Staten Island Academy is coming off a storybook season.
The Tigers won the NYSAISAA Class C championship for their first state title since 1994 to cap a year which featured one of their star seniors, Casey Brey, being diagnosed with a rare disease and the other, Mayana LeGrande, dealing with the death of her father a week before the NYSAISAA tournament.
Brey is at Bridgeport now and LeGrande plays at Allen University (S.C.). But coach Rose Bruno doesn’t see a huge drop-off with this group, which is a mix of veterans and a few solid freshmen.
“We’re gonna compete,” she said. “We’ll get in the state tournament and we’ll compete in it. It depends on how we click at the end of the season again. We can be there again.”
In the beginning, SIA will rely on senior forward Bethany Claps and senior guard Erin Gibbons – and that’s fine with Bruno. Gibbons, a dead-eye shooter, had made great strides from last season and Claps, who led the Island in scoring last year, has been “a monster,” the coach said. The 5-foot-10 inside-outside threat had 32 points in a recent loss to Rye Country Day, including 15 alone in the third quarter.
“She’s a scoring machine,” Bruno said. … “She’s unstoppable. She’s a beast. She’s the backbone of our scoring.”
Samantha Avis and Bridget O’Hara, two heady veterans will start also start. Avis, an off guard, is a solid shooter and O’Hara is a blue-collar forward who rebounds, defends, hustles and does the dirty work.
Then there’s some serious youth. Samantha Spadaro, a freshman, has been given the ball to run the point and so far Bruno is pretty pleased with how she’s come along.
“She’s just learning the ways of varsity basketball, but she’s doing pretty well,” the coach said.
Most of Staten Island Academy’s size will come from ninth graders, as well. Sade Dinkins is an athletic, 5-foot-11 forward with potential. Madison Bulger, also 5-foot-10, should also play a lot and is expected to contribute right away in the paint.
“We have to develop the freshmen,” Bruno said. “They have to buy into the system. I need a freshman to bring the ball up and score. I need a freshman to come off the bench and score. That’s the large task at hand.”
Rounding out SIA’s rotation will likely be Deirdre O’Hara, sister of Bridget, and Molly Maugeri. Both were co-MVPs on the junior varsity last year.
Those two will add depth and Bruno believes the talent is in place for another run at state gold, especially as the freshmen mature as the season wears on.
“It’s more about getting us to all jell and click,” Bruno said. “Talent-wise, we’re right there.”