March 12, 2011 At Milton High School, the took on St. Francis of Medford in the EMASS CYO Final Four.
St. John's had topped St. Francis twice this season, but it is always hard to beat a team three times in a season.
St. John's went with a 3-guard line-up to start things off. Veronica Rizzo, Jaymie Caponigro, and Kendall Rhodes tried to force early turnovers.
The game turned into a defensive battle. Three minutes into the game, Hannah Leahy blocked a shot to keep the game scoreless.
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The two teams exchanged free throws to make it a 1-1 game at the 11:25 mark. St. John's fell behind by four points early before Kasey Kennedy led them back. After making two free throws, she stole the ball and drove for a hoop and a foul.
Her ensuing made free throw gave St. John's their first lead of the game at 6-5 with 6 minutes left in the half. St. Francis came storming back by going on a 7-1 run to take a 6 point lead.
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Hannah Leahy scored off an offensive rebound and then made a free throw to cut the lead to 12-10 with 2 minutes left. Elizabeth Weisse's free throw with 38 seconds left finished the scoring for the half with St. John's down 13-11.
The second half started out as another defensive battle. Ellie Wright played solid defense and her early steal kept the game close.
With 8:43 to go, Hannah Leahy grabbed an offensive rebound of a missed free throw to keep St. John's within two points at 17-15. The game was a back and forth battle down the stretch but St. John's couldn't close the gap.
A Kasey Kennedy steal led to a made free throw to cut the Medford lead to 24-21 with 1:42 to go. St. John's went into the full court press to create turnovers but could not convert. With 31 seconds to go, Hannah Leahy stepped to the line and made both free throws. Medford led 26-23.
After back to back misses by St. Francis, St. John's had a last chance. Hannah Leahy attempted a length of the court pass to Eleni Laskaris, but it was knocked away. Sixth seeded St. Francis knocked off St. John's to move to the final.
Despite the tough loss, the girls battled until the end. Hannah Leahy(9 points and 19 rebounds) and Eleni Laskaris(4 points and 15 rebounds) led St. John's. Kasey Kennedy added 6 points.
It was unfortunate that the season ended way too soon for many of these girls. However, they can look back on one of the best seasons of CYO Basketball in a long time.
They finished with a 15-3 record. They were the league regular season and play-off runner up as well as reaching the EMASS Final Four.
Many thanks to coaches, Joe Caponigro and Don Weisse for their time and committment to helping improve the game of basketball for these girls. This team represented St. John's and the community in a very positive way.
