Pearl River Shows Balance in Moylan's 500th Victory

Pearl River senior Christa Scognamiglio, the Pirates' two-time all-state selection and top player, battled a stomach virus and foul trouble to finish with only five points in 14 minutes Monday.

Not that it slowed the Pirates down.

Senior guard Allison Cook drilled five three-point shots to finish with a team-high 19 points, senior Christy Carty added 15 and senior Kerry Sullivan contributed 11 as Pearl River rolled past Brewster, 63-39, in the first round of the Slam Dunk Tournament at the Westchester County Center.

"Christa didn't really have a great game, but Allison Cook responded," Pearl River Head Coach Lorraine Moylan said. "Christy Carty responded. Amanda DeCourcey responded. Missy (Scognamiglio) had a great effort. Sully (Kerry Sullivan) did an awesome job. We did a tremendous job on the boards."

The victory was the 500th of Moylan's coaching career. What did it mean to her?

"It means I've been doing this a long time," Moylan joked. "I'm not really sure (when it will sink in). I just know it's very nice to be able to share it with a lot of people."

"It's a great feeling," said Christa Scognamiglio, who has been on the varsity since she was an 8th grader. "I am so happy for her. She deserves it 100 percent."

Check back with Patch for more on Moylan's milestone Tuesday morning. Moylan, who prefers to keep the focus on her players, was far happier talking about the team's play on an off night for their star player.

Cook was the biggest key offensively, making all three of her attempts from 3-point range in the first half and five of eight in the game for what she believes is a career high.

"She's going to throw them down," Moylan said. "She was really hot today. She took a couple off balance and drained them."

Carty and Sullivan hurt Brewster, particularly on the offensive boards, in the first half when they combined for 17 points. Sullivan finished with 10 rebounds to go with her 11 points and Carty had seven rebounds and blocked two shots.

"Now everyone is bringing so much to the plate," Sullivan said. "Especially with Christa down, we know what we have to do. We work well with each other. I've been playing with Christy for a long time."

Pearl River looked like it would put the game away early, taking a 21-6 lead after one quarter, but the Pirates were bogged down with foul trouble, 13 of them in all in the first two quarters, allowing Brewster to stay in the contest.

The Pirates led by 12 at the half, but the Bears narrowed the margin to 38-30 early in the third quarter on Rori Stark's drive to the basket. Cook responded with three-pointers on Pearl River's next two possessions.

Then Carty made one of the key plays of the game to help the Pirates pull away. She drew a foul and made the first of two free throw attempts. She missed the second, but grabbed her own rebound, setting up a 3-point shot by Scognamiglio that expanded Pearl River's lead to 48-32. Carty also came up with a steal and a breakaway lay-up in the final seconds of the third quarter to give the Pirates their largest lead of the game to that point at 54-34.

Marisa Delzio was Brewster's only scorer in double figures with 10 points.

Pearl River will play Arlington 4 p.m. Tuesday in the tournament championship game.