On Friday night, the Tuckahoe girls basketball team picked up its most impressive victory of the season, as the Class C Tigers rallied from an early deficit to top Class A Eastchester 49-46 in the annual Augie Nardone Scholarship Game. And while the team’s Jan. 28 triumph might be an important emotional moment for the ballclub, it also served as a reminder that the Tigers will be a force to be reckoned with in the postseason.

Things looked bleak for Tuckahoe early on, as the Tigers were shut out in the first quarter and headed into halftime trailing their hosts 24-11. But a strong second-half effort, led by a renewed commitment to the press and some stellar shooting by Adriana Rocco—who led her team with 13 points—helped Tuckahoe methodically climb back into contention, eventually taking their first lead of the game in the fourth quarter and holding on for the win over a spirited final eight minutes.

Senior captain Olivia Mondrone—who finished with 12 points on the night—said that the Tigers’ previous matchup with Eastchester this year helped Tuckahoe keep its composure during a difficult first. On Dec. 14, Tuckahoe found itself in a similar early hole against the Eagles but was able to claw back into contention before ultimately falling on the final possession of the game.

“We knew we had the ability to come back, the same way as the last game,” said Mondrone.“Because we knew we had it in us and we knew we were capable of coming back, we knew we had to get it done.”

As one of two seniors on the Tuckahoe roster, Mondrone explained that getting a victory over neighboring Eastchester was an especially important achievement. 

“For me and [Irene Maris] we knew this was going to be the last chance we had,” said Mondrone. “We had come so close before, there was no way we were going to lose this game.”

Tuckahoe head coach Andrew Colasuono was especially pleased with his team’s play in the second half, particularly the unselfish nature of his ballclub. While Rocco and Mondrone accounted for 25 of Tuckahoe’s points, Maris and Sophia Colasacco each chipped in 10 to round out the Tigers’ well-balanced attack

“Game to game, it’s not like we have one standout at all times,” said Colasuono. “Every game its all five of our players working hard and coming up with some baskets, playing hard defense, running the press and running our system.”

At 13-4 on the season, the Tigers appear to be peaking at the right time as they eye one of the top two seeds in the Class C playoffs. With just three games left in the regular season, as of press time, Colasuono believes that Friday’s win over Eastchester could go a long way toward building the squad’s confidence as the postseason looms.

“This is a huge program win for us we’ve been really looking forward to this game for a while,” he said. “We had some big league games, but this was the one we had marked on our calendar and we really worked up to it.”

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