AVERILL PARK, NY – The Averill Park girls’ basketball team enters the 2021-2022 season with a very young roster. Their two seniors, however, are likely names that you’ve heard before.
Senior co-captains Michelina Lombardi and Amelia Wood are hoping to lead the Warriors to their eighth straight Section 2 Class A title, before joining their new teams.
“I’m really excited to be back after not really having a full season last year.” Lombardi said. “We’re super excited, motivated and ready to work.”
Over the weekend, Averill Park hosted a season tip-off tournament, featuring just Class A schools. Burnt Hills, South Glens Falls and Troy joined in on the two days of games on Friday and Saturday.
It was a late-night tip off on Friday for the Warriors first game, after the junior varsity games took longer than expected. The scheduled 8:30 p.m. tip didn’t happen until after 9, making Averill Park that much more eager to take the floor.
“This is the most exciting part of my day. Wake up, eat and get ready for this game, all day today,” Lombardi said after the game Friday. “We watched all of the first game. We were running a little bit behind schedule and that just made my teammates and I so much more anxious.”
“I woke up and I was pumped,” Wood added. “It was game day.”
When they were finally able to take the floor against South Glens Falls, the result was a favorable one. After a back-and-forth first quarter, the Warriors pumped out a 81-38 victory.
“What I do like is that we’re very unselfish and that we have multiple threats on the offensive side of the ball,” said Head Coach Sean Organ. “If teams want to focus in on Amelia, if they want to focus in on Michelina we have other players who are going to step up and be able to score.”
Don’t let the score fool you. It’s going to be right back to work at practice on Monday, with Organ having a list of things to work on.
“What we’re really looking to try to establish is some kind of consistency on defense, defensive rebounding. At times it’s been good and at times it hasn’t been good,” he said. “We have a lot that we have to improve upon. We have to do a better job of finishing possessions and not giving teams second, third, fourth, fifth opportunities. Strong teams are going to convert on that and we’re going to get in foul trouble, so we have to do a better job there.”
Part of the process early on for the Warriors is having their young group find their roles. In addition to the two seniors, the roster includes four juniors, three sophomores and four freshman.
“Some of our newer players and even some of our returning players are still trying to find their roles this season, so we’re still finding our way through that process,” Organ said.
“I think we have a lot of people who can do different things,” Wood said. “Everyone has their own twist that makes them unique and we’ve also connected really fast this season.”
In their 81-38 victory over South Glens Fall on Friday, Wood was the leading scorer with 18 points. Lombardi was next with 15 points. Taylor Holohan, a sophomore, added 14 points and went 8-for-9 from the free throw line.
On Saturday the Warriors faced off against Burnt Hills for the tournament championship. It was an early-season battle that kept everyone on their toes. A two-point game at halftime, Averill Park got an edge in the third quarter and was able to pick up a hard-fought 60-52 win.
Wood had another 18 point game and Holohan had 15 points. Kayleigh Ahern, a freshman, stepped up with 12 points.
Having picked up a 70-41 win at Columbia on November 30 in their season opener, the Warriors are now 3-0 to begin the season.
NEW TEAMS
At this time next year, Wood and Lombardi and going to be knee-deep into their college basketball seasons and college coursework.
Wood is going to be playing Division 1 basketball at Sacred Heart University. She’ll join her sister, Kelsey, in Fairfield, CT.
l’m excited to say that I will be continuing my academic and athletic career at Sacred Heart! I want to thank my coaches, family, and friends for getting me to this point! I’m looking forward to being reunited with my sister on the court, and tending to our unfinished business. pic.twitter.com/TN0vobR1af
— Amelia Wood (@ameliarw33) August 11, 2021
“I connected with a lot of other coaches, but not like I connected with Coach (Jessica) Mannetti,” Wood said of her commitment. “We could talk on the phone for two hours and it wasn’t just about basketball. Just about life, how each of us is doing and what we’re up to. Most of what we talked about wasn’t about basketball. It just felt like I was talking to my friend.”
While Wood had been to Sacred Heart’s campus before on visits with her sister, she enjoyed the process being about her this time.
“I had other colleges looking at me, but Sacred Heart just felt like the right fit for me,” she said. “I’m not going to college just to play with my sister. Everybody thinks that, but that’s not the reason. As soon as I stepped on the campus for my unofficial visit, I fell in love with the campus. I love the coaches. I love the players. I don’t know what I’m going to major in, but they have all three majors I’m interested in.”
She anticipates her major being either psychology, criminal justice or special education.
Lombardi recently committed to play Division 2 basketball at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, NY.
I am extremely excited to announce my commitment to further my academic and athletic career at Le Moyne College. Thank you to everyone who has helped me along the way! 💚💛🏀#PhinsUp @CoachMaryG @LeMoyneWBB @CityRockGirls @AP_Athletics @1on1YourShotOn1 pic.twitter.com/9B9DPO7wrF
— Michelina Lombardi (@lombardi_55) November 5, 2021
“It checks all my box and when I stepped on campus, I really connected with Coach (Mary) Grimes. She’s awesome. I really love her,” Lombardi said. “The team was very welcoming, the school has my major and it’s pretty close to home. It’s the perfect fit for me.”
Education was a big factor in the decision to choose Le Moyne, as Lombardi has aspirations of becoming a doctor.
“It was more of the academics and the athletics coming together. I think that for me, Division 2 is a perfect fit. I really work hard academically, my goal is to become a doctor. Then the athletics came next. I think that Division 2 is a great bridge between academics and athletics.”
Specifically, she wants to become an endocrinologist and will major in biology.
“I know that it’s going to be really hard. College is tougher than high school; it’s the next level. I just want to work hard, see where I fit on the team and make an immediate impact when I get there.”
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December 06, 2021 at 09:00AM
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ONE LAST GO-ROUND: Wood, Lombardi excited for senior season before heading off to play college basketball - Troy Record
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