Cassamassa able to keep pace for CWNC
WEXFORD — The Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic girls basketball team loves to run.
Freshman forward Mary Cassamassa would have loved to kept pace early in the season.
Her body wouldn't let her.
“I would get a lot of phelgm caught in my airway,” Cassamassa said. “When I would go to breathe, I would get much air in and would be struggling for breath.”
Cassamssa missed eight regular season games, but has become a big part of the Trojanettes' postseason run.
She has scored double figures in all three of the North Catholic's playoff wins — against the Ellis School (10), Jefferson-Morgan (14) and Riverview (10).
In the semifinals against the Raiders, Cassamassa made a 3-pointer with 8 seconds remaining to help second-seeded North Catholic (20-5) steal a 41-40 win.
“It was excellent. She puts a ton of time in and that's the reward of putting that time in,” Trojanettes coach Molly Rottmann said. “It's great for her because she wasn't feeling like she was playing well. For her, that's a great boost.”
Cassamassa is third on the team in scoring, averaging 11.8 points per game. She also averages 3.9 rebounds per game.
“The games she's played, she's played amazing,” sophomore center Sam Breen said. “She gets the drives. She gets the shots.”
Where Cassamassa's affliction came from is a bit of a mystery.
She jokingly blamed her older brother for the sinus infection, who had it first.
“It's almost like asthma, but I've never been known to have that,” Cassamassa said. “I wasn't given an inhaler. They gave me an antibiotic.”
Cassamassa's absence during the season came during a string of injuries for North Catholic. Kiki Palmer had a stress fracture and was forced to sit, while Mia Palmer also missed some time with a minor injury. Rottmann looked at it as opportunity to develop younger players.
“It gave other kids, like Amanda Bucklew and Ashley Robbins some playing time,” Rottmann said. “They matured as well. If we need to go there (in the playoffs), we can.”
Cassamassa tried to stay sharp by shooting in practice, even if full-speed workouts were off-limits. Once she returned to the court, Cassamassa picked her spots when moving in transition.
“I would have to slow down a little bit until I could get it all out,” Cassamassa said. “Then I could go back up to speed. There would be a few games where I had to slow down and pick up again.”
Rottmann hopes Cassamassa never has to slow down during the playoffs.
“I think it was rough for her,” Rottmann said. “She would come, do well and then feel like garbage. In the last quarter of the season, she was healthy and made a difference for us.”
