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Haldane Crowned NYS Hoop Champs!
Blue Devils win 5th state title, end eternal 7-year wait; Shields MVP
by Ray Gallagher
 | | Members of the state champion Haldane High girl's basketball erupt off the bench upon securing the fifth NYSPHSAA title plaque in school history, first in Class C, after the Blue Devils knocked off Section 10 champion Madrid- Waddington by a 46-36 count last Sunday afternoon at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy. |
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A day after reining three-time NYSPHSAA Class A champion Peekskill High and two-time defending Class AA champion Mount Vernon received staggering blows in the boy's state basketball semifinals, an old friend stepped up and gave Section 1 the shot in the arm it needed, saving some face and restoring the integrity of Section 1 hoops along the way.
It had been seven prolonged years without a state championship for the folks in and about Haldane High, so Sunday's 46-36 NYSPHSAA Girl's Class C Championship win over Section 10's Madrid-Waddington would be sweet on many levels. For starters, it would be Haldane's fifth state title, first in Class C after four in Class D, thus re-stamping its signature among the state's elite basketball programs. The 10-point victory over state-ranked (No.4) Madrid also signaled the end of the Brittany Shields era; as the program's all-time leading scorer and rebounder went out on top with another vintage MVP performance; 23 points, 14 boards, six assists and four steals for the state-ranked (No.2) Blue Devils.
 | | State champion Lady Blue Devil's pose with the fifth NYSPHSAA title plaque in school history, first in Class C. |
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The Pace-bound Shields flashed an assortment of moves that might have made Ervin "Magic" Johnson jealous, often going coastto coast and spinning her way to the hole with regularity despite a constant wave of Yellow Jacket (21-6) defenders to run at her. On a day when Section 1 needed it most, the Haldane girl's basketball program made like the hardwood goddess she is and cut to the championship chase behind a trail blazed by an all-time great; Shields' eye-popping numbers (1,943 points and 1,363 rebounds) bear that out.
Featuring a nasty 1-3-1 half-court press with lengthy Liz Milner at the point, the Blue Devils (22-4) climbed to the mountaintop for the first time since the 2000 season when the Nastasi sisters, Aaron and Ryan, were paving the path to Troy's Hudson Valley Community College at the turn of the century.
Haldane forced 28 turnovers in all, eight off four steals apiece from Shields and Milner. Sophomore guard Kristen Des Marais added three steals on a night when the Blue Devil defense held Madrid to 23 percent shooting overall, and 3-for-25 shooting after the half. Haldane's switching defensive schemes held Madrid scoreless for streaks of 12:30 and 6:19 while the Blue Devils built a 12-point edge midway through the fourth.
"We wanted this so bad for Shieldsy," said fellow senior Scotti King, one of Shields' closest friends. "Our guards had to contribute more in the playoffs or we would have been in trouble. Brittany couldn't do it alone. The seniors and juniors have been together a long time now, and we wanted this more than anything, especially for Brittany."
Mission accomplished! The throng of Haldane fans in attendance, all the usual suspects, was given their money's worth, and nothing less than a state title plaque would suffice; on this the program's shining moment in Class C.
"It couldn't of ended any other way," said Shields, who sat out one long minute with the recurrence of a knee injury that nearly set the program back to mediocrity when it flared up in mid-February against Horace Greeley in a last-minute loss. "This is an unbelievable feeling right now. I didn't expect to feel like this. I'm so sad right now; so sad that it's over. It's great to go out on top, but us seniors have been playing together for so many years. I'm going to miss this so much."
It's hard to determine who will miss whom more: Shields missing the program or the program missing her. Student athletes like Shields don't come around very often, though Haldane has had its share of great players. But Shields was the total package: A humble leader and role model, confident, unstoppable at both ends of the floor and effective in all phases of basketball.
Shields, who played six years of varsity ball, was more than efficient but far from a one-woman gang. Junior center Avery Zuvic was spectacular on the boards, snaring double-digit rebounds. Zuvic (5 points) hit back-to-back buckets to tie the score at 14-all before Emily Marsh hit one from downtown that put the Blue Devils ahead for good at 17-14. Milner, who shined defensively from start to finish, added seven points, DesMarais added one nifty hoop off a steal and King dropped six for the Blue Devils, who got used to playing with leads in the post season.
Since beating Blind Brook for the Section 1 title by one point, the rampaging Blue Devils average margin of victory was 16 points during four state playoff games, including Saturday's 63-39 semifinal victory against top-ranked and previously unbeaten Cooperstown. Shields hit for 21 against Cooperstown while Zuvic (12), Milner (15) and Des Marais (7) made solid contributions.
"We just got a little better each time out," first-year Haldane Coach Kenney Haskins stated. "We didn't play our best game today, but it was good enough to win, and that's the most important thing to this community right now. The girls were under some pressure to perform and they were up to the task. It hasn't really sunk in yet."
By the time the Haldane bus had cruised back down I-87 and chugged down 9D toward Craigside Drive, it's very likely the coach began to realize the regard with which the community will hold this most recent accomplishment. And they have Shields, Zuvic, King, Marsh, Milner, the Des Marais sisters, Holly Whitson, Irina Impellithere, Lily Rubino, Alex Milner, Jade Lyons and a couple of J.V. call-ups to thank for that.
Seven years seemed like an eternity to a hoops-crazed town that hangs it hat on basketball distinction, and this story could have but one ending: With Shields and her Blue Devils going out on top.
Please visit www.yourdirectrays.com to view Section 1 sports photo galleries, including Haldane's state title triumph.
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