Pearl River Sports: Pirates Ready To End Long Layoff

Pearl River (18-2) and Albertus Magnus (13-7) will end an eight-day layoff when they play 8:15 p.m. tonight in the Section 1 Class A girls basketball semifinals. 

The Pirates haven't played since they beat Hendrick Hudson Feb. 19. Aside from a scrimmage last Friday, that meant lots of practice time for Head Coach Lorraine Moylan and her players.

Moylan laughed when reminded about her reputation for challenging practices. 

"I like to practice, so it's a good thing," Moylan said. "You have to figure out what's best for the kids at that time. We did different things in practice. A new drill. Sometimes we go back to basics we haven't done since December."

Moylan said she would let her players watch some of the other Class A semifinal between Peekskill and Pelham, scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. start.

"I don't mind them seeing a little bit, but I don't want to be ther too early, so they would be sitting too long," Moylan said. "It backs up a little bit."

Moylan acknowledged that there is a good chance her team's game may start late. Section 1 scheduled four girls basketball semifinals with an hour and 45 minutes for each, starting with the Class AA matchup of Lourdes and New Rochelle at 3 p.m.

"We don't want to be starting at a quarter to nine, but it is what it is," Moylan said. 

If Pearl River wins tonight, the Pirates would play for their second consecutive Section 1 championship 5 p.m. Sunday against either Peekskill or Pelham.

The girls basketball schedule for today at the County Center is as follows:

• Class AA semifinal: No. 2 Lourdes vs. No. 6 New Rochelle, 3 p.m.
• Class AA semifinal: No. 1 Ossining vs. No. 4 Ursuline, 4:45 p.m.
• Class A semifinal: No. 11 Peekskill vs. No. 15 Pelham, 6:30 p.m.
• Class A semifinal: No. 1 Pearl River vs. No. 4 Albertus Magnus

State Rankings

Pearl River enter's tonight's contest ranked No. 16 in the state in Class A by the New York State Sportswriter's Association. No other Section 1 teams cracked the top 25.

By contrast, Section 1 features the top-ranked team in the state in Class AA, Ossining, and in Class B, three-time defending state champion Irvington.

Ossining and Irvington both feature one of the five finalists for Miss New York Basketball 2013, as announced by the Basketball Coaches Association of New York Thursday. Ossining senior Saniya Chong and Irvington senior Lexi Martins are joined on the list by Cassidy Chapko of Hoosic Valley, Alexandrea Flint of Keshequa and Ernia Willingham-Hurst of Albany.

Dominican College Conference Tournament Games Set

Dominican College will host men's and women's Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament Games Saturday at the Hennessey Center in Orangeburg.

Quarterfinal games are played at the higher seed. 

In the women's tournament, North Division No. 2 Seed Dominican (17-9) plays No. 3 University of the Sciences (15-11) 2 p.m. Saturday.

The Dominican College men, No. 1 in the North, face No. 4 Chestnut Hill (12-14) at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

Dominican (21-5) enters the tournament ranked No. 23 in the NABC/Division II Men's Basketball Poll, the highest the Chargers have climbed in the program's history. Dominican is also No. 5 in the NCAA's Eastern Regional Rankings.