Leonard Leads All-State Picks

Msgr. Scanlan High School senior Jada Leonard earned first-team all-state honors in Class AA after averaging 20.2 points per game and leading her team to the CHSAA state title and state federation final.

Leonard is a 5-foot-10 shooting guard.

Here are the other Catholic high school players from the archdiocese to be recognized:

CLASS AA

Meghan Casey, Ursuline, fourth team; Simone Pelish, Our Lady of Lourdes, fourth team; Allie Falesto, Albertus Magnus, seventh team; Sierra Linnin, Albertus Magnus, eighth team; Rebecca Osei-Owusu, Msgr. Scanlan, ninth team; Ciara Crocker, Ursuline, 15th team; Sophie Nascimento, Ursuline, honorable mention; Karly Fischer, Albertus Magnus, honorable mention.

CLASS A

Danielle Williamsen, St. Joseph by-the-Sea, second team; Mackenzie Iannici, St. Joseph by-the-Sea, fifth team; Brooke Corbett, St. Joseph by-the-Sea, 12th team; Madison Crocco, St. Joseph Hill, 14th team; Taylor Lictro, Notre Dame Academy, honorable mention.

CYO Planning Basketball Season

CYO New York is planning to begin its basketball season Feb. 5, and the start date may change, if needed, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Click here to read the story in the current issue of Catholic New York.

Citron Shines at Notre Dame

Ursuline School graduate Sonia Citron is off to a strong start with the University of Notre Dame women’s basketball team.

The 6-foot-1, freshman guard is averaging 12.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game for the Fighting Irish (9-2 overall).

In a 78-41 victory over Purdue-Fort Wayne on Sunday, Citron had 12 points and two rebounds.

Notre Dame will host Pittsburgh at 2 p.m. Sunday in an ACC game.

Click here to read a 2019 Catholic New York story on Citron’s experience competing for Team USA.

PHOTO COURTESY OF USA BASKETBALL

A Magarity Sweep

Holy Cross swept its Patriot League women’s basketball weekend series against Army, winning 80-46 in West Point on Saturday and 61-42 in Worcester, Mass., on Sunday.

Army is coached by Dave Magarity. Holy Cross is coached by Our Lady of Lourdes High School graduate Maureen Magarity. The Associated Press reported it believed this was the first time a father and daughter coached their respective teams against one another in an NCAA Division I basketball contest.

Holy Cross improved to 2-2 overall and 2-2 in the league. Army dropped to 4-5 overall,

The two teams will meet in Worcester, Mass., Feb. 6 and West Point Feb. 7.

Maureen grew up watching her dad coach Rik Smits and the Marist College men’s basketball team to the NCAA Division I tournament in 1987. She played four seasons at Our Lady of Lourdes for current Marist women’s coach Brian Giorgis.

Maureen played at Boston College before transferring to Marist and helped the Marist women’s program to its first NCAA Division I tournament in 2004. She coached as an assistant at Marist and Fairfield before joining her father at West Point in 2006, serving three seasons as an assistant coach and one as associate coach.

Maureen was named head coach at the University of New Hampshire in 2010, coaching there for 10 seasons and leading the 2016-2017 team to 26 victories and an America East regular-season title. She won the Kay Yow National Coach of the Year and America East Coach of the Year honors. She was a finalist for the WBCA National Coach of the Year.

New Hampshire won 19 games the following season.

Historic Meetings for Magaritys

Father vs. Daughter.

This will be the case on Saturday in West Point and Sunday in Worcester, Mass., when Army and Holy Cross meet in Patriot League women’s basketball action being televised by ESPN+ at 3 p.m. both days.

Army is coached by Dave Magarity. Holy Cross is coached by Our Lady of Lourdes High School graduate Maureen Magarity. The Associated Press is reporting it believes this will be the first time a father and daughter will be coaching their respective teams against one another in an NCAA Division I basketball contest.

Magarity grew up watching her dad coach Rik Smits and the Marist College men’s basketball team to the NCAA Division I tournament in 1987. She played four seasons at Our Lady of Lourdes for current Marist women’s coach Brian Giorgis.

Maureen played at Boston College before transferring to Marist and helped the Marist women’s program to its first NCAA Division I tournament in 2004.

Maureen coached as an assistant at Marist and Fairfield before joining her father at West Point in 2006, serving three seasons as an assistant coach and one as associate coach.

Maureen was named head coach at the University of New Hampshire in 2010, coaching there for 10 seasons and leading the 2016-2017 team to 26 victories and an America East regular-season title. She won the Kay Yow National Coach of the Year and America East Coach of the Year honors. She was a finalist for the WBCA National Coach of the Year.

New Hampshire won 19 games the following season.

Maureen was named Holy Cross coach in 2020. The Crusaders are 0-2, dropping two games to Boston University.

Army is 4-3 overall, and split its two Patriot League games with Colgate.

Siegrist Leads Villanova

Our Lady of Lourdes High School graduate Maddy Siegrist has led the Villanova University women’s basketball team in victory and defeat this week.

The sophomore forward finished with 23 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals in a 78=71 Big East win at Seton Hall on Wednesday. Two days earlier, Siegrist collected 31 points, nine rebounds, five assists and four blocks in a 94-82 Big East loss to DePaul.

Siegrist is a three-time winner of the Big East Women’s Basketball Player of the Week honor this season. She was the 2019-2020 Big East Women’s Basketball Rookie of the Year.

Villanova (8-2 overall, 3-2 Big East) hosts Providence next Wednesday. A game scheduled for Saturday versus Marquette has been postponed.

PHOTO COURTESY OF VILLANOVA University

Delay Likely for Winter Sports

It appears as if the start of high-risk high school winter sports will be delayed again in New York State due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The start of high-risk winter sports was pushed back to Jan. 4 and it looks like it may be pushed back further. High-risk winter sports are basketball, wrestling, hockey and competitive cheer.

The following is a statement from Dr. Robert Zayas, executive director for the New York State Public High School Athletic Association on Wednesday via his Twitter account:

“At this time there is no definitive timeline for authorization of high risk sports to resume competition. We’ll continue working with state officials & our member schools to determine when it is safe to compete. Low/ moderate sports can begin as previously authorized by the state.”

Siegrist Wins Big East Honor

Maddy Siegrist was named Big East Women’s Basketball Player of the Week for a second consecutive week.

The Our Lady of Lourdes High School graduate averaged 21.0 points and 13.5 rebounds in two wins last week for Villanova University. She had 23 points and 12 rebounds in a win over Temple University and 19 points and 15 rebounds in a victory over St. John’s University.

The sophomore is second in the nation with four double-doubles with four, 26th with at 23.8 points per game and 22nd with at 11.8 rebounds per game.

Villanova is 4-0 this season.

College Basketball Recap

Here is how some former Catholic high school basketball stars from the archdiocese are faring on the collegiate level:

Archbishop Stepinac High School graduate Alan Griffin scored a game-high 23 points and added four rebounds and five assists for the Syracuse University men’s basketball team in an 87-52 triumph over Rider University. The junior forward is averaging 16.7 points, 4.0 assists and 7.0 rebounds per game.

Our Lady of Lourdes High School graduate Maddy Siegrist collected 19 points, 15 rebounds and three assists for the Villanova University women’s basketball team in a 74-65 Big East victory at St. John’s University. The sophomore is averaging 23.8 points and 11.8 rebounds for the Wildcats (4-0).

The Ursuline School graduate Katie McLoughlin and Maria Regina High School graduate Kaitlyn Downey each scored 12 points for Fordham University women’s basketball team in a 62-58 loss at Quinnipiac University. Downey, a junior forward, added 10 rebounds and six assists.

Cardinal Hayes graduate Joe Toussaint is averaging 4.6 points and 1.0 rebounds in the first three games for the unbeaten University of Iowa men’s basketball team, which hosts Archbishop Stepinac graduate RJ Davis and the University of North Carolina in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on ESPN Tuesday night. Davis, a freshman guard, is averaging 12.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per contest.

Manhattan College opens its men’s basketball season on Friday against Rider Univesity with Iona Prep grad Romar Reid, Cardinal Hayes High School graduate Adam Cisse and former Mount St. Michael Academy student Elijah Buchanan on the roster.

St. Raymond High School graduate Dallas Watson is averaging 8.5 points and 2.8 rebounds per game in four games for the St. Peter’s University men’s basketball team.

Siegrist Powers Villanova

Our Lady of Lourdes High School graduate Maddy Siegrist finished with game highs of 23 points and 12 rebounds as Villanova defeated host Temple, 90-72, on Thursday.

Villanova will bring a 3-0 record into Sunday’s Big East game at St. John’s.