Mandaro: Longwood tough: Scores 21 and is force down low in Suffolk I title win
Sarra, Gregg. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 01 Mar 2021
By Gregg Sarra[email protected]Gregg_SarraFebruary 28, 2021
Longwood forward Rachel Mandaro blocked a shot so cleanly and with such physicality she sent the shooter to the floor.
The display of strength was a microcosm of a Longwood defense that executed a game plan so well that it shut down the Whitman offense in textbook fashion.
The Lions took Whitman out of its offensive rhythm early and the Wildcats never recovered as the Longwood girls basketball team cruised to a 56-30 win to claim the Suffolk Conference I championship Sunday afternoon in Middle Island.
Mandaro finished with a game-high 21 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Her work on the offensive end complemented her defensive skills. She scored six baskets after an offensive rebound and when the shot wasn’t there, she kicked the ball out to point guard Taydra Simpson or forward Danielle Wenzek for the basket.
“We shut [Jenna] Stockfeder down, Whitman’s high scorer, by keeping her out of the paint and away from the boards,” Mandaro said. “We forced their shooters away from the basket and gave them no easy looks. We shut down the baseline and contested every shot. And we know Whitman moves the ball well, so we bumped the cutters and played very physical.”
Sounds like Longwood carried out the game plan to near perfection.
Undersized but gritty Whitman (6-2) found the Lions’ physicality to be a problem throughout the first half. Longwood (6-1) led 11-4 after the first quarter on the strength of back-to-back three-point plays. Mandaro hit a driving layup and added the free throw. Seconds later, Hannah Thompson hit a lefthanded scoop shot and hit a free throw to make it 10-4.
SEE PHOTOSSuffolk I girls hoops final: Longwood vs. Whitman
“They disrupted us on offense with their length and were very physical on the boards,” Whitman coach Dan Trebour said. “Longwood had such a tough defense and we didn’t get many good looks on the perimeter. They doubled down on Stockfeder and we hadn’t seen that kind of size this season.”
Longwood extended its lead to 23-9 at the half. Mandaro cleaned up two missed shots for put-back baskets and Simpson nailed a three-pointer in the final seconds for the 14-point advantage.
“The defense collapsed around me every time I touched the ball,” said Stockfeder, who came into the game averaging 16 points and finished with nine. “They were very tough underneath the basket.”
Longwood played most of the game without star center Angelene Bailey, who was hampered by early foul trouble. She still managed six points and six rebounds.
“She’s a big-time player and I thought our other players did a really nice job when she wasn’t out there,” Longwood coach James Castiglione said. “Taydra directed the offense in a way that made me so proud. We moved and shared the ball well. And our defense played a tight 2-3 zone and we matched up very well.”
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Taydra Simpson, Longwood basketball
Boell, John. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 07 Mar 2021
There’s unselfish, and then there’s Taydra Simpson.
The Longwood junior guard was offered a deal by her father, Stacey, before the basketball season started.
If Simpson could average 20 points a game, he would give her $1,000 toward her first car (which she hopes to buy for her senior year).
But after one of Longwood’s first games, Simpson admitted defeat.
“I told my mom, ‘I don’t think I’ll win the bet,’ ” she said. “I was getting my teammates involved, and if I didn’t [average 20 ppg] I was fine, as long as we were winning as a team.”
Simpson and the Lions cashed in this season in their own way. The fourth-year varsity player averaged 18.1 ppg, 11.2 rebounds, 7.8 assists, 6.0 steals and 3.5 blocks per game for Longwood (6-1) – the Suffolk I champs (which beat Whitman, 56-30, on Feb. 28).
“I like to give my teammates the confidence to score,” said Newsday’s Athlete of the Week. “It doesn’t have to be one person. It takes a whole team to win.”
Longwood coach James Castiglione believes he has one of the top girls basketball players on the Island.
“If you went into a factory and said, ‘Let’s make the perfect basketball player – Taydra’s it,’ ” he said. “She’s unselfish, coachable, the perfect teammate; has high character and to top it all off, she’s incredibly smart. Her basketball IQ is off the chart.”
It started at an extremely young age for Simpson, an honors student. Her mom coached Simpson’s older sister [Aliyah] and brother [Jaylen] with Comsewogue’s “Little Warriors” elementary-school basketball program. Taydra sat and watched many practices.
“She popped out of the stroller when we got home one day, got into a defensive stance, and yelled, ‘Defense, defense,’ ” said her mom, Pam White, who played basketball at Comsewogue, Brooklyn College and later South Alabama, and coached Taydra from kindergarten through eighth grade.
“[My older siblings] pushed me, too,” Simpson said. “When I played against them outside, I didn’t want to lose. . . . I don’t think I’d be half the player I am without them.”
Simpson’s newest challenge is learning volleyball, and specifically the right-side hitter position. (A few of her basketball teammates made a pact to try out for volleyball for the first time, and made the varsity team.) Later, it will be lacrosse (she plays defense).
But when Simpson has a few minutes, she’ll challenge her nine-year-old brother, Jaryin [Jo Jo], to one-on-one basketball games with one caveat.
“I won’t let him beat me,” said Simpson, with a laugh. “I was taught that by my older siblings – don’t let the younger one beat you – it only made me better.”
Not to mention, unselfish.
GIRLS BASKETBALL – All Long Island
Sarra, Gregg. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 11 Apr 2021
Taydra Simpson, Longwood, PG, Jr.
The point guard averaged 18.1 points, 11.2 rebounds, 8 assists, 6 steals and 3.5 blocks per game. The four-year starter led Longwood to a Division I title. She led the Lions to a Long Island championship crown in her freshman year. She is a three-time all-Suffolk performer and was a finalist for Miss Suffolk.
The All-Long Island second team
Angelene Bailey, Longwood, C, Sr.: She averaged 13 points, 16 rebounds and six blocks a game. The SUNY New Paltz commit is an incredible rim protector who can change the complexion of the game. She runs the floor well and finishes her shots. One of the best centers in Suffolk.