St. Al's 8th Grade Girls Finish Second in League

St. Aloysius' 8th grade girls basketball team walked away with a second place finish in their final Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) game, a nail biter which came down to the last minute of play.

"I am so proud of how far this team has come and how well they worked as a team," commented Head Coach Steve Bledsoe.

As the season began its second half, the team had a 50-50 record, but a winning streak saw them finish regular play with 8 wins and 4 losses. Seeded fourth in the playoffs, the team came away with a strong win in the preliminary round followed by a victory over No. 1 seed Transfiguration of Bergenfield in the semi-finals.

Playing the championship game in the CYO National Division on March 10, St. Al's held a slim lead over No. 2 seed Our Lady of the Visitation Parish of Paramus for the majority of the game, until OLV pulled ahead in the final minute, winning 30-26.

At the awards ceremony following the game, Bledsoe again spoke of how proud he was of the team. Along with Bledsoe, the 8th grade team is coached by Bledsoe's wife, Joann Bledsoe, and Tom Gargiulo.

The team is comprised of students in the 8th Grade at Grover Cleveland Middle School. Now that basketball season has officially ended, all the girls will trade their basketball sneakers for cleats and lacrosse sticks, as the entire team are members of the Caldwell-West Caldwell Lacrosse Club.