St. Paul girls basketball’s run to the NVL Tournament final ended prematurely on Monday in a 58-47 loss to Kennedy.
Falcons head coach Joe Mone hopes the loss will make his team hungry entering the upcoming Class M state tournament. St. Paul has an overall record of 20-2 and looks to be the No. 3 seed in Class M. Pairings come out tomorrow at noon.
Mone gave Kennedy credit for its win on Monday.
“They seem to play well when it counts, and hopefully we’re going to do the same thing,” Mone said.
St. Paul certainly has talent. The Falcons are led by All-NVL senior Lizzy Cretella, All-Copper junior Brigid Johndrow and All-Copper senior Lizzy Ferraro. As those players go, so does St. Paul.
When looking ahead to Class M, the Falcons are in for a test. Cromwell and Enfield posted undefeated regular seasons and are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the class. After St. Paul at No. 3, there is Holy Cross at No. 4, East Hampton at No. 5, Weaver at No. 7, Morgan at No. 8 and Waterford at No. 9.
“I think Class M is one of the tougher divisions,” Mone said.
Mone added: “They’ve taken some of the best ‘S’ schools, and they’ve all moved up.”
Postseason success dictated most of those moves, including the jump by St. Paul. The Falcons have plenty of seniors on their roster, and Mone is hoping that leadership takes his team on another long postseason run.