St. Celestine girls basketball team featured on ‘Today Show’

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Members of the St. Celestine girls basketball team.

Updated: February 27, 2012 8:37AM

The undefeated — since fifth grade — St. Celestine’s Lady Celtics basketball team caught the attention of a nationwide TV news program.

The 10-member team and their coaches appeared on “NBC Today Show” on Sunday morning.

They eighth-graders recently won the IESA State Championship.

But, more significantly, the team has won every game they’ve played since fifth grade. The team currently has a record of 146-0 and hopes to go undefeated at the end of the season.

St. Celestine Catholic School Principal Jeanine Rocchi said the team’s success caught the eye of local media and grew from there. She said the television crews were setting up at the Elmwood Park school at 4:15 a.m. for the 6 a.m. broadcast.

Rocchi said she couldn’t be more proud of what they the team has accomplished.

“They are very nice girls,” she said. “They have good character and every one of them is on the honor roll. They play their first game like their last game with heart.”

The team’s coach, John McKenna, whose daughter, Annie, plays on the team said the team was excited about being on national television.

“That was pretty cool,” he said. “The girls were pretty excited. Throughout this past year people have made comments about us being recognized. We are not looking for glory, but people around us see we are undefeated.”

“It’s great,” Annie McKenna said. “It’s really cool.”

She credits the team’s success to hard work.

“We’re a really hard-working team,” Annie said. “We have great teamwork and are really unselfish with the ball. It’s really fun to play with our team.”

Her teammate, Kaitlin Aylward, said they have developed a winning chemistry after playing together so many years.

“We know how to work together so I can count on them to win the game,” she said.

“I couldn’t be prouder,” said Carol Aylward, Kaitlin’s mother. “It’s been an amazing ride for all of them. The school support has been really, really helpful to reach their goals.”

When the team first started competing in the fifth grade, John McKenna told the group he expected them to go undefeated. He’s glad his words have stuck.

“The first day of practice I expected them to go undefeated,” he said. “In this case it came through.

“I always say you get what you expect and I expect a lot from them.”