won the section in 2008.
Councilman Denis Troy pointed out many of the girls' individual achievements, including Scognamiglio earning state player of the year honors in Class A.
"They won the league championship, which is a good thing. Lorraine's teams are usually league champs," Troy said. "They won the Section 1 championship.
Then they won the regional championships. I saw them win sections and regions. In regionals, they were down one at halftime and came back because in the second half, they played Lorraine Moylan basketball. They were absolutely spectacular."
Troy highlighted the accomplishments of Moylan, who passed 500 career victories this season, becoming the first girls basketball coach from Rockland County to do so.
"Lorraine is a very special person in this community," Troy said. "She has been coaching for 29 years. She won two state titles at Albertus. I've seen her teams play through the years. All you have to do is go to a practice and see one of Lorraine Moylan's teams. They practice harder than the NBA. It's unbelievable the way these girls run."
The individual players were all called up to receive certificates, though sophomore Sam Alicandri was not in attendance. Alicandri is the starting shortstop for the Pearl River softball team, which fell in the quarterfinals Tuesday.
The basketball team's honors were moved back later in Tuesday's meeting because many of the players and Moylan were watching the softball game.
