SOMERS, N.Y. - On Monday, Jan. 12, Somers traveled to Kennedy Catholic, and a tight 20–18 third-quarter score did justice to the crosstown rivalry. But the scales soon tipped, clanging to the sound of the three-ball.
Reese Carlo caught fire, lighting up the Tuskers with five triples to lead Kennedy Catholic to a 44–34 victory.
The Gaels set the tone early. Carlo’s block down low on Eli Contreras ignited a fast break, and Maddie Arrigale finished it off with a conventional three-point play.
At the 6:41 mark, Somers answered back. Kacey McCullough sliced across the paint for a layup off the glass, and Contreras sank two free throws to give the visitors a 4–3 lead.
Kennedy responded by going downtown. Arrigale swished a pair of three-pointers, and Carlo added the first of her long-range makes.
Trailing 12–5 early in the second quarter, Somers kept pace. Ava Schmidberger found Emma Flores alone under the basket for an easy layup, and after Ashley Kuchinsky pulled down a rebound, the guard went coast to coast to cut the deficit to 12–10.
The Tuskers weren’t finished. Kuchinsky came up with a steal at half court to spark the offense, and after a missed shot, Caitlyn Mayfield grabbed the offensive rebound and kicked it out to McCullough, who buried a jumper to tie the game.
Contreras kept things even by driving straight down the lane with 25 seconds left in the half, but Kennedy wouldn’t allow Somers to carry momentum into the locker room. Lianna Bonavita drained a three-pointer, offering an early preview of what was to come.
First to the blackboard, Bonavita opened the third quarter with another triple, but Shea Mullins briefly slowed the surge. The freshman sank an underhand layup to make it 20–16, and after forcing a steal at the 5:30 mark, McCullough finished another layup off the glass.
Carlo was ready to take over. She came up with a steal and extended the lead to five with her second three. Kuchinsky answered with a three of her own and later added a free throw, but three points was as close as Somers would get.
Behind Carlo’s hot hand, Kennedy closed the third quarter with a pair of triples and opened the fourth with three more. With the lead stretched to 11, the game’s star put the finishing touches on the night, converting a baseline drive and adding another triple from the line.
Somers cut the deficit to 42–34 on Kuchinsky’s fast-break layup, but with just a minute remaining, the comeback bid fell short.
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