Basketball Program
BASKETBALL UPDATE – ST. URSULA TOURNAMENT
I’m happy to report that our Anchors had a very successful tournament winning 5 games. Consider that for many of our players, this was their very first tournament. The atmosphere in the gym during these 115 games was ‘electric”. Congratulations again to our 5th/6th grade boys who earned their way to the championship game in their division. This was a seesaw battle of defense and offensive output, We took our share of shots but unfortunately, our Anchors came up a bit short, falling to St. Joseph Fullerton 23 – 17. Scoring for this contest was led by Michael McMenamin with 6 pts, Adrian Hardy had 4 pts, Jack Bailey had 3 pts and Cameron Stoner and Ryland Ramtahal had 2 each. We should all be very proud of this team, this season they played in a very tough 7th grade league but when they got the chance to play against even competition in this tourney, they showed their true mettle. The championship runner-up trophy is in the hallway next to the office. This trophy has the distinction of being the very first St. Casimir School basketball trophy. Thank you coaches and team we’re all very proud of you.
The 4th grade girls ended the season on a high note beating Cathedral 18 – 2 and finishing 3rd in a pool of 7 teams. It was their turn to be the tallest team on the court. They made it count, controlling the boards, put-backs and scoring. The pressing defense was just too much for the opponent to handle giving our Anchors their 2nd “W” of the tournament and 5th of the season. Scoring was led by Paige Purtell with 8 pts, Andi Giannopoulos tossed in 6 pts and Malajza Boone added 4 pts. Our 4th grade girls were the 2nd winningest team in our program, winning 5 games (last year they didn’t notch a victory) while playing in a 5th grade league with four 4th graders on the team. Tremendous improvement this year.
The 4th grade boys lost a squeaker 9 – 8 to a tough OLPH team. It was nip and tuck for 48 minutes and we just couldn’t get that final bucket to bring home the WIN. Scoring was led by MJ Krause with 4 pts, Emerson Lawrence and Jackson Graham added a basket each. However, this team, in its inaugural season, was the winningest team in the St. Casimir program this season winning 6 games. Kudos to the coaches and team for that accomplishment.
Our 7th grade boys, missing two of their starters, lost a close one to a tough St. Louis team 33 to 30. This was the quintessential seesaw spectacle with both teams trading baskets, steals and rebounds and both teams battling for 56 minutes. This could’ve gone either way. Scoring was led by Nick Purtell with 20 pts, Aedan Joyce dropped in 6 pts and Michael McMenamin added 4 pts. I want to thank 6th graders Jack Bailey and Michael McMenamin for stepping up this year to help out the 7th grade team, both added much needed clutch minutes and scoring. You both made valuable contributions toa team in a very tough league.
In closing, the SCS Anchor basketball program had a great 2023 – 24 season winning 15 games compared to 2 last year. All the coaches, volunteers and players are to be commended for this achievement and we greatly appreciate your time and hard work. In addition, you represented yourselves and our school in a very positive light. All teams made incredible improvement from the first practice to the final horn to end the season. Very much looking forward to next year. “We’re gonna need a bigger trophy shelf”.