Simply put, the South Shore girl’s basketball team wasn’t coming home without a title.
The Lady Vikings won its first-ever New York State Federation title March 25, defeating The Mary Louis Academy 59–31 in the “AA” division final at the Glens Falls Civic Center. The victory was redemption for South Shore after the team came up short in the state tournament in each of the last two seasons.
“It feels good,” said coach Anwar Gladden. “I’m happy for the kids and their families. It’s something they can take with them for the rest of their lives.”
It was a physical game from the opening tip, but South Shore relished it, diving for every loose ball, battling for rebounds and pushing the tempo offensively. from opening tip. The Lady Vikings jumped out to an 11-4 lead at the end of the first quarter and didn’t slow down from there.
South Shore turned defensive stands into points, kept the Mary Louis Hilltoppers on their heels and led 29-10 at halftime.
“Before the game we all went into the room and we had a talk and we just prayed to God to have our best game,” said junior point guard Destiny Philoxy. “We just went out with a bang.”
That “bang” was provided by South Shore’s defense, a 2–3 zone that locked down the Hilltoppers throughout the game.
“You’ve got to play defense here at South Shore,” Gladden said. “We have a lot of talent and we stress defense.”
South Shore shut down the Hilltoppers’ high-powered offense, including Notre Dame-bound senior Danielle Patterson. The Vikings own standout senior Selena Philoxy — headed to Seton Hall next year — pulled down nine rebounds, scored a game-high 19 points, and held her own against Patterson.
“We had to keep a hand on her,” Selena Philoxy said. “We had to get out the block and keep them from shooting. Physical, we had to keep it physical.”
South Shore led by double digits throughout the second half, and Mary Louis — unable to match the Lady Vikings’ pace — never got closer than 12.
South Shore wrapped up the third quarter on a 13–5 run and held a 22-point cushion heading into the final eight minutes of play. By the final whistle, the Lady Vikings put seven players in the scorebook and won just about every statistical battle.
“We never knew that we had that in us,” Destiny Philoxy said. “We had to play a team who was ready to play us. We watched everything and we prepared and we were ready for them.”
It’s a picture-perfect ending for a South Shore squad that from the very first practice had its sights set on nothing less than a state championship trophy.
“The kids can take this and say, ‘You know what, in 2017 I was a state champion,’” Gladden said. “And for the younger kids, they can say, ‘we want to have this feeling every year.’”
