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<\/p>\nSTATEN ISLAND, N.Y.\u2014 The dynamic duo of Valentina Li and Rita Moschella delivered a statement win for Staten Island Academy in its first CHSAA outing against NDA on Saturday afternoon in the Borough President\u2019s Cup, combining for 47 points as the Tigers defeated the Gators, 64\u201351, at CYO MIV.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe really didn\u2019t know how we would match up against schools we don\u2019t play in our league, so this was a nice chance to see that,\u201d SIA head coach Sandy Litkenhaus said after the contest. <\/p>\n
\u201cPlayer for player, we matched up well and knew it would be a good game. We had to stay focused, play intense and run our offense. Since they were a different type of team and we hadn\u2019t practiced today, it was about reminding the players of what we\u2019ve learned and making small adjustments as the game went on,\u201d she went on.<\/p>\n
Speaking on Li\u2019s 25-point outing\u2014 in which she nearly outscored NDA herself in the first half (18\u201317)\u2014 Litkenhaus said that \u201cshe\u2019s intense, focused, and sometimes, like today, she just wants it more than anybody else.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen she comes out like that, people start double and triple teaming her, and that\u2019s when it opens it up for the rest of the scorers like Rita,\u201d she added. \u201cEven when everybody\u2019s focused on one player, if you play together like a team, you can start to realize what would work against it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Li was quick to credit the Tigers\u2019 unit as a whole.<\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly, it\u2019s really my teammates,\u201d she said. \u201cThey feed me the ball and I get a few buckets, then I feed it right back to them. We feed off each other\u2019s energy, and today it wasn\u2019t just me\u2014 I couldn\u2019t do it alone. It was my team backing me up the whole time, like they always do.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to the standout offensive performances from Li and Moschella, the Tigers stymied the Gators with stout perimeter defense, as Notre Dame struggled to find a rhythm from beyond the arc for much of the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew they were three-point scorers, and we knew their tall players could score from three, too; I feel like our defense played with intensity and quickness,\u201d Litkenhaus said.<\/p>\n
While the Tigers might have preferred a slightly more comfortable finish than allowing the Gators to cut the lead to single digits in the fourth quarter, Litkenhaus gave props to the Gators, \u201cknowing they were never going to give up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA team like Notre Dame isn\u2019t going to just sit back and say, \u2018Okay, you won,\u2019\u201d she shared. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew they were going to make a run, and we were going to have to readjust. Maybe we were a little tired, so we had to change something up to give ourselves a little break and continue through the long fourth-quarter stretch,\u201d she concluded.<\/p>\n
With the win, the Tigers advance to the quarterfinals, setting up a matchup with the Curtis Warriors on Tuesday at Petrides.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1\/21<\/p>\n
2026 Borough President’s Cup: Curtis vs. MSIT, SIA vs. NDA<\/p>\n
Curtis 65, MSIT 9<\/p>\n
SIA\u2019s upcoming quarterfinal opponent put on a dominant performance of their own, combining dynamic scoring with suffocating defense for arguably the most comprehensive showing of the tournament so far.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat felt good. The tournament\u2019s a beautiful thing for the girls, the coaches, and everyone involved. We\u2019re excited for them to be part of such a historic moment and this opportunity 30 years in the making; they\u2019re helping get the tournament started and bringing attention to all the girls on Staten Island,\u201d Curtis head coach Talia Sutton said following the Warriors\u2019 first win of the tourney.<\/p>\n
The final score reflects the Warriors\u2019 collective effort, but freshman Kathryn Kouronus stood out with an upperclassman-like performance, pouring in a game-high 19 points while dominating both inside and on the perimeter, splashing three treys in the third quarter.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s a wonderful inside-outside shooter. She\u2019s also been working on her defense this year, and I think when she plays better defense, she also plays better offense. I\u2019m happy she was able to get going; we\u2019re going to need her and other players, but when she\u2019s scoring, we do better,\u201d Sutton concluded.<\/p>\n
As mentioned earlier, the Warriors will now turn their attention to a fascinating matchup with SIA on Tuesday at Petrides.<\/p>\n
Sea 72, Petrides 20<\/p>\n
St. Joseph by-the-Sea kicked off their Borough President\u2019s Cup title defense with a bang, cruising to an easy win over Petrides in a big effort for the Vikings on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday was a total team win. It was nice to see everyone\u2019s contributions on the floor tonight,\u201d Sea head coach Josh Suslak said after the game.<\/p>\n
Particularly shining for the Vikings were high scorers Giovanna Grima (21 points) and Lila Goldstein (18), as the Sea guards combined for nearly 40 points\u2014most impressively without needing a single three-pointer.<\/p>\n
With the victory, the defending champs will now prepare for a meeting with CHSAA foe St. Joseph Hill in the quarterfinals on Tuesday at Petrides.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.\u2014 The dynamic duo of Valentina Li and Rita Moschella delivered a statement win for Staten…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":111590,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":{"0":"post-111589","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-staten-island","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-nyc","11":"tag-staten-island","12":"tag-staten-island-headlines","13":"tag-staten-island-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111589"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111589\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/111590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}