Sports Recap: Greeley Girls Win On Senior Night

Here is a recap of some recent notable events in Fox Lane and Horace Greeley sports, not including games previously covered by Patch:

Greeley Girls Defeat Port Chester

When the Horace Greeley girls basketball squad hosted Port Chester, it was a big game for a couple of reasons.

One, it wanted to rebound from a loss at Rye in its previous game and keep its hopes alive to share the league championship. Two, it wanted its seniors to win on their night: senior night.

They did just that, as the Quakers (11-4) overcame an early deficit and easily defeated Port Chester, 51-17 on Feb. 4.

That early deficit came in the first quarter, which Port Chester led at the end of 10-7.

“We had senior night last night so we started all our seniors and some of them were not regular starters so it took them awhile to figure out how to play well together,” Horace Greeley coach John Alkalay said in a post-game interview.

Those seniors were Yanna Jackson, Nell Sherman and Kristen DeVito. Jackson is a regular starter. Sherman and DeVito aren’t starters, but nevertheless made valuable contributions that saw the Quakers take a stranglehold on the game by outscoring the visitors 17-0 in the second quarter.

“We kept the same lineup in the second quarter,” Alkalay said. “Our starting point guard, Jackie Brett, was out sick. We started the game in the zone. Once they scored on a couple of jump shots in that first quarter, we switched it up to man. Then they had a hard time handling our defense.”

The Greeley coach said that Brett practiced the next day and she’s ready to go back in the lineup.

“It’s huge,” Alkalay said of Brett’s return to the lineup. “I could tell that she was sick already on Thursday during the Rye game. She had an off night and you could tell that she wasn’t 100 percent. Hopefully it will be a different story when she has the energy that she usually has to push the ball up the court and get our fast break going.”

Having someone like Brett in the lineup is a major reason why the Quakers have enjoyed a successful campaign this season.

“We had a number of returning players,” Alkalay said. “We have been able to play solid defense against most teams. That’s been probably one of the keys for us and the other one is that we are a very good transition team. We are forcing turnovers and getting out on the run, getting a lot of easy baskets. When we do that we are pretty tough to handle.”

The Quakers were tough for the Rams to handle, especially Jackson. She registered 14 points, 15 rebounds, 11 steals and six blocks.

“Yanna has been a four-year varsity starter and was an all-section player last year," Alkalay said. “She has added a lot to our program in terms of toughness, rebounding and defense over the past four years. She is going to be nearly impossible to replace next year.”

Alkalay also added that DeVito and Sherman have been important members of the Quakers squad as well.

“Kristen is a second-year varsity player,” Alkalay said. “She didn’t get much playing time but adds a lot to our team in terms of leadership and hustle. She sets the proper example for the rest of the team to follow.”

“Nell was a first-year varsity player who didn’t play basketball at all during her high-school career,” Alkalay continued. “She came out for the team as a senior and after years of not playing she showed such athleticism, enthusiasm and hustle that she made the team. There has been a couple of games where she slipped in and been a key contributor for us.”

Ice hockey

Fox Lane has had a standout year so far in ice hockey. The Foxes have to this point earned an 11-3-1 overall and 3-1-1 record in the league, Conference III, good enough for second place behind first place Rye (11-3-1, 5-0).

Girls basketball

Led by 10 points each from Allison Lombardi and Jacqueline Colao, Fox Lane improved to 10-4 by defeating visiting Harrison 56-44 on Feb. 4.