Ashley Iannacone believes her biggest job on the court is to check the pulse of her teammates and keep them calm. But no one was more excited than the senior forward as she converted a 3-point play that gave Notre Dame Academy the lead for good in the final minute.
“The 3-point play sealed the deal,” she said.
The four-year varsity player’s work wasn’t done. Her defense forced St. Joseph Hill star center Kelsey Carey to give up the ball at the right elbow and then boxed her out to corral the ensuing miss. Teammate Sam LaForgia made one of two free throws, but Iannacone hustled down the long rebound to all but ensure victory.
“She was there whenever we needed her,” sophomore guard Shannon McGill said.
Iannacone made sure the Gators came away with a 54-49 win over host St. Joseph Hill in CHSAA Staten Island girls basketball Tuesday night. After misses from McGill and Kristine Pariseau, she grabbed a rebound falling backward in the paint and went back up for an And-1 that gave NDA (1-1, 1-0 CHSAA Staten Island) the lead for good at 51-49 with 39 seconds remaining.
“We looked at this game as our coming out party,” Gators coach Tom Cavanagh said.
Iannacone and McGill each scored 11 points and LaForgia led the way with 18. Alyssa Carlsen added seven. Carey posted 23 points and 21 rebounds, Bridgeport-bound guard Lauren DeForte chipped in 14 points and Kieran Meagher added eight for Hill (5-1, 0-1).
“In the beginning of the year we told our seniors that you need to step up and lead,” Cavanagh said. “Tonight our seniors stepped up and demonstrated what leadership is all about.”
That’s doesn’t mean the underclassmen didn’t play a big role as well.
Iannacone’s game-changing 3-point play wouldn’t have been possible without McGill’s defense on DeForte in the closing minutes. She hung tight with her on a hand-off from Meagher and forced a double dribble. The next time down, she poked the ball away from behind and out of bounds off DeForte with less than a minute to play.
Defense is something the usually offensive-minded McGill is buying into more, according to Cavanagh.
“She wasn’t [getting by me],” McGill said. “I wanted to win. “
She and LaForgia, who it two 3-pointers late in the first half, both got hot shooting the ball late in the second quarter as Notre Dame (1-1) took a 27-21 lead into the break. The Gators scored 11 straight points over the second and third quarters to take a 33-22 lead with 5:45 left, including McGill hitting her third 3-pointer and feeding LaForgia for an open jumper.
“Once they started to fall I started getting confidence,” McGill said.
Hill would come back with an 11-2 run of its own behind Carey and Meagher, but Notre Dame still led 43-37 heading into the final quarter thanks to a Carlsen jumper from the left side and a DeForte layup with 39 seconds left in the period. Hill grabbed a 49-47 lead with 2:41 left in the game on consecutive buckets by Carey around a Carlsen free throw. It was the last advantage it would enjoy as NDA ended the game on a 7-0 run to earn an important early-season win against a team it will likely be jockeying with for position.
“We have been practicing hard as a team,” Iannacone said. “You can definitely see it is coming together well.”