The Pelham Memorial High School varsity girls basketball team is heading to the final four in White Plains for the third straight year after a lopsided 63-40 win over Westlake on Wednesday.
The Pelicans set the tone for the game early at the Middle School gym, jumping out to a 14-5 lead in the first quarter and extending it to 33-14 at halftime. After pushing the lead to 51-22 in the third quarter, the game was essentially over.
Coach Timothy Pitrulle described the team’s overwhelming performance as a “tsunami.” “We swamped Westlake defensively from opening tip until the game was no longer in doubt,” he wrote in an email. “We were balanced and played with amazing energy.”
This is the third year in a row where the PMHS girls varsity team will advance to the Section 1 Class A final four playoff at the Westchester County Center, marking the first time the team has been able to do so since the introduction of tournament play at the arena in 1999.
Sophomore guard Colleen Sheehy led the team in scoring against Westlake with 15 points, sinking four shots from three-point land. Junior guard Emma Namba contributed 10 points and power forward Brooke Green, a sophomore, scored 12 points and grabbed a team-high 17 rebounds.
But the team’s coveted golden chain award for star of the game went to Arden Keough, whose numbers didn’t match those of her teammates, but whose hustle and determination exemplified the squad’s tenacity.
The team will begin semi-final action at the Westchester County Center Saturday, in a noon match-up against Somers High School. If the girls win, the championship game will be Sunday at the county center.
Coach Pitrulle called on fans to make the trip to White Plains this weekend to support the squad. “They more than deserve it,” he wrote. “The winter season is LONG and the amount of time they give up is unparalleled. Teams like this bring community together and the team certainly does not take final four appearances lightly, as they happen so rarely. We are truly in the midst of a historic time.”
