Cheri Eleazer scored 14 of her 22 points in the second half for Longwood . . . Nicole Kaczmarski had 28 points and 10 assists and Susan Lipani added 14 points as Sachem beat Half Hollow Hills West, 73-45. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 16 Dec 1998:
Schaeffer’s Switch Boosts Whitman: [SUFFOLK Edition]
By Brad Geiger. STAFF WRITER. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 18 Dec 1998:
Kelly Schaeffer’s 25 points weren’t enough for Whitman in last night’s non-league girls basketball game against Longwood. For the Wildcats to win, they needed Schaeffer’s defense, too.
The junior guard was happy to oblige.
After Longwood’s Cheri Eleazer scored nine straight points in the third quarter, Whitman coach Bill Walsh called for a defensive switch. He took Melissa Shulman off Eleazer and assigned Schaeffer, setting up a marquee matchup between two of the top guards in Suffolk.
Schaeffer responded by containing Eleazer. Her defense helped lift Whitman to a 61-53 win over the visiting Lions, who made the Suffolk Class A semifinals last season.
“Me and Cheri are good friends,” Schaeffer said. “We became close during the Empire Games last summer. I knew that for us to win this game, I would have to contain her.”
Shulman did an effective job containing Eleazer in the first half, holding the senior to six points and 3-for-12 shooting. But in the third quarter, Eleazer used her height advantage to score over Shulman. Eleazer scored nine straight points for Longwood (1-2) during a three-minute stretch. Six of those points came on shots from within 10 feet, including a pull-up jumper that gave the Lions a 34-32 lead with 3:25 remaining in the quarter.
“She was posting up our point guard, and we needed somebody bigger,” Walsh said.
Eleazer, who had 15 points at the time of the switch and finished with 20, didn’t attempt another field goal until late in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Whitman (2-1) went on a 15-2 run capped by Schaeffer’s second three-pointer of the game to make it 47-36 early in the fourth. Schaeffer’s first three-pointer ignited the run, and Shulman (12 points) had five points in the spurt.
“They’re a tough team,” Longwood coach Pierce Hayes said. “Cheri carries a lot of our load. She ran out of gas tonight. That was because of their defensive pressure.”
Melissa Danchalski scored 11 for Longwood, which was hurt by the foul trouble encountered by forward Danielle DeGiorgio. She picked up her third foul with 3:49 left in the third and was on the bench during the run.
Longwood 15 10 11 17 53 Whitman 15 11 18 17 61 L: Lee 2-0-4, Eleazer 8-3-20, DeGiorgio 4-0-8, Danchalski 4-3-11, Kranz 4-0-10. Totals: 22-6-53. W: Jordan 5-2-12, Schaeffer 10-3-25, Shulman 5-0-12, Jensen 2-1-5, Vandernoth 3-1-7. Totals: 25-7-61. Three-point goals: L 3 (Kranz 2, Eleazer); W 4 (Schaeffer 2, Shulman 2).
Miller Place Beats Longwood. Michelle Stevens had 14 points, 12 rebounds and 5 steals to lead Miller Place (4-0) to a 52-43 win over Longwood in a first-round game at Floyd. Freshman Shea Kenny added 12 points, 10 rebounds and 5 steals and her sister, Katie, a junior, also scored 12 points. Cheri Eleazer led Longwood (1-3) with 15 points, and Melissa Danchalski added 10. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 23 Dec 1998
Longwood Cruises to Win. Cheri Eleazer and Danielle DeGiorgio combined to score 14 first-quarter points as Longwood outscored Floyd 23-4 and cruised to a 64-36 win. Eleazer finished with 15 points. Melissa Danchalski added 11 points for Longwood (2-3). – 30 Dec 1998:
Longwood Victorious. Cheri Eleazer had 21 points and 10 rebounds and Danielle DeGiorgo had 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead Longwood to a 54-43 win over Northport (1-4) in the fifth-place game. Longwood is 3-3. Dec. 31
Melissa Danchalski had 13 of her 19 points in the first quarter as Longwood defeated Brentwood, 56-21. Sheri Eleazer added 15 points for the Lions. Freshman Carlyshia Hurdle had six points and 11 rebounds for Brentwood . Jan. 6
Ward Melville 0 9 2 18 29 Longwood 18 10 17 16 61 WM: Garvin 2-0-4, Gatz 0-1-1, Kiernan 2-4-8, Koslowski 1-1-3,, Nulty 1-0-2, Pawul 2-0-4, Scaduto 1-2-4, Sing 1-1-3. Totals: 10-9-29. L: Lee 1-0-2, Grimes 1-0-2, DeGiorgio 4-0-8, Danchalski 3-2-8, Blanchette 0-2-2, Fagan 3-0-6, Deluca 2-1-5, Kranz 1-0-3, Wachter 4-0-8, Eleazer 7-3-17. Totals: 26-8-61. Three-point goals: L 1 (Kranz). Jan. 10
Cheri Eleazer and Danielle DeGiorgio each scored six points in the second quarter as Longwood erased a six-point deficit in its 66-56 win over Patchogue-Medford. Eleazer finished with 23 points and went 6-for-6 from the line in the fourth quarter for Longwood (3-2), which trailed 18-12 after the first quarter. Megan Bartoldus led Patchogue (3-2) with 23 points and eight rebounds. – Jan. 20
Cheri Eleazer had 20 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists to lead Longwood to a 66-30 win over Floyd. DanielleDeGiorgio added 17 points and 10 rebounds for Longwood (4-2). Floyd is 1-3 – Jan 2
Big Games to Watch
Longwood at Sachem (Thursday, 7 p.m.): This could be the year that Longwood (2-0) grabs the top spot in League I. All-Long Island guard Cheri Eleazer can have her way with Sachem (1-0), which allowed 85 points Saturday against Garden City. Sachem’s Nicole Kaczmarski can’t do it alone.
Team Effort Lifts Sachem to Victory:
John Boell. STAFF WRITER. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 16 Jan 1999:
Longwood’s Cheri Eleazer may have won the individual battle with Sachem’s Nicole Kaczmarski. But Kaczmarski and her Flaming Arrow teammates won the war – and the game.
Kaczmarski scored 26 points, Sue Lipani added 13, and six other players found the scoring column as Sachem defeated Longwood, 64-46, Friday night in a battle of Suffolk League I unbeatens.
Eleazer led all scorers with 31 points, but then came the dropoff for Longwood (5-4, 2-1). Siobhan Kranz had eight points and two other players totaled seven points for the Lions.
“They {Sachem} stepped up and made the shots that our kids didn’t,” Lions coach Pierce Hayes said. “With the exception of Cheri, there wasn’t much scoring. You’re not going to win with one player scoring.”
Sachem (5-3, 3-0) had discovered that the hard way in the early going. In its 32-point loss to Garden City last Saturday, Kaczmarski took the brunt of the offensive load.
But Friday night was different.
“We played great tonight as a team,” said Lipani, who scored 10 of her points in the second half and pulled down six rebounds. “We knew {Longwood’s} main goal was to stop Kaz. That left the other four players open a lot.”
And Kaczmarski usually found them. The UCLA-bound senior dished out six assists and had seven steals and five rebounds.
Eighth-grader Toni Horvath (six points) celebrated her 14th birthday with a pair of three-pointers. Tiffany Hughes (seven rebounds) and Katie Rose Deos (four rebounds) both came off the bench to score five points each. Jackie Seguin had four.
“Nicole played one of her best overall games in terms of rebounding, defense and distributing the ball. It was just a fabulous effort,” Sachem coach Mike Atkinson said. “Our young players have worked very, very hard. It’s taken some time, but our hard work has paid off. As our confidence has grown, so have our successes.”
A trend he and Sachem hope continues.
Smithtown Stuns Longwood. Lauren Tartamella hit a jumper and two free throws in the last 17 seconds of overtime as Smithtown turned a one-point deficit into a 70-67 upset over Longwood (2-2) in a Suffolk League I game. Cheri Eleazer’s three-pointer as time expired tied the score at 60 in regulation and forced overtime.
“The atmosphere was like a playoff game,” Smithtown coach Art Ehlin said. “It was a real shocker to beat such a strong team.”
Tartamella’s 32 points tied the school record held by Danielle Glenn (1995). Eleazer’s 35 points broke the Longwood record of 32 set by Alicia Conquest in 1993. Allison Wisniewski had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Smithtown (3-0).
“There might have been a little lag in my players from the late game {Sachem} the night before, but that’s no excuse,” Longwood coach Pierce Hayes said. “Smithtown made their shots down the stretch in overtime. They definitely deserved to win.” – Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 17 Jan 1999
LEAGUE I: Cheri Eleazer had 20 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists to lead Longwood to a 66-30 win over Floyd. Danielle DeGiorgio added 17 points and 10 rebounds for Longwood (4-2). Floyd is 1-3 . . . Liz Marquez had 10 points to lead Brentwood (1-4) past Ward Melville, 32-19. Ward Melville is 0-6. Jan. 22
SUFFOLK LEAGUE I: Cheri Eleazer had 23 points and nine rebounds and Danielle DeGiorgio added 14 points and seven rebounds in Longwood’s 60-33 win over Brentwood (1-5). Melissa Danchalski had 12 points and eight rebounds for Longwood (5-2). Jan. 28
Cheri Eleazer had 22 points and nine assists to lead Longwood (6-2) in a 58-19 win over Ward Melville (0-5). L: Lee 4-0-8, Degorcio 3-4-10, Eleazer 5-3-22, Dell 1-2-4, Danclalsk 7-0-14. Totals: 20-9-58. WM: Graf 3-1-7, Kiernan 3-2-8, Koslowski 2-0-4. Totals: 8-3-19. Three-point goals: L 3 (Eleazer). Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 31 Jan 1999:
THIS WEEK / A LOOK AT THE TOP HIGH SCHOOL GAMES AND PLAYERS: [NASSAU AND SUFFOLK Edition]
REPORTED BY GRACE WATKINS. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 02 Feb 1999:
Sachem at Longwood (Thursday, 6 p.m.): Two of the best players on the Island – Sachem’s Nicole Kaczmarski (26 points) and Longwood‘s Cheri Eleazer (31 points) – put on quite a show the last time these teams met Jan. 15. Sachem (7-0) is unbeaten in League I. Longwood is 5-2.
Eleazer Leads Longwood Over Sachem: [SUFFOLK Edition]
Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 05 Feb 1999:
Longwood coach Pierce Hayes exhorted his team to try and contain superstar Nicole Kaczmarski and put the pressure on the rest of the Sachemgirls basketball team by scoring a lot of points in transition.
The plan worked. All-Long Island guard Cheri Eleazer scored 16 of her game-high 29 points in the fourth quarter, including 5-for-5 from the line in the closing minutes, to lead Longwood (7-2) past Sachem, 54-48, in a League I game.
“Cheri was out of sight,” Hayes said. “And our kids played hard, especially on the defensive end.”
Eleazer also had 10 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals.
Eleazer picked up her third foul with three minutes left in the second quarter. Melissa Danchalski scored eight of her 10 points during that stretch to send Longwood to the locker room with only a two-point deficit.
Danielle DiGiorgio added 10 points and 11 rebounds for Longwood, which was 10-for-10 from the free-throw line for the game. Kaczmarski, who was triple-teamed for most of the game, finished with 23 points.
LEAGUE I: Cheri Eleazer hit four three-pointers and scored 17 points to lead Longwood (9-2) past Patchogue-Medford, 57-43. Danielle DeGiorgio added 10 points and 10 rebounds for Longwood. Crystal Wilson led Patchogue (6-5) with 15 points . . . Liz Vitaliano scored nine of her 13 points in the first quarter as Floyd never trailed in its 52-21 win over Ward Melvile. Monique Diaz added 11 points for the Colonials (2-9). Ward Melville is 0-11.
Cheri Eleazer hit four three-pointers and scored 17 points to lead Longwood (9-2) past Patchogue-Medford, 57-43. Danielle DeGiorgio added 10 points and 10 rebounds for Longwood. Crystal Wilson led Patchogue (6-5) with 15 points – Feb. 10
Also in League I, Danielle DeGiorgio had 17 points and 10 rebounds in Longwood’s 54-30 win over Floyd (2-10). Cheri Eleazer added 13 points and 18 rebounds for Longwood (10-2) – Feb. 12
Longwood 15 9 21 17 62 Smithtown 8 16 15 8 47 L: Keola 4-0-8, DeGiorgio 6-2-14, Danchalski 7-2-16, Eleazer 8-7-24. Totals: 25-11-62. S: Shobin 5-2-12, Schroeder 2-1-6, Oehl 2-2-6, Tartamella 5-0-13, Wisniewski 5-0-10. Totals: 19-5-47. Three-point goals: L 1 (Eleazer); S 4 (Tartamella 3, Schroeder). Feb. 8
LEAGUE I: Cheri Eleazer hit four three-pointers and scored 17 points to lead Longwood (9-2) past Patchogue-Medford, 57-43. Danielle DeGiorgio added 10 points and 10 rebounds for Longwood. Crystal Wilson led Patchogue (6-5) with 15 points . Feb. 10
Also in League I, Danielle DeGiorgio had 17 points and 10 rebounds in Longwood‘s 54-30 win over Floyd (2-10). Cheri Eleazer added 13 points and 18 rebounds for Longwood (10-2).Longwood 11 12 25 6 54 Floyd 10 7 4 9 30 L: Lee 2-2-6, DeGiorgio 7-3-17, Danchalski 5-0-10, Fagan 0-2-2, DeLuca 0-1-1, Kranz 1-0-2, Eleazer 6-1-13, Shaloo 0-1-1, Dell’Olio 1-0-2. Totals: 22-10-54. F: Vitaliano 1-2-4, Stoia 2-2-7, Marichal 2-0-6, Diaz 2-1-5, Adomert 2-0-4, Sherer 1-2-4. Totals: 10-7-30. Threes: F 3 (Marichal 2, Stoia). Feb. 12
Eleazor Helps Key Longwood Victory: [SUFFOLK Edition]
John Boell. STAFF WRITER. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 24 Feb 1999:
Northport coach Rich Castellano cringed when he heard the fourth-quarter scoring line of Longwood‘s Cheri Eleazer.
Two points on a pair of free throws with 43 seconds left in the game.
“Geez, she scored that late {in the game},” Castellano said. “If you told me that, I would have thought we’d win by 10, no problem.”
Problem No. 1: Eleazer scored 23 points in the first three quarters, including nine in the third quarter.
Problem No. 2: Castellano’s Tigers shot just 1 of 12 as a team in the third quarter, when they were outscored 17-5.
The result – fourth-seeded Longwood beat No. 5 Northport, 48-41, and advanced to the Suffolk Class A semifinals for the third straight year. Longwood (14-5) will play top-seeded Bellport at 2 p.m. Saturday at Ward Melville.
Eleazer finished with 25 points, 10 rebounds, 5 steals and 4 assists, and gave her home crowd an extra bonus. The senior became Longwood‘s all-time girls leading scorer (1,044 ponts), passing 1994 grad Alicia Conquest (1,029).
“Cheri’s always been there for us,” Longwood coach Pierce Hayes said. “I think tonight we really picked up our defensive intensity, and that triggered our offense.”
Longwood led 24-22 in a first half that saw five ties and four lead changes. The Lions would open the third quarter with a 7-0 run to lead 31-22.
After a Northport timeout, the Tigers would score five straight points, the latter on a Erika Pepe field goal with 3:14 to play in the third as Northport trailed 31-27. Then Northport missed seven straight shots. Longwood closed out the quarter by scoring the final 10 points to lead 41-27. Eleazer had nine points in the period and Melissa Danchalski six.
“The kids really stepped up in the second half,” Hayes said. “Danchalski hit some clutch baskets and we just shut them down.”
But not quite out. The Tigers went on an 8-0 run early in the fourth to cut it to 44-37 with 4:03 left. But after two consecutive missed trips by Northport, Keola Lee made a layup to give Longwood a 46-37 lead with 3:30 to play. Northport never got closer than the final score. Jackie Lukas and Pepe each had 13 for the Tigers.
“This is the third time we’ve gotten this far,” Eleazer said. “It doesn’t matter {who we play}; from here on in we have to play every team hard.”
Oliveri’s Late Heroics Lift Bellport: [NASSAU AND SUFFOLK Edition]
Paul Marino. STAFF WRITER. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 28 Feb 1999
Adrienne Oliveri is not used to taking center stage. Not on a team with as much talent as the Bellport girls basketball team. Oliveri prefers the role of banger and crasher, terms synonomous with a low-post player.
But with Molly Brothers out after reinjuring her knee in the first quarter, Rochelle Clark and Cherelle Payne having fouled out, and the scored tied at 55 with 12 seconds remaining, Bellport needed a hero. Overtime favored Longwood, which had all of its starters still on the court.
Oliveri became the hero Bellport needed, and kept her team alive to play another day.
Oliveri was left alone underneath the basket, and put back a three-point attempt by Anya Rajnauth with one second remaining to give top-seeded Bellport a 57-55 win over No. 4 Longwood yesterday in a Suffolk Class A semifinal at Ward Melville. Oliveri then picked off a desperation pass from Longwood’s Danielle DeGiorgio to secure the win for the Clippers (20-0), who will play Sachem (14-5) in the final at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Longwood.
“I saw the ball coming to me and I just grabbed it and chucked it,” Oliveri said. “The winning shot to get us to the championship game. How many chances like that am I ever going to get?”
Who knows? Maybe one more on Wednesday? No one else on her team was suprised she came through.
“She is a player that can get the job done,” Bellport coach Wayne Caldicott said. “She has made big plays for us before and I wouldn’t be surprised if she did it again.”
It wasn’t just Oliveri, everyone chipped in for the Clippers. When Brothers left with with 3:45 left in the first, her replacement, Rajnauth, hit two consecutive three-pointers to give Bellport a 10-8 lead with 1:30 left in the quarter. Rajnauth finished with 16 points, including 5-for-6 from three-point range. Besides Oliveri’s eight points in the paint, Payne had 17 points, 12 rebounds and 7 blocked shots before fouling out with 25 seconds left in the game.
Defensively, Bellport’s strategy was to keep the ball out of the hands of Longwood’s Cheri Eleazer by leaving people open for her to pass to.
“Cheri is such an great player and so unselfish,” Caldicott said. “I knew if we left people open she would give the ball up. Not that the others aren’t capable of scoring, but I felt we would rather take our chances with them than with Cheri.”
The plan worked. Eleazer spent most of the game dishing the ball to her teammates and scored only 12 points.
“I guess you can say it was a great plan,” Longwood coach Pierce Hayes said. “A player of her caliber is going to look to get people involved . . . As far as I’m concerned she is the best.”
Eleazer said, “Even if I knew what they were trying to do, I still would have given the ball up to my teammates. This is a team thing and I have trust in my teammates.”
It is Bellport that will move on though, and play in the Lions’ own den for the county title.
SUFFOLK CLASS A TOURNAMENT Semifinal – At Ward Melville Longwood 10 10 13 22 55 Bellport 14 11 17 15 57
L: Keola 5-3-13, DeGiorgio 5-4-14, Danchalski 5-1-13, Kranz 1-1-3, Eleazer 4-4-12. Totals: 20-13-55; B: Clark 2-0-5, Mayo 5-0-11, Oliveri 4-0-8, Payne 8-1-17, Rajnauth 5-1-16. Totals: 24-2-57. Three-point goals: L 2 (Danchalski 2); B 7 (Rajnauth 5, Clark, Mayo).