After an up-and-down start to the season, Mamaroneck pulled back to .500 with a one-sided win over Roosevelt Early College on Jan. 14. For a young Tigers squad, the 68-29 victory over the Sharks proved how tough Mamaroneck can be when it’s clicking, and head coach Johanna McNelis hopes that her club can build on that momentum.
After a competitive first quarter that saw the Tigers build up an eight-point lead, Mamaroneck pulled away in the second, carrying a 40-18 lead into the half. The Tigers’ well-balanced offense was on display as Jamie Randall, Ali James and Alexia Nachtigal all scored in double figures in the win.
“I think to start, we were a little unsure of ourselves,” McNelis said. “We were coming off a couple of losses, but our starters knew how important this game was, so once we got a little comfortable, that was kind of the turning point.”
The win puts the Tigers at 5-5 on the season, and McNelis said that she has seen some positive signs from her young club. Despite recent losses to powerhouses like New Rochelle and Mount Vernon, the head coach said that the Tigers are making great strides and learning how to be successful on the varsity level.
“It’s all about learning and how to give it your all even if you don’t like the outcome,” she said. “They’re starting to see that basketball is a long season, it’s a game of runs and every time you’re faced with adversity, you have to stick together and find a solution; we’ve done some things really well this year, we just haven’t always done them all together.”
The Tigers will look to stay hot this week, as they tangle with two solid league foes in Ursuline and White Plains, after press time. The Koalas, in particular, pose a difficult test, and are coming off a 50-30 win over Mount Vernon highlighted by Korina Guerra’s 19-point effort. Ursuline is currently the second-ranked team in Section I behind Ossining, and was recently voted the 11th best Class AA team in all of New York state.
“These are tough teams, and these are going to be two tough games,” McNelis said. “We need to play for the full 32 minutes and we need to figure out how to finish games. Once we get that chemistry right, I think we’re only going to get better.”
