WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER SETS RECORD VISITS FOR YEAR 7,017,658 VISITS! 2,098,003 VISITORS MADE 6 VISITS A DAY EVERY DAY. 63,330 UNIQUE VISITORS MADE 133,730 VISITS IN DECEMBER. WPCNR AVERAGED 17,284 VISITORS A WEEK, VISITING 31,270 TIMES.

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WPCNR COURTSIDE. By “Rims” Sheehan. March 9, 2008 Part 2 of 2 Parts: Mount Vernon (MV) had a 21-1 record, had beaten WP twice in the regular season, was ranked the #2 girls team in the State, had averaged 75 points a game in the playoffs and had three star players – guard Taylor Palmer, forward Kwinyatta Mercer and center Nadia Duncan – all of whom could easily score in double figures.  WP had already over achieved by getting to the County Center and getting to the finals.  Should they just be happy to take their picture at center court and try not to look bad against the top ranked Lady Knights?

Here’s the story of that game.

Another Photograph for the Wall

Photos by Tim Sheehan

But coming this far emboldened the Tigers, who knew that they had three good defenders (Tharkur, Hayward and Aguirre) to try and stop the MV big three scoring machine, while the other starters (Rexhepi and Fields) could also keep the MV 4^th and 5^th scorers in check as well.  Then WP brought out its good luck charm, former WP star and present Penn basketball player, Kim Adams (below), who traveled from Quaker land to the County Center to cheer her team on.

Once A Tiger, always a Tiger: Kim Adams, now playing for Penn, leader of last year’s Champions lent her support.

                MV came out hard and gave WP a taste of its own medicine, with a tough man to man defense and a trap press that reminded me of the choking defense that Nottingham used in the first half of the State championship 3 years ago. But WP defense did make MV work for its shots at the other end, and Angelei Aguirre slashed her way to the hole enough to get WP back into the game.  Then WP took the lead at half 19 -16 and the County center was abuzz with the smell of upset, particularly because basketball aficionados knew that a low scoring game favored underdog White Plains.

WP’s Aguirre, Tharkur and Heywood did a great job of limiting the MV big 3 to just one quarter of good offense (Duncan had 7 in 2d Q, Mercer had 7 in 3d Q and Palmer had 5 in 2d) each, which prevented an offensive explosion that all in the house knew MV was capable of. Significantly, MV’s Mercer and Palmer hit their 3’s on open looks but those were limited and they did not shoot well with a WP hand in their face the rest of the time, all of which led to the lowest scoring output (40) for the MV season.

WP scoring was kept alive by Aguirre’s all world performance during the first three quarters but she was finally outscored by her team in the 4th Quarter, with Rexhepi scoring her only 5 points at crucial times, including a dagger 3 pointer with 1:33 left to give WP some breathing room.  MV’s press started to fall apart as Valde Hayward began to dribble up the sideline and Angelei Aguirre could not be stopped, as she scored 33 points.

All in all, a great upset win and an unprecedented 4^th consecutive gold ball for a Cinderella WP team, which leads to a team celebration at midcourt and a television interview for Angelei Aguirre (see below)

The Gold Ball Back in the Tiger Den

Ms Aguirre Interviewing with News12 Sports Anchor Walt Fowler

REGIONAL SEMIFINALS 

March 4, 2008 at New Paltz vs. Kingston

Section 9 champion Kingston, who beat WP in the regional finals last year, lost star Lindsey Timbrouk but kept point guards Rachel Coffey and Amanda Horvers, one a lightening quick point guard and the other a deadly 3 point shooter.  After shutting down the high powered MV offensive stars, did the WP lady Tigers have enough gas in the tank on one day’s rest to deal with the Kingston backcourt duo? 

The game started off sluggishly for WP, who trailed 12-4 after the first quarter (Shelby Fields had the four points for WP) and 27-16 at half, though Angelei Aguirre scored all 12 points for WP and it seemed that they might shake off the cobwebs for the second half. 

In the second half, WP’s lackluster play continued at both ends of the court.  Coffey was slicing her way through the WP defense and Horvers was left open too often for her trademark 3 pointer.   On offense, WP could not respond when Kingston packed the zone against Angelei Aguirre and dared the other WP players to shoot the ball. 

 Unfortunately, WP’s best outside shooter, Danika Rexhepi was stone cold and didn’t score until the 4^th quarter.  With no outside threat to stretch the Kingston defense, the Kingston packed-in zone prevented Angelei from penetrating and forced her to take off balance shots from farther out.

Coach Adams Center Encourages one More Tiger Rally

However, WP dug down and came back, closing the gap to 7 points with just over 4 minutes left.  Angelei launched a 3 pointer that just missed and Danika threw up 2 more that went “in and out” – any of which could have cut the gap.  The bottom line was that WP players just ran out of gas and could not sustain another grueling man to man defensive effort on such short rest.

One silver lining to playing the game was the fact that Angelei Aguirre scored her 1000^th High School point in the game and had a chance to pose with her family after the game.

Ultimately, the regional loss did nothing to tarnish WP’s improbable playoff run which resulted in an unexpected and unprecedented 4^th Gold Ball.  Congratulations to the players and Coaches Adams, Flooks and Owen for a job well done.

Mark Aguirre with his daughter Angelei and Family — Ms. Angelei’s 33 point performance against Mount Vernon — when she was being triple teamed and MV could not stop her — was Jordaneaque! It was one of the great individual performances you will ever see and those who saw it unfold will never forget it.

Next year, coming back, the Tigers will have junior Shelby Fields (who improved greatly despite only playing basketball for a few months — she shut down Ursuline’s Sferra and North Rockland’s Mary Abram with great defense, and junior Bree Bradley (who did not play in the playoffs due to illness), plus sophomore Mishara Aguirre (she’s at far left in photo above ) as a nucleus. They also have some potentially good freshman guards coming in and, just like this year, might do much better than expected.

 The win over MV this year was as big an upset as the Jets over the Colts in Super bowl 3!  

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WPCNR COURTSIDE. By “Rims” Sheehan. March 8, 2008: The White Plains Lady Tigers loss to Kingston in the Regional Semifinals Tuesday night in New Paltz did nothing to diminish the Cinderella season turned in by this fine group of student athletes. A recap of this amazing season and the improbable run through the playoffs that resulted in an unprecedented 4th consecutive Gold Ball (Section 1 Championship), won at the County Center, when White Plains knocked off the Number 2 team in the State Rankings, the Mount Vernon Lady Knights. Here is the first of a two–part recap of another season to remember:

How About That?  The 2008 Section 1 Basketball Champions.

Photos by Tim Sheehan.

Going into the playoffs, White Plains draws a 10 seed based upon a 10-10 record that mixed some quality wins with some head scratching losses.  Nonetheless, the team improved from its opening game loss to Maria Regina and under the tutelage of Coaches Sue Adams, Debbie Flooks and Laura Owen, and late season rematches with Section powerhouses Ursuline and Mt. Vernon – though losses – were much closer games.  In fact, WP was leading MV by a point with less than a minute left and was the only team to hold the high scoring Lady Knights under 50 points in the regular season.

OPENING ROUND

February 15 at John Jay East Fishkill vs. #7 seed Patriots

I had a tear in my eye as I entered the “Skip Ransom” gym where I once played high school ball.  It was easy to root against the alma matter when they came down to play WP in the regular season – won by WP – but it would be tougher to do that here.  WP’s early season win against JJEF was fueled by the emergence of two defensive stars for WP, as senior Simone Tharkur smothered JJEF scoring ace Caitlynn Moran and sophomore Shelby Fields stifled JJEF’s lefty center Kristin McIntyre.  Could WP hold JJEF’s “M & M” girls off in their home gym on the rematch?

Where’s 44?

The answer was yes, as WP mixed man to man coverage with match up zone to take a 3 point lead at halftime.  In the second half, the defense concentrated on stopping JJEF’s Moran (#44).  Even the traveling Tiger rooters, notably including former NBA superstar Mark Aguirre, were attuned to the whereabouts of #44.  Aguirre’s booming voice – “Don’t lose #44, Stay on her – could be heard all over the gym.  At one point, it seemed that Moran turned around to find out who was calling out her number from the stands.

By the third quarter, WP had an 8 point lead.  WP senior Angelei Aguirre was humming along at both ends of the court, assisted on offense by a high/low post setup with Shelby Fields.  This created space for Aguirre in the low blocks and she scored 36 points to lead WP to a first round upset of the lower seeded Patriots.  JJEF’s Moran had 21 points but Kristin McIntyre (seen guarding Aguirre, below) was held to just 8 points.

QUARTERFINALS  

February 20, at Number 2 seed Ursuline

Though Ursuline beat WP twice in the regular season, the second game was much closer and it is said that it is tough to beat the same team 3 times in one season.  This fueled the Tigers as they invaded the cramped Ursuline gym looking for both redemption and revenge.

It was a tight fought game for the first half and though Ursuline star Shelby Sferra was forced to the bench early in the second quarter, Ursuline was still ahead by 5 points when WP star Angelei Aguirre was whistled for her second foul with less than 2 minutes left in the half.  With Aguirre forced to grab some bench, Ursuline had to feel pretty good and seemed poised to add to their lead.  However, instead of folding without their star scorer, WP scored a couple of quick hoops, the last on a nice drive by Valde Hayward, and took a one point lead going into the locker room that stunned the Ursuline crowd.

In the third quarter, Ursuline focused too much of their defense on stopping Aguirre, who found open teammates as easily as he hits her pull up jumper.  She fed teammates Shelby Fields and Valde Hayward for layups and outside shooter Danika Rexhempi hit some key buckets as well as the WP Tiger scoring was spread out rather nicely and WP maintained its slim lead going into the 4^th quarter.

A key sequence occurred with about 4 minutes left in the 4th quarter, with WP trying to extend a 5 point lead and Ursuline trying to get back into the game. Shelby Fields missed a short shot, two Ursuline defenders seemingly had the rebound scooped up and all other players headed up the Court. All except one—WP’s Simone Tharkur—who poked the ball loose, scrambled to snare it and instead of waiting for her teammates to come back for help, went right back up to the hole and got fouled. She converted a foul shot to extend the lead and Ursuline just could not get it together after that.

Ripping the Koalas at the Charity Stripe

Ursuline was forced to foul WP for the last 3 minutes of the game in order to try and get the ball back.  WP hit enough of their foul shots (see above) and stopped Ursuline from getting open three point shots and secured the next upset win 62-54.  Moreover, Shelby Fields stopped Ursuline star Shelby Fields from dominating inside and Valde Hayward and Simone Tharkur stopped Ursuline guards from driving or spotting up for easy 3 point shots.  Aguirre led the Tigers with 23 points while Valde Hayward scored 13. 

On to the County Center for a 4^th straight year!

       SECTION SEMIFINALS  

 February 28 at the County Center against #6 seed North Rockland

North Rockland beat WP in the regular season, had Division I player Mary Abrams and two other girls over 6 feet tall and scored 78 points in its quarterfinals upset of #5 seed Ossining.

Raiders Stymied by the Women in Black

The first quarter was low scoring for both sides as they got used to the much larger confines and crowds of the County  Center.  Using a suffocating man to man defense, with an occasional zone, the Tigers began pressuring the NR guards and made it difficult for them to get the ball inside to their tall low post players. 

 By halftime, WP had opened up a 9 point lead 29-15.  Angelei Aguirre had 16 for WP while NR star Mary Abrams had only  2 points.  In the third quarter, WP scored 9 points but the story of the quarter was the Tiger defense, which completely shut out NR, who scored ZERO POINTS.        

North Rockland scored a couple of three pointers in the closing minutes to make it somewhat closer but WP prevailed 41 to 29.  Angelei Aguirre had 18, while Danika Rexhepi had 17 points for the victorious Tigers.  Amazingly, NR star Abrams never scored again after her first bucket!

 (Tommorrow: The Championship Round)

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WPCNR’S THE FEINER REPORT. By Paul Feiner. Greenburgh Town Supervisor. February 4, 2008:

WAS THE COUNTY/METRO NORTH PREPARED AFTER METRO NORTH ANNOUNCED THAT
THERE WAS NO SERVICE IN AND OUT OF GRAND CENTRAL STATION ON Tuesday,
March 4th?

SHOULD THE COUNTY HAVE HAD A PLAN TO SEND MORE BUSES?

SHOULD BUSES HAVE HONORED METRO NORTH TICKETS?

SHOULD MORE E MAIL INFORMATION ALERTS HAVE BEEN SENT OUT?
WAS THE EMERGENCY PHONE SYSTEM ADEQUATE?

WHAT DO YOU THINK? IF YOU WERE A COMMUTER ON TUESDAY AND WOULD LIKE TO
SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCES…PLEASE POST THEM ON MY BLOG:

WWW.PFEINER.BLOGSPOT.COM OR E MAIL ME AT PFEINER@GREENBURGHNY.COM. I
WILL SHARE YOUR COMMENTS WITH METRO NORTH, THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE AND
OFFICIALS INVOLVED IN EMERGENCY PREPARATION.

Paul Feiner

THE FOLLOWING E MAIL WAS SENT TO ME BY LINDA GARFUNKEL, A COMMUTER FROM
TARRYTOWN:

Paul, it is 8 PM, and I am lucky enough to be home.  I have just heard
on WCBS radio that Grand Central Station is chaotic, and that trains
are still running late.

I am on the e-mail list for Westchester County government and for Metro
North.  Mid afternoon today, I recieved an e-mail from Metro North
saying that there was no service in and out of GCS.  I figured that I
should find another way to get home.  Since the BeeLine bus runs near my
office, I decided to look at their website.  In doing so, I noticed that
one can only use coins or their commuter card to pay for the trip.  I
figured that in an emergency situation like this, there would be
exception to the rule. 

Unfortunately, none of this was done, and there should be some accounting and some explanation.

Thanks.

Linda R. Garfunkel
Tarrytown, NY 10591

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WPCNR PRESS ROOM. From Westchester Guardian. March 4, 2008: U.S District Court Judge Charles Brieant ruled that Yonkers and its Administration Practiced Content Based Discrimination when selectively targeting the Guardian Newspaper and confiscating their Newsracks and subjecting Sam Zherka the Publisher and his employees to criminal summonses and threats of arrest for distributing the Guardian in Yonkers NY.

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WPCNR COUNTY TICKER From New York Association of Counties. March 4, 2008 (Edited): The 2008-09 Executive State Budget proposes two substantial cost shifts that will be added to county budgets and the local property tax burden. According to county calculations, the Executive Budget will require counties and the City of New York to pay at least $27.5 million in the current budget year and $50 million in the next from an increased share of welfare benefits and the full cost of local youth detention facilities.

Hudson Valley County officials convened in Westchester this morning to hold a press conference to discuss how the cost shifts proposed 2008-09 Executive State Budget would have an immediate and direct impact on New York’s counties and county property taxpayers. The press conference was one of a series of events being coordinated by counties across the state to voice opposition to the costs shifts in the proposed state budget budget.

“The state has traditionally viewed its counties as equal partners in sharing the costs of the public assistance and youth detention programs. But we have never been partners on policy decisions or how to best control costs,” said Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano. “George Steinbrenner and his family own more than 51 percent of the Yankees so they get to make all the spending decisions for the team. If the Governor’s proposed budget stands, it would change the historic state/county relationship by requiring counties to pay the majority share for state-mandated programs. There would be no partnership at all. We would be paying more than the state, but still lack control over management. Steinbrenner would never have allowed this and neither should we.”

Spano was joined by Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy, who serves as the president of the New York State County Executives’ Association; Rockland County Executive Scott Vanderhoef; Orange County Executive Ed Diana; Putnam County Deputy Executive John Tully; Westchester County Legislators Bill Burton, Peter Harckham and Vito Pinto; NYSAC President Lucille McKnight and NYSAC Executive Director Stephen J. Acquario.

“These are unjustified and unacceptable cost shifts that will have a direct cost to county property taxpayers,” said Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy, the president of the New York State County Executives Association. “The property tax burden is already breaking the backs of our homeowners and businesses. The State cannot close the state budget gap by shifting more of the cost to county taxpayers. That burden is already a major cause of our economic stagnation and decreasing population.”

“This is a step in the wrong direction,” said Orange County Executive Ed Diana. “It makes no sense to balance the state budget on the backs of New York State property taxpayers, who are already paying the fourth highest property taxes in the nation.”

“This budget is a direct contradiction of promises the Governor made at the NYSAC conference last year. He said then, and I quote directly from his address – ‘Our commitment to reducing unfunded State mandates will be measured not in words, but in dollars.’ Either he was disingenuous then, or he doesn’t understand his own budget,” said Rockland County Executive Scott Vanderhoef.

“There is a direct correlation between the decisions made in this state budget proposal to the local property tax burden in New York State. Even as we try to put the focus on our solving our property tax crisis, state leaders shift more of the burden on our homeowners and businesses,” said NYSAC President Lucille M. McKnight, an Albany County Legislator.

“Most of what we do—as high as 80 percent of our spending—is mandated by the state,” said NYSAC Executive Director Stephen J. Acquario. “When the state unilaterally alters traditional funding partnerships with its local governments, we at the local level have two choices—cut services or raise taxes.”