Kayla Solomon leads St. Mary’s girls to CHSAA Class AA crown

Although they probably didn’t need a T-shirt to recall the feeling of how last year ended, it doesn’t hurt to have a reminder staring back at you every day.

The St. Mary’s girls basketball team had T-shirts made up with a simple message on the back: Don’t forget. The Gaels wanted to ensure they never forgot the feeling of walking off the court stunned after losing in the Nassau-Suffolk CHSAA Class AA championship game and also falling short in the state tournament.

“It was that extra reminder so we don’t have that same feeling we had last year,” junior forward Destiny Robinson said. “That really wasn’t a good feeling and we didn’t want to feel that again.”

“We didn’t want to forget what happened to us last year,” junior guard Kayla Solomon added. “We wanted to remember that.”

It was clear from the opening tip that St. Mary’s didn’t forget. The top-seeded Gaels defeated No. 2 St. Anthony’s, 76-29, in the Nassau-Suffolk CHSAA Class AA championship game at Hofstra on Tuesday night.

“We’ve really been looking forward to this game after last year’s disappointment,” Robinson said. “This has been our goal and we didn’t underestimate them. We played them hard like it was our last game and we got what we wanted at the end.”

St. Mary’s (24-1) plays St. Joseph by the Sea at 7 p.m. on Friday at Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx in the state CHSAA Class AA semifinals. St. Anthony’s ended its season at 19-5.

Solomon had 23 points and Robinson added 15 points and 10 rebounds. St. Mary’s went on a 12-2 run over the opening 6:55 of the contest and took a 36-13 lead at halftime. The Gaels outscored St. Anthony’s, 24-8, in the third quarter to open a 60-21 advantage.

“Defensive intensity really set the tone early and continued throughout the game,” coach Kevin White said. “They really locked in. I was proud of the way they played. They played very, very hard.”

Laila Carr added 10 points, Scarlet Cubero had nine points and Sky Priester added eight points in the win. Solomon scored 12 of her 23 points in the third quarter.

“I tell people all the time that when she misses a shot, I’m surprised,” White said. “Every time she shoots the ball, her form is correct. As long as she has her legs under her, I don’t care where she shoots the ball from because it’s my feeling it’s going to go in.”

St. Mary’s is two wins away from its third state title over the last four years.

“That is the next goal,” Robinson said. “This was the first, now that is the next step.”

“Don’t forget about where we want to go,” White said. “I told them in the locker room before the game, ‘We work too hard not to get to where we want to get to. And the last thing you want is not to leave everything on the court,’ and they were relentless. They were like piranhas.”