Ossining Girls Basketball Team, Coach Widely Recognized for Accomplishments

Like other recent years, the 2015-16 season for the Ossining High School girls basketball team was an amazing one, and the awards and kudos for the team members and Coach Dan Ricci kept coming months after the record-setting season was over.

This year, Ossining won its fourth consecutive New York State Class AA championship, and the team won the Class AA final of the New York State Federation Tournament of Champions in Albany for the first time.

In June, the Basketball Coaches Association of New York – BCANY – chose Ossining High School Coach Dan Ricci as its 2016 Class AA Coach of the Year. Coach Ricci was recently inducted into the Class of 2016 Westchester Sports Hall of Fame. His name appears on a billboard at Westchester County Center.

In May, the BCANY chose then-senior Shadeen Samuels, who graduated from OHS in June, and incoming 10th grader Aubrey Griffin as two of the top 50 girls basketball players in New York State. They were two of the seven Section I players chosen for the top 50.

The BCANY choose an All-BCANY team in each section of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association – NYSPHSA – along with New York City Catholic, private and public schools. BCANY’s Board of Directors made the final selections for the 50 top players statewide from the top players in each section.

Here are some other awards and honors that the team, coach and players received this year:

• Shadeen, who will play basketball at Seton Hall University, was named Section I’s “Miss Basketball.” She is the first player in the NYSPHSA’s history to win four Class AA state titles.

• The Army National Guard named the team to its 11th annual MaxPreps Tour of Champions.

• The Westchester Knicks honored the girls basketball team at Westchester County Center.