The transition was an easy one on paper. When Alex Immella stepped down as New Dorp girls basketball coach in December, Michael Padmore was there to fill the slot. Padmore was the school’s JV girls hoops coach and also Immella’s assistant.
In that situation, though, you never know what could happen – especially in the middle of the season. It took three games for things to settle in, Padmore said. In that contest, New Dorp defeated Midwood, a team that will play in the PSAL Class AA quarterfinals.
“I think that was the game that it was like, OK now you guys know I’m the coach – not just the assistant – and how I do things,” Padmore said.
The Central Cougars scuffled a bit after that, falling in a few non-league games over the holidays. But there’s no doubt they’ve settled in now. New Dorp (13-11) has won nine in a row, capped by a victory over Graphic Communication Arts in the PSAL Class A second round Tuesday. The 10th-seeded Central Cougars will travel to rival and No. 2 Curtis for the quarterfinals this coming Tuesday.
“Having the relationship I had with them, it made it a lot easier,” Padmore said. “I think it was tough in the beginning. But it wasn’t like I was a new person and they had no idea who I was.”
On Tuesday, New Dorp has a chance to do something the girls program at the Staten Island school has never done: make the final four at any classification. It’s an even bigger game because of the opponent. ND lost to Curtis by just nine early in the season. But the latest time, the Warriors shellacked the Central Cougars, 70-35. Padmore has been hammering the revenge storyline home since his team won in the second round.
“You don’t usually get a second chance on things in life,” he said he told his players. “Make use of it. … We lost pretty badly. We just want to get retribution for what we did.”
The play of senior guards Jackie Rupelli and Racquel Baudanza has been immense for ND. The two combined for 49 of the team’s 72 points against Graphic Communication Arts. Baudanza scored the 1,000th point of her career last month. Rupelli is averaging 19.3 points per game this season and has emerged as one of the best players on Staten Island.
“It’s good to have two senior guards,” Padmore said. “You don’t have to develop their game. You just have to add to their game.”
Arielle Pearce has also stepped up in the playoffs, Michelle Rupelli is steady at the point and Zhane Smith does a little bit of everything. New Dorp is one of three Staten Island teams in the quarterfinals with Curtis and Tottenville. Padmore thought his team could have gotten a higher seed, because of the difficulty of the division.
He doesn’t mind playing Curtis again, though. Padmore said he and his players are excited about the opportunity to redeem themselves against the Warriors and legendary coach Bob Daggett. New Dorp has lost just one other game since that rout.
“I think we’ve done what we’re supposed to do now,” Padmore said.
Midwood moving on to quarterfinals again: Midwood had made the PSAL quarterfinals at the highest classification every year for a decade. Mike Moore knew that and he knew how important that streak was for the school. But he didn’t convey any of that to his players in practice the last few weeks.
“Honestly, I didn’t really put that on the top of my priority list,” Moore said.
The coach didn’t want to put any undue pressure on the Hornets’ shoulders. The strategy worked. No. 9 Midwood went to Fort Greene on Wednesday and knocked off No. 8 Banneker in the Class AA second round. The Hornets will meet top-seed South Shore at 5 p.m. Saturday in the quarterfinals.
Midwood pushed South Shore in the same round last year, actually leading at the half against the Vikings, who eventually went to the Garden. The last time the two teams played, though, South Shore routed Midwood, 62-28, on Feb. 8.
“We just know what we’re up against,” Moore said.”We know if we lay down, the result is going to be the same as last month.”
The Hornets have played better basketball since the beginning of the season, where injuries hampered them. Camera Miley and Monet Keane Dawes, two skilled juniors, have been mainstays. Amina Markovic gave Midwood 17 points against Banneker and freshman Kyla Formley played solid defense on Warriors star Africa Williams, who is committed to Fordham.
“The MVP ball went to her,” Moore said of Formley. “That was major.”
When it was all over and Midwood had won, the Hornets could appreciate that 11th straight trip to the final eight. Moore was on the bench with former coach and current athletic director Artie LaGreca, who was regarded as one of the top coaches in the PSAL, for a few of those quarterfinal appearances. He appreciated the ability to keep that vaunted mark going.
“It was more valuable after we won,” Moore said. “I got home and I was able to savor it.”
Bedford the team to beat in the ‘B:’ Bedford Academy was in the PSAL Class B championship game last year and fell to Scholars Academy. It could be the Panthers’ year in 2011-12.
Top-seed Bedford finished undefeated in league play and has cruised into the quarterfinals, where it will host No. 9 Grady on Wednesday. Brianna Perlmutter, a 6-foot wing, is arguably the top player in the ‘B’ league, an inside-outside threat who plays her travel ball with Exodus. Eleasha Wiggins does a bit of everything and Brittany Perlmutter, Brianna’s twin sister, is also on the team’s top players. Alexis Foster runs the point.
The team is coached by former Robeson star Kendra Nelson, one of the top scorers in New York State history who went on to play at Seton Hall. She has been known for her discipline in recent years, holding out stars like Brianna Perlmutter in the semifinals two years ago. If everyone is on the floor, the Panthers are the favorite to take home the crown this year.
