BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — After losing to Nichols at this stage last season, Cardinal O’Hara got their revenge in the Monsignor Martin title game on Wednesday, defeating the Vikings 59-45 at Canisius University.
Coming into the game the Hawks rode a 21-game win streak and had not lost to a team in WNY this season, averaging a margin of victory over 39 points against those teams. The first quarter didn’t start off at a pace to match that, with Cardinal O’Hara leading 15-11 after the first quarter. The Hawks responded in the second quarter, outscoring their opponent 19-6 in that frame, and headed into halftime leading 34-17.
Nichols chipped away at their opponents lead in the second half, at one point trailing by just six. Cardinal O’Hara ultimately found a late surge that was enough to separate themselves by double-digits as time expired.
“Cardinal O’Hara is a phenomenal team. Nick O’Neil is a great coach and those girls are lucky to have him. These girls (Cardinal O’Hara) are very impressive. I think three are going division one and one, division two,” Nichols coach Kayleigh Rizzo said.
The Hawks were led in scoring by sophomore Annabelle Day and junior Kyla Hayes, who had 18 points each. Many of the girls on the team walked away wearing crowns on their heads after the game.
“This [crown] is heavy, I don’t know who got these but it’s definitely a statement after last year,” guard Jordyn Williams said.
“Some people said that they were the queens of Buffalo last year but it’s different this year– we we’re all locked in, we’re focused and we wanted this win a lot. I’m really proud of how the season went we fought a lot we played some really tough teams, we play teams around the country that are quicker, faster, and that helps us a lot,” Hayes said.
Having now claimed 10 of the last 11 Monsignor Martin championships, some consider O’Hara a dynasty, but head coach Nick O’Neil is just focused on his team’s play.
“We got over the hump, I don’t like the way we played but the object of the game is to win, and we did win the game. After last year the girls went in the locker room and we said this is not gonna happen again, we’re not going to be on the other side of this,” Cardinal O’Hara head coach Nick O’Neil said.
Cardinal O’Hara will now face Staten Island’s St. Joseph-By-The-Sea in the next round of the playoffs, a team O’Neil takes very seriously.
“The ceiling [for our team] is a state championship, but we got the best team in the state coming up. Their girls are tough, they beat a lot of good teams, they got the number one player in New York, and another kid who’s supposed to not be as good as the other one but still has offers from Boston College, Hopkins, and Syracuse,” O’Neil said. “So we got to work harder.”