Lady Hawks Cruise Past Nardin on Senior Night

It was a good senior night to say the least at Cardinal O’Hara High School as the Lady Hawks defeated the Nardin Gators 87-30 in a huge team victory.

It was an emotional night for the Lady Hawks, as seniors Anndea Zeigler, Cori Dickson, Shilah Parker, and Da’Bria Scott as well as junior Giorgia Maniero were all honored prior to the game. “I love my teammates, they’ve shaped me into the person I am today,” said Dickson. “It’s been good to be apart of a powerhouse to know where you stand. It’s been a lot of fun and I’m going to miss it a lot next year.” “I love my teammates and coaches because they’re my family here. They’ve helped me and taught me a lot,” said Maniero, who is returning to her home country of Italy for her senior season. The Lady Hawks seniors have gone 88-13 over the senior’s four year careers after tonight’s win. They haven’t lost to a Monsignor Martin or Section VI opponent in four years. “I can’t remember another team doing anything like that,” said head coach Nick O’Neil. “It’s a pleasure and an honor to coach these kids. They work hard and play hard.” As for the contest, O’Hara started off hot and swiftly took a 6-0 lead off of Cori Dickson and Giorgia Maniero threes. After the quick start, both sides seemed to get out of their grooves shooting from the outside. Thankfully for the Lady Hawks, their full court press was forcing turnovers, which led to layups. An Anndea Zeigler three capped off the first as O’Hara held a 21-11 lead.

Offensive rebounds was one thing Nardin had going for them, as they cut the lead to 8 early in the second off a Alexandra Hartnett put back. Unfortunately for the Gators, that was as close as they’d come. The Lady Hawks outscored Nardin 27-8 in quarter two, and a Cori Dickson three gave O’Hara a 48-19 halftime advantage. The third opened on two beautiful drives to the basket from Cori Dickson and Angel Parker, as the Lady Hawks continued to extend their lead. Nardin’s Sydney Scello was constantly able to drive into the paint, but the Gators were unable to convert her strong takes to points. A Giorgia Maniero transition layup ended the third quarter to put O’Hara up 67-24.

Turnovers were a recurring theme for the Lady Hawks in the first three quarters, and they didn’t stop in the fourth. Their full court press gave Nardin a very hard time advancing the ball all evening. O’Hara totaled 30 steals, which let them continue and continue to build their eventual 57 point lead. The Lady Hawks held the Gators to 5 and 6 points respectively in the third and fourth quarters.

The senior night honorees shined for O’Hara, as four of the five departing players were the only Lady Hawks to reach double digits. They were led by Dickson, who topped the stat sheet with 18 points and 5 assists, Maniero and Zeigler with 13, and Shilah Parker added 10. “We worked hard, practiced hard, and played hard,” said Zeigler after the big win. “We had 106 points last night and 87 tonight. The offense is coming along really well and the girls are playing hard,” said coach O’Neil. “Hopefully we peeked at the right time and we can keep it up.”

Alexandra Hartnett put up 6 for the Nardin Gators to lead the team in the defeat. “I think our girls played really hard, they never gave up,” said Nardin head coach Kendra Brim. “They hustled, tried to get the ball down the court, rebound. I liked that they held their heads high and we’re looking towards playoffs.” The Lady Hawks return to action February 4th for their third game in three days against Our Lady of Mercy in Rochester. The win puts O’Hara at 18-4 on the year and 9-0 in Monsignor Martin league play.

As for Nardin, the loss sits them at 6-7 on the season and at 3-4 in the MMAA league. They take on St. Mary’s on February 6th for their next matchup.