Sports

Curtis stalwart Santucci seeks different ending in PSAL ‘A’ final

Danielle Santucci and Curtis are back to where their season ended last year, but it was a very different journey.

The junior post is one of two returning players, and the only one healthy with the injured Karisa Crawford out, from a team that fell in heartbreaking fashion to Wings in the PSAL Class A girls basketball final. The second-seeded Warriors, with a new roster and new coach, will be back again there this Sunday when it takes on No. 1 Goldstein 3 p.m. at CCNY.

“It means a lot to us considering we have the new girls,” Santucci said. “They really helped a lot this year. It’s great to be back. I hope that we win it this year.”

She began the season welcoming new teammates when players, including former Sacred Heart grammar school teammate Kristen Olsen, followed legendary St. Peter’s head man Bob Daggett to the school. Santucci said there was an early adjustment period, but by the season opener they were on the same page. The players heard the expectations around them after Daggett won 16 straight CHSAA Staten Island crowns at St. Peter’s.

“Everyone thought we were automatically going to win every game and we were going to win the [division] championship, but we worked as hard as we could,” Santucci said. “People’s opinions didn’t matter.”

The Warriors, who are 20-8, fell in two hard-fought games to rival and PSAL Class A division winning McKee/Staten Island Tech, which is playing for the Class AA city crown. Curtis placed second, has made the best of its situation in the ‘A’ and is a win away from a trip to Albany for the state Federation tournament.

The 5-foot-10 Santucci has been a key contributor to a team that is guard-oriented and lacks size. She averaged 6.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in league play during the regular season and has put up similar number in the playoffs. Santucci finishes well around the basket, can make the short jumper and is an aggressive force on defense.

“She’s had moments,” Daggett said. “She’s done her best. She has to defend other teams’ post players. We need her to help our defense and we need her to rebound. She is really by herself. She has to battle.”

Santucci has done all this, including added games on weekends at showcase events, while juggling a difficult course load. She is part of the school’s International Baccalaureate program, a challenging two-year curriculum that allows students to earn college credits.

“I have to balance my time a lot to get all my school work done,” Santucci said. “It’s doable. It does take a lot out of me.”

All the work will be worth it if Curtis takes home the championship on Sunday in a year where a lot was expected of them.

“That would validate it,” Santucci said. “That would be the icing on the cake for us. We worked hard all season and with the transition from the girls transferring and a new coach, that would just mean so much to us.”

jstaszewski@nypost.com