Sacred Heart beats Fontbonne Hall to advance to CHSAA state Class A final

Sacred Heart Academy had been shooting for the top prize in the NSCHSAA all season and the Spartans won it, taking the tournament title Sunday for the first time since 1997 by beating two-time defending champ St. Mary’s of Manhasset. And now they can shoot for an even bigger prize.

They needed to beat Fontbonne Hall Academy of Brooklyn in the CHSAA Class A state semifinals Friday night at Cardinal Spellman in the Bronx for a chance at claiming the program’s first state title since 2006.

The Spartans did it with ease, jumping out to a 27-point advantage nearly midway through the second quarter en route to a 59-32 victory over the Bonnies.

Haylie Ellwood scored 12 points, Annie Kiernan added 11 and Emma Frohne had 10 to power the attack.

And so now comes the main event for this basketball team.

Sacred Heart (17-9) will face St. Mary’s of Lancaster (18-8) for the championship at 7 p.m. Saturday at Hofstra.

“It’s a huge thing,” Kiernan said. “It’s not an opportunity that everyone gets. … It’s been a dream of ours to even win the league, and then to have an opportunity to win the state championship is just amazing. We’re going to take it and we’re going to go for it.”

That St. Mary’s team from the Buffalo suburbs beat Kennedy Catholic from Westchester, 68-56, in the night’s earlier semifinal.

“They’re tough,” Spartans coach Bob Speck said of the next opponent. “… They’re going to be a handful.”

But Fontbonne Hall coach Mike Sammon thinks the Spartans will be, too.

“My opinion, they have a great chance to beat St. Mary’s,” Sammon said. “They’re deep. They’re talented. They can shoot. They do it all.”

Frohne turned an offensive rebound into a three-point play and followed with a layup to get them started. Ellwood drove for two, then knocked down a three. And Frohne nailed another three. It was 13-0 Spartans.

Valentina Caggiano made a free throw for the Bonnies’ first point. It ended up being their only point in the first quarter. Frohne scored eight and Elwood and Kiernan contributed seven apiece. It was 24-1 after eight minutes.

“We only lost one senior last year, so it’s all about chemistry,” said Kiernan, the Bentley-bound senior forward. “We’ve built that over the past two years.”

The cushion expanded to 27-1. Noelle Polanco, who had 14 for Fontbonne Hall (9-14), drove for her team’s first field goal. But a Kathryn D’Alessandro basket then made it 30-3.

“I’m sure when they started out, they had butterflies,” Sammon said of his players. “I kept telling them to run the offense. They were very flat.”

The Bonnies were even with Sacred Heart in that second quarter, 10-10. But it was still 34-11 at halftime. The Spartans opened the margin to as many as 39 in the third.

On to the state final.

“They say big moments come from big opportunities,” Speck said. “We’ve got a big opportunity [Saturday] night, and hopefully we put forth a good effort.”