Arlington Girls Win Sectional Opener
A fresh start. A new season. The opportunity to erase your mid-season inconsistencies, slumps, tough losses, and start anew. Arlington’s Lady Admirals made a statement to begin Sectionals, taking full advantage of that fresh start.
Ranked as the 11-seed, the Arlington Lady Admirals were heavily favored to defeat the East Ramapo Titans in the opening round of the Section 1 Class AA girls’ basketball sectional playoffs. East Ramapo was ranked as the 22-seed.
The Lady Admirals dominated from the opening minutes in their 66–37 victory, as they had built a double-digit lead before the Titans even called their first timeout of the game. The hot start was led by Shevaun Judon, who had ten of her team’s first 21 points in the opening quarter.
“I had confidence in my shot early, and it was important for me to have my teammates supporting me, telling me to keep shooting,” Judon said after the game.
The leading scorer for Arlington was Camille Loussedes, who started off slow with just two points in the first quarter. She managed to finish the game with 13. Loussedes added five assists to her stat sheet and was the leader of the defensive charge her team brought all game long.
“We really tried to push the ball up the floor and catch the defense before they got themselves ready,” Loussedes said. “Hitting the open outlets is a key part of our transition game, so we managed to do that and go from there.”
The Admirals held the Titans to just two points throughout the entire second quarter, as they took a commanding 40–13 halftime lead. Nine of the 12 players on the Arlington roster scored in the opening half.
“I think we were very active with our hands tonight,” Head Coach Kim Costello said of her team’s performance. “We were very excited to get another home game. It’s sectionals, it’s like a new season, and we were ready to come out here and play well in front of our home crowd.”
All in all, it was a dominating performance, a statement victory, and a real confidence booster for the Lady Admirals. Heading into the second round, Arlington will have a rematch against North Rockland after a 79–51 loss in December.
“Going up against North Rockland is obviously going to be tough, we know we lost by more than 20 against them last time,” Judon said. “But we also did not have Camille last time we played them, so I think getting her back in the offense will give us a lot of momentum.”
