Happy Friday. 🏀 It’s Dec. 19. The holiday season has arrived, and unfortunately, so have the seasonal illnesses. While many of Rye’s teams have been hampered by a mid-December sickness, girls basketball managed to start the season at a feverish pace.

It’s still (very) early, and an undefeated campaign is a lot to ask of any team, but Rye’s outstanding fall sports season set a lofty precedent that the Garnet girls have upheld thus far. Two weeks in, coach Margo Hackett’s squad appears well-equipped to defend its section title.

Let’s go “Between the Lines” with a look at the path ahead for the 4-0 Garnets.

“Between the Lines” is curated by sports editor Chris Marshall.

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Basketball Preview: Another Undefeated Juggernaut?

After winning their first four games by an average of 21 points, there’s a high likelihood the Rye girls basketball team will enter next week’s holiday break at 6-0.

Tonight’s home debut (7 p.m. tipoff at Rye High School) is against Eastchester, a team the Garnets beat by 35 in their season opener. Monday’s game is a rematch with Harrison, which Rye beat by 17 a week ago.

The Garnets had a close call at Fox Lane, winning 54-49 with several players sitting out with illness, before demolishing Horace Greeley 60-32 on Wednesday.

Eastchester has been equal parts busy and unsuccessful to start the season, squeezing nine games into the first 17 days of December and going 2-7. The defensive intensity Rye showed during its run to regionals last year was on full display against the Eagles. Senior Annie Toulouse had eight steals, freshman Charlotte Storz had four, and Frankie Chiaravalle three. Against Harrison, sophomore Stella Maresca led Rye with five steals, and Storz added another four.

Tougher tests await when the season resumes after the break in January. Along with Rye, three other teams remain unbeaten in Section 1 Class AA: Mahopac, Nyack, and Ossining. Rye hosts Mahopac on Jan. 14 and plays at Ossining on Jan. 26. The regular-season finale is a Feb. 11 rematch with Ossining in Rye.

While it’s a fun exercise to look that far ahead, Hackett’s playoff-tested squad will take it one game at a time, starting tonight against Eastchester. The matchup itself may not be close, but it does carry added meaning. It’s the second-annual Tiffany O’Toole Memorial Game, honoring the late mother of former Rye basketball players Thomas (2019) and Teaghan (2020), who passed away in June 2024 after a valiant battle with ovarian cancer.

O’Toole played an instrumental role in helping both the boys and girls basketball teams. A 50/50 raffle at tonight’s game will collect donations to ovarian cancer research in Tiffany O’Toole’s name.

Weather Report: Check out Rye’s weekend forecast here.

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Performer of the Week: Phoebe Greto

🏀 Congrats to Phoebe Greto — winner of the Sportech Performer of the Week.

A previous Performer of the Week honoree for Rye’s section champion volleyball team, Greto came out of the gates blazing for the girls basketball team.

In the Garnets’ season opener, she grabbed 10 rebounds and scored 23 points, more than Eastchester’s entire team in a 56-21 Rye win. When an illness swept through the team, she logged another double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds against Fox Lane.

In Rye’s latest game, a 60-32 win at Horace Greeley, the senior captain logged her highest total yet, scoring 27 to push her season average to 20.8 points. Last year’s section tournament MVP is picking up right where she left off, and then some.

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Game of the Week: Rye Hockey Rallies for Sick Win 🤒

🏒 Missing five players due to illness, the Garnet hockey team entered the third period Wednesday trailing by a goal against Byram Hills. Coach Peter Thomas’ boys had to dig deep.

“In the locker room during the second intermission,” Thomas said, “I just reminded them that we can’t simply show up this year and expect good things to happen. We’ve got to play game hockey the way we practice.”

A goal by junior Baker Wells pulled Rye (3-1) even with 11 minutes remaining at Playland, then sophomore Colin Nigro scored his second goal of the game to make it 5-4. An empty-netter in the final seconds turned what was a close game into a 6-4 Rye win.

Rye trailed 2-1, 3-2, and 4-3 before scoring the game’s final three goals. The Garnets now hop on a bus and head five hours north for games tonight and tomorrow at Beekmantown High School.

— By Steven Kearney