STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The numbers don\u2019t lie.<\/p>\n
St. Joseph by-the-Sea has dominated Staten Island\u2019s girls basketball scene for a while now and when head coach Josh Suslak\u2019s young ladies copped their third consecutive Borough President\u2019s Cup championship with a resounding 82-47 takedown of top-seed Moore Catholic it was an exclamation point on what has been a remarkable run.<\/p>\n
The Vikings have not lost to an Island opponent in six years now, and their dominance has been even more impressive due to player turnover.<\/p>\n
The Huguenot school has had its share of graduates move on to the next level and play collegiately and it has also had its share of stars to lean on in big games – most notably 1,000-point scorers Danielle Williamsen and two-time Warren Jaques Award winner Angelina Hodgens.<\/p>\n
Another constant in Suslak and Sea\u2019s success has been the ability to get contributions from role players and then watch those players turn into stars.<\/p>\n
Three seniors who have been a part of the BP Cup three-peat are tri-captains Olivia DiMonda, Giovanna Grima and Maria O\u2019Connell. And the trio all waited patiently for their turn to shine – and shine they did.<\/p>\n
DiMonda garnered Most Valuable Player honors for this year\u2019s tourney, while Grima was named an all-tourney selection. O\u2019Connell, who has battled knee injuries her senior season, put up her finest performance of the year when it mattered most with 14 points in the title tilt. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s something that Suslak is most proud of as he heaped praise on the trio as well as the success of the program following the championship game victory.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe three have meant so much to our team this year and throughout their whole careers at Sea,\u201d praised Suslak. \u201cThey sort of embody the type of players that make our program so successful. Not only on the court, but they\u2019re great people who come from great families, they\u2019re superb students who go on to do great things in college.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDiMonda was a JV player as a freshman, but has spent her next three years on varsity,\u201d said Suslak. \u201cShe played sparingly as a sophomore and has improved every year to where she is now, which is one of the best players on Staten Island. She still does things that give me gray hair, but her competitiveness and will to win is one of the things that our program is all about.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Xaverian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/E5FBXQU66NHSRKJNEUPLNEHWUI.jpg\")
While Sea led for the better half of the contest, the Clippers held on at the end of the contest to record the win. Sea’s Giovanna Grima goes up for the layup as Xaverian defends. (Annie DeBiase for the Advance\/SILive.com)(Annie DeBiase for the Advance\/SILive.com)<\/p>\n
\u201cGrima might be the biggest success story that we have ever had,\u201d lauded Suslak. \u201cJust seeing the improvements she has made over her career and how hard she works is impressive. She has expanded her game to where she can be a knock down shooter; she\u2019s crafty and can get to the rim as well. Her work ethic really embodies what our program is all about.\u201d<\/p>\n
The veteran head coach had similar praise for O\u2019Connell, another captain.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaria has been a leader for us for two years,\u201d said Suslak. \u201cShe has played through injuries, but she competes and plays with a lot of intensity. She\u2019s such a smart player; she plays bigger than she is and is able to play inside and out. She knocked down back-to-back threes (Saturday) that I felt really changed the momentum of the game and that\u2019s what makes her a special player.\u201d<\/p>\n
All three will go on to play in college, but all will remember their playing days in Huguenot fondly.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt really means a lot to be a part of this team and this program; it has been an amazing four years,\u201d stated DiMonda, who will go on to play at Mt. St. Mary College. \u201cPlaying with Dan (Williamsen) and Ang (Hodgens) meant so much and they were the so important to the program. They made me the player I am today and i am grateful for that. We\u2019re a close group here and winning never gets old. I\u2019m always trying to do anything I can to help the team win.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAll the players that came before me and the culture that was set at Sea is something that is so special to be a part of,\u201d said Grima, a Susquehanna commit. \u201cWe had a great year this year and I\u2019m so happy to be a part of another championship. Personally, I have worked so hard because I really wanted to make myself a better player and help the team. Playing in college has been a dream of mine since I was a little kid.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Moore](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/CF6EEFTN7ZDT7PIS7Z3WMKIQZ4.JPG\")
Sea’s Maria O’Connell pushes the ball up the floor during a Borough President’s Cup matchup against Tottenville on Jan. 29, 2026.Michael O’Brien<\/p>\n
\u201cGetting to play for Coach Josh and his staff for the past four years at Sea has been one of the greatest experiences of my life,\u201d O\u2019Connell said glowingly. \u201cI have grown up in this program and it has shaped me as a person. Through it I have gained some of the traits I value most in myself: resilience, leadership, toughness, and most importantly commitment. I think I can speak for anyone who has played for Coach Josh, past or present, that his coaching style is nothing short of 110% commitment. Not only him, but his whole staff, shows up for us always, which has trickled down to us as players. They saw potential in me and pulled it out, allowing me to lead as a junior and senior captain, and for that I am eternally thankful. The culture that is preached to us day in and day out has become a part of my daily life, and I know it will make me successful in the future. This program will push you to places you didn\u2019t even know existed, and the staff will support and defend you no matter what. Sea has become one of the biggest impacts of my life and I am grateful for everything it has given me; without it I would not be where I am today,\u201d praised the Caldwell College signee.<\/p>\n
With players as talented and dedicated as these graduating seniors there is no reason to think the program\u2019s success will be slowing down any time soon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The numbers don\u2019t lie. St. Joseph by-the-Sea has dominated Staten Island\u2019s girls basketball scene…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":119882,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":{"0":"post-119881","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\/119881","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=119881"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119881\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}