HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL PREVIEW

Mark La Monica. STAFF WRITER. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 23 Dec 2001

Longwood (10-10) returns all five starters, including three-point specialist Jeanette Baxter (led Suffolk with 50 threes), guard Teelah Grimes and forward Juanita Hernandez. Toni Horvath transferred to Christ the King, so Sachem (15-5) will need senior Liz Rakita (12.5 ppg) to increase her scoring and command a young team. No Tartamella, no Wisniewski, no love for Smithtown (19-3)? Not so fast. Juniors Jill Shobin and Ashley Grzetic have something to say about that – 20- plus ppg combined. After years of losing, Deer Park (7-10) finally turns the page. Purnell brings a winning attitude and will run the point. Expect good things. Sophomore transfer Rita Johnson provides size in the paint and guard Brianne Hertzog is a scorer.

Copiague 66, Longwood 49: Angela Clark (18 points, 14 rebounds) led Copiague in a non-league game. L: Dell’olio 4-1-10, Hernandez 4-4-13, Tobar 5-3-13, Anderson 1-0- 2, Lee 0-1-1, Holmes 1-0-2, Rivers 2-1-5, Terry 0-1-1, Oleksiej 1-0- 2. Totals 18-11-49. C: Clark 8-2-18, Walker 4-2-10, Wright 12-2-28, Marrow 3-0-6, Ferriso 1-0-2, Toya Sills 1-0-2. Totals29-6-66. Three- point goals: L 2 (Dell’olio 1, Hernandez 1); C 2 (Wright 2). Dec. 11

Longwood 16121410- 52

Comsewogue 18202015- 73

L: Dell’olio 8, Hernandez 2, Tobar 6, Baxter 19, Grimes 15, Holmes 2. Totals: 22-5-52. C: N. Rubino 25, A. Rabino 15, Hodell 14, Comstock 4, Vanacore 15. Totals: 27-17-73. Dec. 18

Rubinos Lead Comsewogue: [NASSAU AND SUFFOLK Edition]

Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 18 Dec 2001

No one likes a taste of their own medicine, Comsewogue coach Bob Davis figured, so he prepared his girls basketball team to mirror Longwood‘s electric shooting game and its high-pressure defense.

Davis matched senior guard Nicolle Rubino and her sister, junior guard Alissa Rubino, against Longwood‘s powerful backcourt of Jeanette Baxter and Teelah Grimes.

Then they prepared for the pressure, and developed a full-court zone press of their own. “Often times, teams that like to press, don’t like to get pressed,” Davis said. “So we figured we’d give them a little taste of ours.”

The work paid off in Comsewogue’s 73-52 victory yesterday. Longwood‘s pressure flustered Comsewogue only once, forcing a turnover in the first 1:30.

The Rubino sisters in the backcourt were instrumental in neutralizing Baxter and Grimes. They did not shut the pair down – Baxter scored 19, Grimes added 15 – but they matched them with an offensive onslaught of their own – Nicolle scored 25, Alissa 15.

Miller Place 51, Longwood 47: Jessica Rasweiler scored on a putback to give Miller Place a 50-47 lead with 30 seconds left in the first round of the Northport Shootout. Miller Place will play Comsewogue at 5 p.m. MP: Dunn 2, Rasweiler 12, Kenny 21, Leonard 4, McEneaney 6, Hafner 3, Fairbanks 3. Totals: 18-13-51. L: Tobar 12, Hernandez 7, Baxter 13, Dell’olio 6, Holmes 3, Anderson 6. Totals: 18-10-47. Dec. 21

Longwood 63, Connetquot 39: Teelah Grimes scored nine of her 17 in the second quarter to give Longwood a 35-28 halftime lead. Jeanette Baxter also scored 17 and Nicole Dell’Olio added 7 points and 14 rebounds. – Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 29 Dec 2001

Longwood 57, Glenn 45: Jeanette Baxter (22 points) sank all six free throws in the final minute to seal the fifth-place game for Longwood (2-3), which led by as many as 24 points in the second half. Aliash Desroches scored 13 of her 15 points in the second half for Glenn (3-3). –Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 30 Dec 2001

Longwood 48, Sachem 33: Teelah Grimes had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Jeanette Baxter 15 points and five assists for Longwood. – Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 04 Jan 2002:

Smithtown 57, Longwood 37: Jill Shobin scored seven of her 15 points in the third quarter as Smithtown built on a 19-18 halftime lead in League I. Deanna Petrucci had 13 points and 11 rebounds and Nicole Revere added 14 rebounds. L: Baxter 3, Grimes 10, Tobar 2, Dell’Olio 11, Hernandez 10, Anderson 1. Totals: 16-5-37. S: Shobin 15, Salt 12, Petrucci 13, Ratner 1, Scorzelli 2, Revere 8, Ewing 2, Grzetic 4. Totals: 22-9- 57. Jan.6, 2002

Patch-Medford 44911-28

Longwood 1516618-55

P: Suebert 5, Cioffi 2, Regan 6, Curtain 2, Pausewang 2, Weber 4, Trava 2, Palazzo 5. Totals: 11-5-28. L: Baxter 11, Grimes 13, Hernandez 4, Dell’olio 10, Anderson 10, Holmes 2, Lee 5. Totals: 22- 10-55. Jan. 9, 2002

Longwood 12152418-69

Floyd 813119-41

L: Baxter 17, Grimes 12, Tobar 6, Dellolio 18, Holmes 2, Hernandez 7, Anderson 3, Lee 4. Totals: 29-8-69. F: Cappello 2, Hodgson 8, Raysor 2, Scanlon 5, Romaloni 1, Rupeck 3, Jacolski 7, D’Amico 13. Totals: 17-5-41. Jan. 13, 2002

Longwood 47, Brentwood 26: Jeanette Baxter had 16 points and seven assists for Longwood (4-1). Teelah Grimes added seven steals and five assists. Brentwood is 2-2. – Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 16 Jan 2002:

Bellport 81095 – 32

Longwood 22182120 – 81

B: Manning 2, S. Willett 1, Downing 4, Cheralley 2, H. Willett 3, Win 5, Kinney 15. Totals: 11-13-4. L: Baxter 18, Grimes 9, Tobar 4, Dell’Olio 10, Hernandez 13, Anderson 7, Lee 10, Rivers 7, Terry 1, Holmes 1, Oleksiej 1. Totals: 25-23-81. Jan. 23

Longwood 48, Sachem 46: Teelah Grimes scored five straight points at the end of the fourth quarter to break a tie at 42 as Longwood defeated Sachem, 48-46, yesterday in League I girls basketball. Sachem (4-3) came within 47- 46 before Jeanette Baxter made a foul shot. Grimes had 22 points for Longwood (6-1).

Longwood 55, Smithtown 48: Teelah Grimes had 13 points, 13 rebounds and 3 assists for Longwood (7-1). Jeanette Baxteradded 18 points, 8 assists and 8 steals. Nicole Revere scored 17 for Smithtown (4-4). – Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 30 Jan 2002

Longwood 59, Floyd 43: Jeanette Baxter scored 20 points in the last four minutes of the game for Longwood (9-1). She was 7 of 8 from the field in the fourth, including 5 of 5 from beyond the arc. Baxter also had 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 6 steals. Melissa D’Amico had 14 points, 15 rebounds and 8 blocks for Floyd (1-8). – Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 06 Feb 2002: 

Longwood 54, Brentwood 52: Jeanette Baxter (22 points) hit two free throws in the final 10 seconds to snap a tie at 52 for Longwood (10-1). Brentwood is 4-6. – Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 09 Feb 2002

Longwood Tops WM: [SUFFOLK Edition]

Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 19 Jan 2002

Not even Ward Melville’s best start in school history could help against Longwood. The Patriots lost their first game of the season Friday night, but it was their 16th straight league loss to Longwood in girls basketball.

Nicole Dell’Olio was the player who brought Longwood back in the game, so it was only fitting that she put the Lions ahead. With 14 seconds remaining and the score of the Suffolk League I game tied at 47, Dell’Olio hit two foul shots to give Longwood a 49-47 victory.

She scored six of her 10 points in the fourth quarter as Longwood (5-1) erased a 34-31 deficit.

“It was a crazy ending,” Longwood coach Mark Gordon said. “Dell’Olio was the difference.”

The Patriots (4-1) played without point guard Kristin Giordano, out with a stress fracture in her leg, but Christie Nix scored 19 for Ward Melville. WM: Aliperti 9, Montrovil 5, Barrett 18, Toscano 12, Lortie 2, Murgulin 5, Daum 4, Irizony 1, Priolo 3. Totals: 24-8-59. L: Alonzo 11, Bardeguez 12, France 9, Henderson 9, Hoyte 2, Perez 2, Polk 2, Rawlins 2, Thomas 13, Treffert 19, Williams 2. Totals: 33-11-84.

ROUNDUP / Grimes Leads Longwood Girls: [SUFFOLK Edition]

Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 29 Jan 2002

Teelah Grimes scored five straight points at the end of the fourth quarter to break a tie at 42 as Longwood defeated Sachem, 48-46, yesterday in League I girls basketball. Sachem (4-3) came within 47- 46 before Jeanette Baxter made a foul shot. Grimes had 22 points for Longwood (6-1). L: Baxter 10, Grimes 22, Tobar 2, Dell’olio 12, Anderson 1, Holmes 1. Totals: 16-15-48.S: B.Gandley 2, Viscardi 11, L. Rakita 20, La. Rakita 1, Turner 6, Merrihue 3, Caskin 3. Totals: 17-10-46.

Longwood 1261014- 42

Patch-Medford 103137- 33

Jeannete Baxter opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer and a field goal, then made 6 of 9 free throws for 11 fourth-quarter points for Longwood (8-1 Suffolk League I). Patchogue-Medford is 0-8.L: Baxter 17, Grimes 5, Tobar 1, Dell’Olio 14, Hernandez 2, Anderson 2, Holmes 1. Totals: 10-16-42. PM: Seubert 10, Regan 6, Curtain 8, Cioffi 4, Roche 1, Pausewang 4. Totals: 13-7-33. feb. 3, 2002

Longwood Outlasts Ward Melville for Title: [NASSAU AND SUFFOLK Edition]

Janet Paskin. STAFF WRITER. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 13 Feb 2002:

Jeanette Baxter brought the ball up the floor, crossed the halfcourt line, and the Longwood point guard looked directly into the defense of Ward Melville’s Kristy Nix and Michelle Green.

They dogged her to the right, then back out beyond the arc. Baxter picked up her dribble and looked to pass left, but Green cut off the lane. Nix was all over her on the right.

As far as Baxter was concerned, she had only one choice. Easily five feet behind the three-point line, she faked the shot. As Green and Nix closed in, she drew the foul.

It was Nix’s fifth. With 25 seconds left in the Suffolk League I girls basketball game last night, Baxter made two of three free throws to bring Longwood within one. Green made a free throw for the Patriots, but eight seconds later, Ward Melville’s Erin Calkins was Baxter’s victim, as Baxter leaned in and heard the whistle. Baxter made the two free throws to tie the score at 56.

And after Ward Melville turned it over with nine seconds left, Baxter looked for the foul again, sending a three-point attempt through two defenders.

Baxter didn’t get the whistle, but teammate Nicole Dell’Olio did, as she tried to turn Baxter’s airball into an assist. Dell’Olio drew the foul as the buzzer sounded, and alone on the court, she sank a free throw for the 57-56 win and league title before a crowd of 300 at Longwood. It is the Lions’ 17th consecutive win over Ward Melville (9-2). Teelah Grimes led Longwood (10-1) with 14 points, Baxter had 12 and Dell’Olio 11.

In the last minute, Baxter made six of seven free throws.

“I knew I needed to draw the foul,” Baxter said. “My dad always tells me they’ll look to block me, so I know to fake it, then lean in.”

Ward Melville coach Rick Hancock called it typical Baxter.

“She leans in a lot when she shoots and tries to draw the foul,” Hancock said. “She’s a good player, and she knew what she needed had to do.”

Until the final minute, Green was leading the Patriots’ comeback. She rebounded Erin Calkins’ missed free throw and scored. The basket sparked an 11-0 run, in which Green scored six of her 14 points. She capped the run by diving out of bounds for a lose ball that she sent back in to Kristin Giodano, who made a three-pointer to give Ward Melville a 50-48 lead with 1:51 to play.

“We came back like the good team that we are, and I thought we had a chance to win it,” Hancock said. “But then we came back down the court and ‘tweet tweet’ go the whistles.”

The game was close all the way through. After Calkins (23 points) made three of her five three-pointers in the first quarter, Ward Melville led by four. Longwood cut it to one by the half, and the lead changed six times in the third quarter. By the time Dell’Olio got to the line, the jitters were long gone, and she calmly sank the winner. Baxter was one of the first on the court to give her a hug.

“[Baxter] did what she’s been doing ever since I’ve been coaching her. She found a way to make us win the game,” Longwood coach Mark Gordon said. W: Green 14, Treder 2, Giordano 7, Calkins 23, Nix 10. Totals: 20- 8-56. L: Baxter 12, Grimes 14, Dell’Olio 11, Anderson 6, Tobar 8, Hernandez 4, Holmes 2. Totals: 22-11-57.

Centereach 2141011- 37

Longwood 27112217- 77

Jeanette Baxter had 20 points and 10 assists for No. 4 Longwood (15-5), which hosts Ward Melville tomorrow. No.13 Centereach is 10-9.C: Guarino 2, DeCosimo 14, Fukushima 4, Moscater 5, Barrett 12. Totals: 14-7-37. L: Baxter 20, Grimes 17, Dell’Olio 8, Anderson 4, Tobar 16, Hernandez 4, Lee 4, Rivers 2, Terry 2. Totals: 35-4-77. Feb. 20

GIRLS BASKETBALL OUTLOOK / February Fever Tips Off Saturday: [SUFFOLK Edition]

Mark La Monica. STAFF WRITER. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 16 Feb 2002:

Fourth-quarter comebacks have been the trademark this season for No. 4 Longwood (14-4), which beat No. 5 Ward Melville (15-3) twice this season to claim the always- tough-to-get League I title. Longwood will need another one if these two meet in the quarterfinals. Ward Melville hasn’t been to the playoffs since 1989 and hopes to make the most of it. Whitman (12-6), the sixth seed, enters the playoffs having won nine of its last 10.

SUFFOLK CLASS A GIRLS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 22 Feb 2002

Longwood 77, Centereach 37: Jeanette Baxter had 20 points and 10 assists for No. 4 Longwood (15-5), which hosts Ward Melville tomorrow. No.13 Centereach is 10-9. – Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 20 Feb 2002

Longwood 76, Ward Melville 55: Jeanette Baxter scored 21 points, including four three-pointers in the second quarter, as No. 4 Longwood (16-4) defeated No. 5 Ward Melville for the third time this season and 18th straight time overall. Vanessa Tobar had 17 points and 13 rebounds and Teelah Grimes added 16 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists. Though Ward Melville (15-4) lost three of its last four games, the Patriots still finished with the best winning percentage (.789) in school history.

A Wright Turn for Copiague:

Mark La Monica. STAFF WRITER. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 24 Feb 2002

The number one girl on the number one team showed why people refer to her by her first name only.

Because in the amount of time it takes to pronounce her one- syllable last name, Copiague’s Kia Wright will do something spectacular. Something that makes coaches roll their eyes, shrug and cough up lines of downplayed amazement such as “Hey, Kia is Kia.”

From fullcourt assists to knee-buckling crossover dribbles, the 5- 7 Wright put her entire arsenal on display yesterday. She took control early, hitting a three-pointer for top-seeded Copiague’s first points. It was only fitting that she score the last point, too. Wright’s free throw with seven seconds left wrapped up a 66-56 win over No. 4 Longwood in a Suffolk Class A girls basketball semifinal before 400 fans at Floyd. Copiague will face defending champion East Islip in the final at 9 p.m. Tuesday at Stony Brook University.

This was the first time all season that Copiague (21-0), the top- scoring team in Suffolk at just under 70 points per game, really had to rely on Wright. The defensive effort of Longwood’s Vanessa Tobar, Nicole Dell’Olio and Vanessa Anderson kept Copiague’s Angie Clark and Jasmine Walker from dominating games the way they have all season. Clark managed 16 points and 14 rebounds and Walker added 15 rebounds, but none of it came easy. “It was tough to get the ball inside,” Wright said. “Without them scoring, I had to step up.”

That she did. Wright had 29 points, 9 rebounds, 8 steals and 6 assists.

Longwood cut its deficit to 38-32 midway through the third quarter on a pair of threes by Jeanette Baxter (26 points). Wright then stole the ball just over the midcourt line and converted the break with an easy layup. On Copiague’s next possession, Wright pulled out a crossover dribble that would have earned her “mad props” on the playground. The defender slipped a bit, the crowd oohed and Wright blew by for the layup and the foul. Free throw good. Copiague up 43- 32 with 2:48 left in the third.

Only one question remained. Would it be enough to hold off the outside shooting of Baxter? “Oh my God, she’s a great shooter,” Wright said.

Baxter hit the fifth of her six three-pointers with 4:20 to play as Longwood (16-5) got to within 56-48. She followed with a runner in the paint. But the more the Lions roared, the more the Eagles soared.

Clark grabbed a rebound and found Wright in transition for the easy two. Wright then followed her errant three with a rebound and short jumper.

Sasha Grandison (11 points) and Erica Morrow (eight) fed off Wright and had their best games of the season. “What was good without our two big girls, who have been there for us all season, was the way the other two stepped in,” coach Carole Olsen said.

“I wasn’t expecting that,” Longwood coach Mark Gordon said.

When Wright’s length-of-the-court inbounds pass went too far, Grandison ran the floor just in case. Walker ran the ball down and made a leaping save at the baseline. The only player there to catch it? Grandison. Easy layup, a 62-50 lead for Copiague and a trip to its first final.

Longwood’s Baxter Finds Right Note:

Liz Paw. STAFF WRITER. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 02 June 2002

The little tomboy longed to play basketball. Jeanette Baxter looked enviously from under the rim of her favorite Knicks cap while her older sister dribbled the ball down the basketball court.

Finally, as a fifth-grader, Baxter got her chance to play organized ball. Next came summer camps and a Suffolk Class A championship in 2000 while playing at Longwood. Now a senior, Baxter is suddenly giving up hoops in favor of opera.

Baxter knows that a year can change everything.

The promising vocal major heads to The Juilliard School in September on a full scholarship. “I was really debating it, because I loved basketball,” Baxter said. “I actually prayed about it, saying if my desire is music, tell me what you want me to do.”

Last year, she sifted through Division I prospects in pursuit of an athletic scholarship only to become sidetracked by the attention surrounding her hidden coloratura voice. Baxter managed to impress her chorus teacher, Ellen Levine, with a “fake opera voice” as the joking junior strolled out of class one morning.

“It was the first time that I realized she had such a voice,” Levine said. Baxter began to explore her rare gift with Levine’s help and pursued professional coaching under former Metropolitan Opera soloist Loretta DiFranco last summer. DiFranco is preparing the 17-year-old for an audition to the Met’s Young Artists program.

“They usually only consider women after the age of 19,” Levine said. “But her talent is so rare that I’d like them to hear her anyway.”

Baxter’s audition preparation to Juilliard was unorthodox. The demands of her final basketball season disrupted weeks of training leading to the March 4 appointment. Coach Mike Gordon allowed her to miss practice time on days she had to rush back and forth to Manhattan for lessons.

Longwood’s postseason ended in a frustrating county semifinal loss to Copiague, in which Baxter scored six three-pointers and finished with a career total of 150. Three years of competing in shot put and discus improved the two-time school MVP’s shooting arm significantly.

“Singing is not completely divorced from athletics,” said DiFranco, who recommended Baxter to the famed Walter Taussig, a coaching veteran at the Met, for further training.

Baxter believes basketball provided the best conditioning for her singing. She had no time to adopt typical singer eccentricities in her year of vocal development. There were no special eating habits or odd sleeping patterns gearing up to a performance. She even changed her audition music on the spot to Mozart’s “Queen of the Night” from “The Magic Flute,” which she learned only three months before.

“I wasn’t nervous,” she said. “My mother just told me to remember [God] gave me the gift and sing from him.” Baxter is an active member of Ridge Full Gospel Christian Church. Her father, Tony, is the minister and founded the church when Baxter was 2 months old.

“Once I heard her sing,” her father said, “I said, ‘That’s it with basketball. This is your career.'”

Baxter never shies away from the chance to perform. Her vocal talents are already in high demand on Long Island. After a few appearances singing the national anthem in a few high school basketball playoff games, including some of her own, she has been asked to sing at everything from weddings and memorial events to a motorcycle convention.

In May, she performed for the Long Island Choral Society and won the top prize in its young artist competition. “I love the applause,” she said. “And when they cry, I know that I sang well.”

A different kind of spotlight. Above dozens of track medals, basketball trophies, plaques and team photos, a yellow and blue Juilliard banner now hangs prominently on her bedroom wall.