For Holy Family's seventh grade girls, the task was daunting. They were in the championship game facing a St. Rose team that had been crowned Long Island champs for the past two years and had beaten Holy Family six consecutive times. During the regular season, St. Rose - with a record of 10-2 - had handed Holy Family - with a record of 11-1 - its only loss. In addition, St. Rose possessed superior height and the league's most potent offense. Could Holy Family's swarming defense finally shut down the big red machine?

St. Rose opened the game with two quick buckets, but Holy Family responded with six straight points. This would be Holy Family's only lead until the game's final minutes. Heading into the fourth quarter, Holy Family trailed by 30-27. Clutch shooting by Nicole Robison (10 points) and Nicole DeGennaro (seven points) and great rebounding by Erin Breen, Jennifer Osorio and Michelle Vicidomini had enabled Holy Family to keep the score close. All season long the fourth quarter had belonged to Holy Family. In fact, no team had outscored Holy Family in the fourth quarter, but could Holy Family do it again and against the two-time defending champs?

Employing a full-court press and a triangle and two defense Holy Family turned up the defensive pressure in the final stanza. Valerie Ahrens harassed St. Rose's leading scorer from getting the ball. As the defensive pressure mounted, the momentum began to swing Holy Family's view. The crowd, Holy Family's sixth man, could sense it and responded with an unrelenting deafening roar that further inspired the girls. With the championship on the line, Courtney Breen played like a champion, scoring eight of her 15 points in the fourth-quarter, including the go ahead bucket with under two minutes to go in the game.

St. Rose, however, recaptured the lead, 38-37 with 30 seconds to go. Moments later Courtney was fouled and sank one of two free throws to tie the score. On St. Rose's next possession, Courtney converted a steal into a lay-up, giving Holy Family a 40-38 lead with 10 seconds left in the game. St. Rose inbounded the ball to their speedy point guard, but Holy Family's even speedier Valerie Ahrens pressured her opponent down the court and St. Rose was unable to get off a shot.

Through gritty determination and steely resolve the league's smallest team had just captured the league's biggest prize - the Nassau-Suffolk championship! In doing so, they proved once again that size does matter in basketball - it's the size of the heart.

Coaches Joe, Jim and Ed are extremely proud, not only of the team's success, but the incredible sportsmanship displayed by the girls. The coaches thank the girls for their dedication, positive attitude and cheerful personalities that produced so many laughs and light-hearted moments throughout the season. They constantly reminded us that winning is nice, but that "girls just want to have fun." They did both.

The coaches extend their thanks to the Holy Family CYO Board for their tireless efforts on behalf of all of Holy Family's young athletes. Special thanks to Sue Matera, the girls basketball coordinator, for her season long support. Thanks also to the CYO coaching fraternity for their show of support during the playoffs. Thank you to Coach Mike Lavelle and his seventh grade boys and Coaches Ed O'Reilly and Bill Balla and their eighth grade girls team for the series of scrimmages that helped our girls hone their skills. A very special thank you to Meghan Stewart and Alex Cabble, two intrepid cheerleaders for cheering us to victory in the finals. Thank you to the girls' parents, grandparents, siblings and friends for your unwavering support and encouragement throughout the season. Finally, the coaches and team extend our gratitude to the Hicksville Illustrated News for the outstanding coverage given to our team.