The gym floor at Albertus Magnus was renamed last year in honor of former Athletic Director and basketball coach Joe McGuinness, who lost a long battle with cancer in February 2016 (wonderful tribute to him here from LoHud).

To honor the legendary coach, Albertus Magnus painted “Coach McGuinness Court” with his signature on top of it. And on Saturday, Falcons senior Kate Mager was able to give her long-awaited tribute to him.

“Kate Mager has always wanted to make a shot from the Coach McGuinness signature,” Albertus Magnus coach Pat Buckley said. “We always talk about it.”

Late in the third quarter of the Falcons’ Class AA first-round win over Horace Greeley, Mager had the ball in her hands with the clock winding down. Buckley began to yell out to Mager “Coach McGuinness. Coach McGuinness.”

Mager got the green light to take the 25-footer. And she swished it.

“She ran to his name,” Buckley said. “Splash.”

Photo courtesy of @BYDThe3

Mager scored 24 points and grabbed four rebounds in the 79-40 win. Allison Conti added 13 points and five steals, Tanasha Mills had 12 and four assists, and Mairead Durkin added 10 points and four boards.

The shot, though, was the highlight of an easy playoff win.

“One of my most favorite moments in coaching,” Buckley said. “It was incredible.”

SCOREBOARD: Section 1 Boys and Girls Basketball Results, Schedules (KDJMedia)

BRACKET CENTRAL: Section 1 Boys and Girls Basketball Brackets (PDF and Interactive)

Follow the Section 1 Basketball Tournament on KDJMedia.com and on Twitter: @KDJMedia1