Phoenix rally past Raiders
The Ciocca surname is a familiar one in Saint Francis Phoenix basketball circles.
Jack Ciocca was an important player for the senior boys team last season when it won a gold medal at the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations AA championships. Twin sister Rozyln Ciocca is equally important for the senior girls squad and the Grade 11 student made her presence felt Tuesday in the opening round of the Third Annual BPSN Girls Basketball Tournament.
The Pelham Panthers under-17 travel player scored a team-high 13 points for the Phoenix to help it escape with a hard-fought 49-42 victory over the Holy Cross Raiders playing in front of a noisy buyout crowd at Holy Cross. Ciocca scored seven of her points in the final quarter, including a three at the start of the frame which gave her team its first lead and also a late basket that lifted Saint Francis a 46-42 advantage.
“Roz is a great player. She sees the whole floor and is aware of where her teammates are and what needs to happen,” Phoenix coach Rachel Bufalino said. “She makes sure everyone is in the right spot.”
The 15-year-old Ciocca is not quite the basketball twin of her brother.
“I think we play a lot alike because we are both knowledgable and have court vision but I enjoy being a team player,” she said. “I look for the pass more than the shot even though he does too.”
Rozyln has improved her skills playing one-on-one against her brother in the driveway.
“It gets heated,” she said.
Ciocca is looking forward to the rest of the tournament.
“I really wanted to win and play Sir Winston because a lot of my friends are on that team. I also wanted to prove to myself that I am a good player because I have been having some not the best games.”
Ciocca ended the interview with a brave prediction.
“I will see you in the final Friday night,” she said, with a smile
Her plans almost were derailed by a hard-working Raiders team. Holy Cross led 17-7 after one quarter and 23-14 at the half before the Phoenix rallied for the victory.
“The huge turnaround was our press that we just introduced to our girls last Thursday or Friday. We knew that we were going to bring it out and at first it was a little rocky but they performed and Holy Cross was getting frustrated and flustered,” Bufalino said.
The game was a good learning experience for the Phoenix.
“The girls were down on themselves because we were down nine at the half but we told them the game wasn’t over yet.”
Holy Cross head coach Erin Gauthier was happy with her team’s performance and thought it had a chance to come away with a victory.
“As we got deeper into the game, we got a little tired and when you get tired sometimes you don’t make the best decisions or you try and go one-on-four or one-on-three instead of playing as a team,” she said. “I thought the girls recovered during those tired times and they gave themselves a shot to catch up and try and win the game. We just needed a little bit more consistent play from them at the end of the game.”
Saint Francis made some key shots in the fourth quarter to seal the deal.
“They figured out how to score. They put the ball in the basket and we struggled to defend a little bit of their offence but the girls had a good showing tonight and they played hard,” Gauthier said. “I think we can see them a little bit later in the season and give them another good game.”
STATS PACK
Phoenix 49 Raiders 42
Cat’s Caboose Player of the Game: Holy Cross’ Mairead Newhouse with 22 points.
For the Saint Francis Phoenix: Rozyln Ciocca 13; Kaylee Giesbrecht 10; Sydney Chavez 9; Riyana Chahoud 7; Alysha Kryzanowski 5; Kyla Pylypiw 3; Alice Ayvazian 2.
For the Holy Cross Raiders: Newhouse 22; Lara Claire Martires 11; Tessa Vahrmeyer 7; Leah Briscall 3.
The tournament is made possible with the help of Women Networking in Sports of Niagara, Tora Inc., Regional Doors and Hardware, Bromac Construction Inc., the Brock women’s basketball program, Alltech Automotive, St. Catharines CYO Basketball, Pelham Panthers basketball, Niagara Falls Red Raiders basketball, Niagara Rangers basketball, Lasting Images, the Niagara District Referees Association, the District School Board of Niagara and the Niagara Catholic District School Board.
