Rye Girls Basketball Wins Twice to Claim Mahopac Tournament Championship
The Rye Girls Basketball Team improved to an impressive 6-0 over this past weekend (December 27-28), defeating both Putnam Valley and Mahopac in the Mahopac Tournament and claiming the event’s championship. The Garnets defeated Putnam 46-35 on Friday evening (12/27), then the host Wolf Pac 58-44 in the finals.
Game One
Phoebe Greto led the Garnets in the low scoring affair with 21 points (almost half of the entire team’s offensive output) and 7 rebounds. Molly Kennedy scored 12 points in a solid performance before missing the championship game due to illness. Paige Tepedino had a remarkable 5 steals to go along with 6 points. Final score: Rye 46 – Putnam 35.
Game Two
“We battled through illness to win the championship game of the Mahopac Tournament,” Head Coach Margo Hackett told MyRye.com. “I am so proud of these girls for how they battled to win the tournament.”
Paige Tepedino parlayed her exceptional defensive performance in game one with a stout offensive game for Rye against Mahopac, dropping a team-leading 18 points. The Garnets only had seven healthy bodies in their rotation, and all six others chipped in after Tepedino sans Kennedy. 8th-grader Charlotte Storz scored her first ten varsity points to finish second on the team, stepping up in an unforeseen way. Frankie Chiaravalle (9 points), Stella Maresca (8, 4 steals), Annie Toulouse (7, 4 steals), and Phoebe Greto (6) were other depth scorers for the Garnets.
Despite not scoring any points, Hackett made sure to highlight the seventh player in that rotation, Liz Schwartzman. “[There were] big minutes played by Liz Schwartzman to help us secure the win,” the head coach said.
After the win, Paige Tepedino was named Mahopac Tournament MVP and Phoebe Greto was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Rye (6-0) will look to make it seven in a row when they travel to Yonkers on Monday, January 6, in their first tilt of 2025. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:30pm in the road game against the Bulldogs.
