Rams & Lady Rams hoops misfire vs top tier teams
January 11, 2024 at 2:01 a.m.
With the way things have been going for Lady Rams basketball, head coach Danny Davis has been looking for progress, not perfection, because the team's last three games going into and coming out of the winter break show that Port Chester isn't quite ready for primetime varsity play despite continued solid performances from senior Samantha (Sam) Munoz and eighth-grader McKayla McLoughlin.
The hoop Rams have been suffering from a similar problem against the top teams with Venezuelan transfer Guillermo (Memo) Zabala, one of the top scorers in Section One last year, just about Port Chester's only main offensive threat against all competition.
So those are Port Chester's three players to watch as the winter season progresses.
Top tier trio
Munoz and McLoughlin emerged as the top two Lady Rams capable of more than holding their own against the one-two-three punch delivered by three of Westchester's best teams—Mount Vernon, Ossining and Fox Lane.
That trio beat the Rams like a drum by the respective scores of 59-41 (Mount Vernon going into the break on 12/22), 72-32 (Ossining on 1/3) with Fox Lane winning by 62-28 in the team’s most recent game last Friday (1/5).
But while the solidly-coached Lady Rams haven't been able to match up against the area's best teams, Davis nonetheless likes the way Munoz, a senior, keeps improving, so much so that he thinks she is the most improved player on the team. And McLoughlin represents the future of Port Chester basketball.
Stats tell story
McLoughin scored in double figures in all three losses, netting 12 against Mount Vernon, 16 versus Ossining and 15 against the Foxes while Munoz had nine, eight and nine while staying cool handling the ball under pressure.
While McLoughlin has her whole high school career ahead of her, Munoz is winning admirers in the race for the school's best female athlete for her steady play in soccer, softball and now basketball.
Both will get a chance to show what they can do against Gorton of Yonkers Friday (1/12) because the Lady Rams will be going up against a struggling school with a similar basketball talent base that is a long way from Mount Vernon, Ossining and Fox Lane.
Counting on Memo
The Rams, who had a winnable game against Yonkers canceled Tuesday (1/9), will go up against another top tier team in Horace Greeley away Thursday (1/11) at 5 p.m. with their fingers crossed that Memo keeps playing like the All-Conference player he was last year. He averaged close to 30 points per game then and is scoring at the same pace this year. Hopefully he can keep that up. Otherwise it is going to be a very long season.
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