Sports

Aloizos leads talented trio looking to help Stanners bounce back

Kyra Aloizos understands the responsibility that is now hers.

For the last two seasons the Binghamton-bound forward has had help in the paint and on the boards, other players who were the focal points. Two years ago it was Kerri White, now at Manhattan College, and last season she shared the role with Nicole Marciniak, who plays at C.W. Post and was the team’s most consistent player.

This season the role is all Aloizos’.

“I have to pick up the slack for Nicole because we don’t have another big girl,” she said. “I just have to put it on my shoulders.”

The athletic, 6-foot-1 senior, who can score inside and out, had an up and down year a season ago. She spent the summer with her NY Xplosion AAU team getting in better shape, improving her jump shot and her overall aggressiveness. Second-year Molloy coach Tom Catalanotto said he doesn’t want to put too much pressure on Aloizos, but wants her to be more consistent.

“We are expecting Kyra to step it up this year and we know she will,” senior Kelly Guerriero said.

Aloizos will have plenty of familiar faces around in Guerriero and point guard Marielle Duryea to help her get Molloy back to the top of the CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens division. The Stanners (16-11) won their first Brooklyn/Queens title two seasons ago before finishing third and losing in the CHSAA Class AA state quarterfinals to end an inconsistent year.

“If the three of us play together and get along, then we are unstoppable,” Guerriero said.

The Mount St. Mary’s-bound guard is one of the best pure shooters in the city and could form quite a duo from the outside with Elizabeth (Gurt) Lynch, who is fully healed from an ACL injury. Guerrero was very streaky and the focus of a lot of defenses last year after a break out sophomore campaign

“I think she needs to relax,” Catalanotto said. “Sometimes I think she presses too much.”

He sees the play of Lynch and her versatility as a big part of the team’s potential success. She can handle the ball and take some of the pressure off Duryea, a tough and deceptive guard that is also a pest defensively. Lynch rebounds well enough to be an aid to Aloizos and has a good shooting stroke.

“I am looking for Gurt to score,” Catalanotto said. “We need her to score. That is going to be huge for us.”

Another big addition is freshman guard Amani Tatum, especially with the loss of guard Shannon LaVelle, who’s playing at Dominican College. Tatum plays with a poise beyond her years. She is lightning quick with the ball, can break defenders down off the dribble and penetrate. It’s something the Stanners sorely lacked last season. Sophomore guard Camille Ejerta can also take people off the dribble.

“I need someone who can run, pass and get open,” Duryea said. “This is a learning process for her. She is a freshman. She is going to develop more.”

Catalanotto expects seniors Kathryn Edwards, a guard, and forwards Elise Lontos and Angela Contorno, who he said is much improved, to be pivotal role players. He noted that this year’s version of the team is a bit more guard-oriented with Marciniak and Aloizos no longer being fixtures together in the paint. They will need the preseason to find their identity with the new additions to the rotation.

“We need to find our way,” Catalanotto said. “We need some leaders first to step up and then everyone has to learn their roles.”

Aloizos is pretty sure of hers.

jstaszewski@nypost.com