St. Edmund has been on the cusp of being one of the elite team in its division in recent years. It has now officially made it.
The Eagles outplayed two-time defending diocesan champion Bishop Kearney in every facet of the game in a 74–36 home victory on Brooklyn-Queens Division II girls’ basketball last Friday night. St. Edmund (7–0) is now in sole possession of first place in the division after handing Kearney (6–1) its first loss in league play.
“I think we are a better team this year,” said senior guard Kellie O’Neill. “We are strong and working harder. I definitely think we can win the championship.”
The Eagles set the tone early with their press, play in transition, and hot shooting. Kearney struggled against the full-court pressure and double-teams. St. Edmund converted turnovers into an early 11–0 advantage thanks to the hustle of wing Nina DiCioccio, who scored nine of her 14 points in the opening frame. Her energy on defense and on the boards also caused plenty of trouble for Kearney.
“She doesn’t stop,” said second-year St. Edmund coach Frank Kelly. “She played out of her mind today.”
So did the rest of her team. The quick pace also sped up the Kearney offense. Quick shots and misses lead to Eagles points in transition, and hot shooting took over from there.
St. Edmond’s ball movement consistently found the open shooters. Kellie O’Neill, who scored 14 points, hit back-to-back three-pointers, and DiCioccio added a trey to end the first quarter to put the Eagles up 31–7. St. Edmund, which led 42–16 at the half, connected six times from behind the arc in the game.
“We just wanted it more,” DiCioccio said. “We knew we had to step up our game.”
Alexandra Jacques led the Eagles with 17 points. Kelly O’Donnell had 12 and Stephanie Samir chipped in nine. Jennifer Kaye paced Kearney with 13 points and Kailey O’Grady tallied nine.
Kearney never recovered from the slow start, despite holding St. Edmund scoreless for more than two minutes in the second quarter. Tigers coach Rocco Sellitto said his young team has had some lapses that led to turnovers this season, but on this night his club never got right.
“That’s been an issue for us, but we have been able to overcome it in most of the other games,” he said. “This game they got off to a big start and kept putting the hammer down.”
The Eagles’ extra energy was generated by the team’s desire to make this a special season. It lost to Kearney four times last season, including in the diocesan and city playoffs. St. Edmund is a veteran team that wants nothing more than to bring home an elusive title, and the Eagles took a big step toward that goal by beating Kearney.
“As seniors, this is the year we want to win,” O’Neill said. “It’s our last year here.”
