Pearl River Rallies in Second Half, Beats Albertus Magnus (VIDEO)

Albertus Magnus girls basketball Head Coach Pat Buckley told his players they would have to rebound and take care of the ball to beat Pearl River Friday.

The Falcons struggled in both areas and the Pirates took advantage, rallying from a four-point halftime deficit to earn a 60-52 victory at Albertus Magnus.

"They killed us on the boards," Buckley said. "They won every 50-50 ball. If we don't rebound and play tougher, we won't win against good teams. That was it."

Albertus Magnus dropped to 9-3 with the loss while Pearl River improved to 10-1, rebounding from its first loss of the season at home Wednesday against Tappan Zee.

"After the Tappan Zee game, we wanted to focus on improving our defense and pressuring them on the ball," Pearl River junior point guard Marissa Scognamiglio said. "We focused on getting in their faces a lot and making them uncomfortable handling the ball."

The Pirates dominated early, jumping out to a 22-11 lead in the first quarter, but the Falcons rallied to take a 34-30 lead to the half. 

"We had such a big lead in the beginning, but we couldn't let down," said Pearl River senior guard Allison Cook. "They fought back. At halftime, we said we have to come out strong just the way we started and that's what we did." 

"We knew coming back in the second half we were down four and didn't want another loss in the week," said Pearl River senior guard/forward Christa Scognamiglio, who led all scorers with 17 points. "We had to come out extra hard. We played really hard on defense and that got us going."

Buckley said that the Falcons wanted to force the Pirates into a half-court game, but were not able to do that.

"Defense is what we have to key on," Moylan said. "We were getting stops here and there. We were fortunate people were making better decisions (in the second half)." 

Pearl River controlled the third quarter, turning the four-point deficit into a nine-point lead at 47-38. It could have been bigger if not for some erratic shooting.

"We were getting decent looks, but it would be around the rim and come out," Moylan said. "We were getting two and three shots sometimes and they would come out."

Marissa Scognamiglio made some key plays late for the Pirates, including making a three-point shot that pushed the lead to 54-44 with 4:20 remaining in the contest.

"Missy Scogs had an awesome day," Moylan said. "She made big shots. That three she made, all of a sudden it's, 'Oh no. She's scoring now.' It kind of relieved it from Christa a little bit."

Albertus rallied late, closing the gap to 56-52 with just over a minute left, this time with the Falcons' pressure giving the Pirates trouble.

"We've been in situations like this before, so we know when they are putting the extra pressure on, we have to be able to relax and play our game without being flustered," Christa Scognamiglio said. 

Scognamiglio helped to break the press on the Pirates' next possession, setting up her sister Marissa for a three-point play that put Pearl River back in control. Marissa Scognamiglio made that free throw and two more in the final minute.

"You can't say it's no pressure, but we practice them a lot and imagine what it would be like down the stretch like that," Marissa Scognamiglio said.

Marissa Scognamiglio scored 14 points and Cook added 12. Senior forward Christy Carty chipped in nine points, but played a big role with her rebounding.

"Christy Carty was excellent for them," Buckley said. "She won the game for them, I think. She was all over the boards."

Albertus Magnus star forward Maeve Parahus, a junior who has been among the top scorers in Section 1 all season, finished with 10 points Friday. Kelly Guarino and Ryan Doherty shared the Falcons' team lead with 12.

"We were really focused on Kelly Guarino and Maeve," Marissa Scognamiglio said. "We know that they are their two strongest players."

Buckley said he was happy to see a strong performance from Doherty, but thought his team could have done more.

"We didn't play well enough to win," Buckley said. 

Both teams will be off for the next six days with exams going on at their respective schools. Albertus Magnus will take on undefeated Tappan Zee and Pearl River will play at Nyack Friday, Jan. 27. 

Pearl River finished the toughest week of the season so far 2-1, including an overtime victory at Ursuline Monday before the loss at Tappan Zee Wednesday.

"This was a real tough week," Moylan said. "We responded well, coming back from a loss. It's good. I would like to play more games like this."

"I think this week was a really great learning experience," Christa Scognamiglio said. "We play a lot fo weaker teams, but in the better games, your weaknesses come out more.  Especially TZ. They showed us a lot of our weaknesses."