With Notre Dame Academy and St. Joseph Hill having similar rosters this year, particularly in graduating its top scorers and bringing up a number of underclassmen, it raised an interesting question when it came to Silent Night.
Who, if anyone, would show out and help lead its team to victory?
Enter Lindsay McAllister.
The sophomore survived a “baptism by fire” en route to scoring a career-high 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds (all in the fourth quarter and OT), leading NDA to a 68-62 Silent Night overtime victory against Hill at the College of Staten Island’s Sports and Recreation Center.
Most importantly, however, McAllister scored a team-high five points in overtime to surpass the Hilltoppers for good, with the home team outscoring them 10-4 in the extra period.
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NDA outlasts Hill in Silent Night OT victory, 68-62
Caroline Kasegrande scored 15 points on the strength of five treys for the Gators, while Aliya Monroe contributed a double-double (10 points, 10 caroms) and Gianna Montagna added 11 points.
NDA remains undefeated at 4-0 (2-0 league play) while Hill drops to 2-1.
“[Hill] really made us work for this win, and it was nice for both our JV and Varsity to get back-to-back wins on Silent Night,” said head coach Bobby DellaValle. “It’s a phenomenal night for women’s sports across the tri-state area, and the exposure and school spirit it brings out of both schools is unmatched.
“But, game-wise, this is just another step in our journey to win a championship.”
Notre Dame’s win overshadowed a monster performance from Hill junior Lauren Rodriguez, who poured in a career-high 33 points and seven rebounds. Ella Onesto, the only other Hilltopper to reach double-digits, scored 19 markers.
The Gators earned the victory after outscoring the Hilltoppers 10-4 in the extra period. (Annie DeBiase for the Advance/SILive.com)(Annie DeBiase for the Advance/SILive.com)
In a game of runs, NDA started out hot with a 7-0 stint, earning the coveted “silent night” point on a three from Kasegrande (who, interestingly enough, also scored it last year.)
But, after calling for time, Hill pieced together a 13-4 run over the last 4:21 of the quarter, thanks to two three-point plays from Rodriguez. Onesto also sandwiched a layup with four made free throws.
“We wanted to try to stop them, and I always thought that if we could keep Ella between 15-20 points that [we would have a chance],” added DellaValle. “She’s a great player who made some real smart moves today, and Lauren just had a day. We got to work on that for sure.”
With Monroe picking up her second foul, McAllister first entered the game midway through the second quarter. While Hill eventually went into halftime up 32-28, the soph kept the Gators in the game thanks to both a trey and three-point play. She scored a team-high nine points in the stanza.
“[Driving to the basket], I’m thinking to just go into the defender, make contact and finish the shot,” said McAllister, who went 4 for 5 from the free-throw line in the quarter. “It was exciting to score, but I’m also trying to keep my composure and keep my momentum up.”
Then, after the break, the tides started to turn in NDA’s favor.
The Gators earned the victory after outscoring the Hilltoppers 10-4 in the extra period. (Annie DeBiase for the Advance/SILive.com)(Annie DeBiase for the Advance/SILive.com)
In back-to-back possessions, Kasegrande sandwiched a Rodriguez trey with two of her own to narrow Hill’s lead to two points. From there, Gianna Lorenzo forced the first tie since the opening quarter with a layup while Montagna scored on a conventional three-point play to give the Grymes Hill school its first lead since its initial 7-0 run
Sandwiching her last trey between another Montagna layup, Kasegrande’s efforts ultimately sparked a 13-0 run through the third stanza.
“It was exciting to make those shots [to help give us a lead], but I always try to tell myself to think about the next play because that’s what matters,” said the three-year varsity player. “We just came together and told ourselves we could do it and to not give up when we were fighting the whole game.”
“Caroline needed her breakout game this year, and we’ve been telling her to shoot the ball a little more,” said DellaValle. ” She wanted to stay after practice yesterday and get more shots up, so [JV head coach] Kevin Swanberg and I worked with her and it definitely paid off.”
But, after Monroe picked up her fourth foul, Hill again made a run thanks to Rodriguez. After finishing NDA’s run with her own trey, Rodriguez made four freebies to make the score 50-45 going into the final quarter.
At the start of the fourth, Hill switched from a man to man defense to a 1-2-2, noticeably putting center Kourtney Nugent at the helm. This move paid dividends for the Hilltoppers, stopping NDA’s momentum and giving the visitors some hope.
After Onesto scored on a layup, Rodriguez hit both a trey and layup to regain the lead for the Hilltoppers. From there, it remained a one-possession game for the remainder of regulation, with Hill owning the advantage for the majority of it. However, with 31.9 seconds to go, Montagna hit a baseline drive to tie it at 58-58.
The Gators earned the victory after outscoring the Hilltoppers 10-4 in the extra period. (Annie DeBiase for the Advance/SILive.com)(Annie DeBiase for the Advance/SILive.com)
Montagna, along with reserve center Ava Manzella, also got praised for their contributions in crunch time.
“Montagna’s one of our other go-to seniors, and we needed a breakout game from her too,” noted DellaValle. “She made huge shots in the fourth quarter for us, and Ava gave us great defense and rebounding when we needed it.”
While Hill had multiple opportunities to score the go-ahead shot, regulation ended with the ball being tied up.
With Monroe opening regulation with a made freebie, Christie Nehr scored her only points of the game via free throws to give Hill its final lead, 60-59. From there, however, it was all McAllister as she scored five consecutive points for NDA.
While Rodriguez gave one last push for Hill, making it 65-62 with 25.2 to go and the ball following a missed NDA shot, McAllister tipped the ball from behind to force a turnover. Savannah Breslin then iced the game with two free throws before McAllister added one final tally as NDA’s faithful went into a frenzy.
The Gators earned the victory after outscoring the Hilltoppers 10-4 in the extra period. (Annie DeBiase for the Advance/SILive.com)(Annie DeBiase for the Advance/SILive.com)
“Whether it was scoring or cheering my teammates on, I knew I was going to play a big part today. So, when I made that tip, I just knew we were going to win,” added McAllister. “I feel like I did what I needed to do and made a good impact.”
“She always goes all out for us, and plays very smart and mature,” lauded DellaValle of the first-year varsity player. “All of the rebounds and steals she forced were effort stats, and that’s what we’ve been emphasizing all week so I’m glad she pulled it through there.
“It’s not shocking that she forced that final turnover, as she was just in the right place at the right time a lot today. She just kept getting in there and hustling.”
NOTES: Hill’s Onesto and NDA’s Lorenzo, alongside Hill starters Brielle Longo and Mackenzie Schaming, fouled out of the game in the fourth quarter/overtime … NDA won the battle of the boards, 59-43, with Breslin (7), Samantha Foder (8) and Manzella (7) also contributing … Nugent had a team-high eight caroms for the Hilltoppers … Hill went 25 for 37 (68%) from the free throw line, with Onesto going 8 for 9, while NDA went 18 for 38 (47%) … McAllister went 7 for 11 from the line.