John Jay girls defeated in first round at Clarkstown South

Clockwise from top left,  Jane Brennan drives to the hoop for John Jay at Clarkstown South. Sela Halaifonua makes a pass for John Jay. Jaime Bartley-Cohen makes her move in the lane for the Wolves.  Greg Kaplowitz Photos

By JIM MACLEAN

It was a good start as the John Jay girls basketball team held the lead at the end of the first quarter, but host Clarkstown South responded with a strong second quarter to take control and never looked back on its way to a 68-46 victory in the first round of the Section 1 Class AA tournament.

John Jay knew it was in for a tall task as the Wolves entered the tournament as the No. 11-seed and had to travel across the river to face No. 6-seed Clarkstown South on Feb. 22.

“Clarkstown South did a really nice job making us work for everything offensively and just face guarding Sela right from the jump,” said John Jay coach Matt Gallagher. “They are well coached and do a lot of things well. We had some tough match-ups with them basically playing five guards, but we worked so hard from start to finish and I’m so proud of the effort they put forth all the way to the end. We could have given up but we just kept fighting and that is all I can ask for as a coach.”

Despite the long bus ride, John Jay started well and held an 11-9 lead at the end of the first quarter, but the host Vikings got hot in the second quarter and scored 22 points to open up an eight-point lead at the half. Clarkstown South made the shots count down the stretch and pulled away for the victory to advance to the quarterfinals.

Sela Halaifonua had another big game to lead the way as the senior wrapped up her impressive career on the court for John Jay scoring 15 points, grabbing 10 rebounds, and adding five steals and four assists. Senior Jane Brennan also had a big game with 12 points, five rebounds, four steals and four assists, while senior Jaime Bartley-Cohen scored nine points for the Wolves.

John Jay finished the season at 10-10 overall, which is an impressive turnaround after the Wolves started the year with a 1-7 record. The Wolves went 9-3 in the second half, with two of those losses coming against defending Class AA champion Walter Panas.

“They made such a big improvement from where we were at the beginning of the season,” Gallagher said of his team. “I think we knew coming into the season we had a real tough schedule at the start and I think once we got healthy and got rolling we were really such a different team. They could have easily said we are 1-7, we aren’t going anywhere and they didn’t think that once. They came in ready to work and get better every day and I’m so proud of them for that.”

A big reason for the turnaround was the leadership of the senior class, with eight seniors on the roster, including five seniors in the starting lineup. Halaifonua, Brennan, Bartley-Cohen, Natalie Ellrodt and Jordan Kauftheil led the way as the starting five.

“This is such a special group of seniors, they all bring something different and unique to the table and I think that is why they were such an amazing leadership group,” Gallagher said of his seniors. “They kept the younger girls going and kept pushing them all the way to the end and I think they left such an impact on them and our program. They are going to be greatly missed; such special people, athletes and leaders and they taught my coaches, myself and the younger players so much.”