On Friday, the members of the Buffalo Seminary basketball team had a team lunch prior to their practice. At the lunch the girls received cookies with inspirational quotes written on strips of paper to motivate them on the eve of the biggest game of their lives.
“Alone we can do so little. Together we can do so much,” senior captain Grace Gallagher said as she read her quote aloud.
While the cookies proved to be a tasty treat that highlighted the team bonding moment, they really didn’t need much motivation. The girls’ already know that they are on the doorstep of history.
On Saturday, March 4, the Buffalo Seminary Red-Tailed Hawks will be playing in the program’s biggest game in almost 20 years when they face Nardin Academy in the Monsignor Martin Athletic Association Class B title game at Villa Maria College at 4 p.m.
The Hawks will be attempting to win their first MMAA playoff title since they captured the Division II crown during the 1997-98 season.
“I think it has set in a little bit. I know everybody is really excited, there’s some nerves, too going into the game,” head coach Eva Cunningham, who is in her eighth season at Sem said.
“So we’re going to try to work on that before tipoff tomorrow,” Cunningham said.
Sem, which went 8-10 during the regular season, earned the right to play for the Class B title by upsetting Mt.Mercy, 36-31, in the semifinals.
“I think everybody is a little nervous and still shocked, I guess,” said Gallagher, who had 14 points in the win over Mercy.
“It was a huge thing not only for us individually, but also for the school. This is the first time in (19) years that we’ve gotten here. So it’s really exciting.
“It was hard to believe,” senior captain Alison Gareis said. “It was nice to see that our hard work paid off because we’ve been working hard all season. Especially the seniors the past four years on varsity. It was a shock to everyone that we pulled it off.”
Cunningham, and her assistant Kacie Mills who is in her fourth season with the team, said the girls earning their right to play in this title game is the result of them believing in the process of getting better each day and making the most of their talents.
What makes the Red-Tailed Hawks playoff run so improbable, and special is the fact that they are doing it without the benefit a pure basketball only girl shouldering the load. There’s no 25 points a game superstar leading the way. It’s just a hard working group of girls who are good athletes and who are trying to play basketball as best the know how.
“I think all year long Kacie and I knew that we had athletic girls. We just had to put it together as basketball players,” Cunningham said. “We asked a lot of them. Every day we go to work and we go over things maybe a million times but we just keep going and going and going. And we’re in a rhythm right now and I think that actually helps us.”
Along with Gallagher and Gareis, the Red-Tailed Hawks are also led by senior captain Samantha Burlow, the team’s spark-plug point guard.
Bridget Conboy, Jenna Smolarek and Kaitlyn Lane have also been strong contributors all season long for Sem.
The excitement isn’t confined to just the team circle as the basketball team has captured the hearts and imagination of everyone at Buff Sem. From family and faculty to classmates. The girls know they are carrying the flag of their school and they want to win for those that have supported them on this run.
“It’s not just our team doing it for us,” Gareis explained. “It’s (us) doing it for everyone else, too.”
Seemingly always in that role of the underdog, Sem might not actually be the favorite in their confrontation with the Gators, but something has definitely changed. The girls feel that they have gained some respect as a program and a school. That they’ve gained respect in the eyes of their peers. There is a sense that maybe now opposing teams won’t automatically chalk up a win when they see Buff Sem on the schedule.
“You guys believe in yourselves and that’s all you’ll need,” Cunningham said. “Don’t worry about what anybody else thinks. Whether we should be in this game or whether we shouldn’t be in this game. We know that we’ve worked hard all season and we’ve finally put some wins together at the perfect time.”
While most will still view Sem as the underdog a quick look of the results of some key games shows that a win over Nardin isn’t exactly impossible. Sem’s win over Mercy was revenge for a 16 point loss in the regular season. That semifinal win, coupled with the fact they only lost to Nardin by two points,36-34, in their regular season meeting, has the Red-Tailed Hawks believing they are capable of toppling Nardin.
“I felt like it was just a shocker to everyone and I know the girls are super excited and we want to show that this team can do it,” Gallagher said. “Yes we are from a small school and don’t have the greatest athletics and I know we want and need to do it.”
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