Kennedy Girls Basketball Downs Calhoun to Win Fourth Straight

How quickly the tides can change. After starting the league season 0-3, the Kennedy Lady Cougars have now won four straight after defeating the crosstown rival Calhoun Lady Colts on Tuesday night at Kennedy High School 51-44.

The Lady Cougars (4-3 Conf. AA-III) led by as many as 12 before holding off a late Calhoun rally. Allie Keller finished with 17 points and six rebounds for Kennedy, while Morgan Kitton had eight points and 12 rebounds.

“It was a competitive game,” Keller said. “It feels great to win four in a row after losing our first three.”

Carly Thea and Brittany Venezia both added eight points for the Lady Cougars. Guard Victoria Ferry finished with five points and Heather Hulkower had four points and four rebounds in the center position for Kennedy.

For Calhoun (5-2 Conf. AA-III), Meghan O’Sullivan had 17 points and 12 rebounds and Jessica Ruggiero chipped in with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

The game was a seesaw battle, with Calhoun coming out strong to take a narrow 17-16 lead at the end of the first quarter -- despite seven rebounds by Kitton -- on strong inside play by Ruggiero.

In the second quarter, however, the tides shifted in the Cougars’ favor, as Keller got free on offense and Kennedy’s ability to double down on Ruggiero began to take effect.

“When they got it inside, we doubled down and kept O’Sullivan and Ruggiero from turning with the ball,” Thea said.

A key moment in the second quarter came when Keller drew a charge on a drive to the basket by Colts guard Danielle Losee. “I’ve been playing Losee since we were little,” said Keller. “She came flying down the lane, and I held my ground.”

Contributing to the 28-25 halftime lead for the Lady Cougars was 2-for-14 shooting by O’Sullivan, who spent most of the first half getting close to the bucket, but failing to convert.

If the first half was nip and tuck, the second half was a matter of each team getting a big run in. It was the Lady Cougars who came up big first, running up a 12-point lead as Thea took over with penetrating moves to the bucket and a sure hand to finish. With three minutes remaining in the third, it was Kennedy up 44-32, and the game looked like it was going to become lopsided.

Looks don’t count in basketball, however. The Calhoun girls regrouped and came out swinging. Through the rest of the third and deep into the fourth quarter, they outscored Kennedy 12-4 to make a game of it. A key to Calhoun's late charge was O’Sullivan, who found her shot and netted eight points, including a lean-in bucket with four minutes remaining to make it 46-42.

But a sweet pull-up jumper by Keller made it a six-point game. When Kitton took a charge on the baseline from Dana Silvester, time began to run out for the Lady Colts. With under a minute to go, both O’Sullivan and Ruggiero got shots in close, but were denied.

Keller knocked down three of four from the foul line in the waning seconds to seal the win for Kennedy.

“We had a shot at it, we had our chances,” Calhoun head coach David Radtke said after the loss. “We just missed a bunch of easy layups down the line. This is a big rivalry, and it came down to a couple of bounces, that was the difference.”

“We played smart and we executed out shots,“ Kennedy head coach Debra Cipolla-Minafo said. “I think we really wanted it.“

Next up for Kennedy is an away game on Jan. 21 at 4:30 p.m. against Elmont. Calhoun hosts Mepham on Jan. 21 at 6:30 p.m.