Panas Preps for Future in Class A Title Loss to Tappan Zee

Mahopac Falls to TZ in Class A Semis

By Tony Pinciaro & Ray Gallagher

WALTER PANAS may not have come home with the Section 1 Class A Girls’ Basketball Championship, but the Panthers stamped themselves a sectional favorite going into the 2022-23 season after an incredible 2022 campaign that came up just short of a sectional title.

The Panthers, seeded third in the tournament, defeated second-seeded Harrison, 56-41, in a semifinal behind 13 points and 11 rebounds each from Kelsey Cregan and Julia Gallinger. Sofia Tavarez added 12 points and Cadence Nicholas had 11 points.

“In the semis we won by playing together as a unit and all five our starters scored a good amount,” Cregan said.

Panas ran into a buzzsaw in the final against top-seeded Tappan Zee. The Dutchies, 22-1 entering the game, beat the Panthers, 59-40 in the final to win their second sectional title since 2019.

State-ranked (No.2) Tappan Zee led 20-8 after the first quarter and 37-18 at the half. Youthful, state-ranked (No.21) Panas finished the season with a 20-4 record, and understands what it needs to do in order to secure a sectional title next season.

“The first quarter we were definitely very nervous and Tappan Zee came out ready to play,” Cregan said. “The second half showed we could compete with them had we played like that from the start.”

It was Panas’ first championship-game appearance during Coach Matt Evangelista’s tenure.

The good news for Evangelista and Panas fans is that the starting five returns next year, led by Captain Cregan, a walking double-double (12) this season.

“Playing in the final was an amazing experience and we proved so many people wrong by getting there,” Cregan said. “We are definitely very excited for next season and we know what we are capable of. We are going to continue to build for next season.”

Next season is already in the works with freshman G Cadence Nicholas (16 points and six rebounds), freshman G Sophia Tavarez (10 points, four rebounds, three assists), Cregan (eight points, six rebounds) and many others returning.

Panas entered the finals after knocking off state-ranked (No.19) Harrison, 56-41, in the semis. The second-seeded Huskies had no answers for Cregan and junior F Julia Gallinger, who went to town in the paint. Nicholas came through with 11 points, five rebounds and four steals. Panther Sarah Chiuli added seven points.

MAHOPAC opened its season with a loss to Tappan Zee and the Dutchies ended the Indians outstanding season in the Class A Final 4. Tappan Zee defeated fourth-seeded Mahopac, 77-39, in a Section 1 Class A Girls’ Basketball Championship semifinal.

State-ranked (No.24) Mahopac concluded its season with an 18-5 record.

Mahopac was 4-4 after eight games before going on a 14-game winning streak, highlighted by its defense and balanced scoring. Senior Melanie DeMeo chalked up the first eight games to an adjustment period.

“We lost two important starters from last year so we just needed to work through that,” said DeMeo, who will attend the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth next fall and play basketball.

DeMeo pointed to one major lineup alteration that initiated the run.

“Things really started to click when Jess Sterbens was put into the starting lineup,” DeMeo said. “We were getting outrebounded in a lot of games so Jess really helped with our rebounding problems. We knew early on that we were better than our record. So it came down to us making shots consistently and rebounding. Our defensive effort was always there. As a team we took a lot of pride in our defense.”

During its run, Mahopac’s defensive intensity was limiting teams to below 40 points. While the defense was suffocating opponents, the offense was consistently placing three-to-four players in double digits. What made this impressive was Mahopac would have a different leading scorer almost every game.

“As for our offense, we have very good shooters so that’s why any game we could have a different leading scorer,” DeMeo said.

Tappan Zee proved to be Mahopac’s kryptonite. DeMeo felt the team did not have its best shooting days either game and it came back to haunt the Indians.

“Tappan Zee is a very good team that has a lot of players that can score,” DeMeo said. “Once we got down big against a team like TZ it’s hard to climb back.”

DeMeo and her fellow senior teammates move on after two excellent seasons, highlighted by the 2021 Northern Westchester/Putnam Large-School title.

“We would have liked to go further, but it was a good year.” DeMeo said. “The seniors, we’ve been playing together since third grade CYO, so it’s sad for it to end.”