WINTER SPORTS SPECIAL: GIRLS BASKETBALL PREVIEW

Ronis, Adam. 

Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 23 Dec 2012:

Longwood is team with good athletes and four starters back. Kiersten West, a 5-9 junior forward, has already received several Division I offers. She’s an excellent defensive player and has increased his shooting range. Senior guard Sade Holmes, junior forward Taj Hinton and senior guard Tiffany Ruiz form a solid nucleus.

Longwood 7 17 19 11-54

Center Moriches 3 3 4 6-16

LW: West 16, Holmes 8, Ruiz 5, Bowlay-Williams 3, Hinton 8, Ballato 2, Walker 6, Roach 2, Mistretta 4. Totals: 20-10-54. CM: Fahie 5, Plummer 7, Slifstein 2, Lewis 1, Martin 1. Totals: 5-5-16. Three-pointers: LW 4 (West 2, Holmes, Ruiz); CM 1 (Fahie). Dec. 6

Copiague 14 7 19 14-54

Longwood 11 6 13 16-46

COP: Grady 13, O’Garro 4, Corkins 6, McFadden 6, Moore 19, Sills 2, Hamilton 4. Totals: 16-20-54. LW: Ruiz 9, Bowlay-Williams 4, Hinton 8, Holmes 2, West 23. Totals: 13-19-46. Three-pointers: COP 2 (Grady, O’Garro); LW 1 (Ruiz). Dec. 12

Moore, Grady too much

Ronis, Adam. 

Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 12 Dec 2012: 

As cousins, Mikaiya Moore and Ihnacinse Grady have a good connection with each other since they have played together since they were young. The Copiague duo also play AAU and summer league together and spent last season on varsity.

This season they hope to make a deep run in Suffolk Class AA after losing in the first round last year. Early indications are the young combo is ready to lead Copiague. 

Moore, a freshman, had 19 points, 13 rebounds and six blocked shots and the sophomore Grady had 13 points in a 54-46 home win over Longwood yesterday in non-league girls basketball. Kiersten West scored 20 of her 23 points in the second half for Longwood (1-1).

“She’s an excellent player,” Moore said of Grady. “I love how she gets everyone the ball in good spots.”

Grady did that in the third quarter as Moore scored nine points to give Copiague (2-0) a 40-30 lead after three. The fourth quarter was a parade to the free-throw line. Copiague had three players foul out and two fouled out for Longwood.

The teams attempted 35 free throws combined in the fourth quarter. West hit a pair of free throws with 1:11 left to bring Longwood within 49-45. Longwood had a chance to make it a one possession game, but missed a jumper with 40 seconds left. 

Grady hit two key free throws with 22 seconds left to push the Copiague lead to 52-46. Grady hit all six of her free throws in the final quarter.

“We needed the free throws,” Grady said. “We missed too many. I stepped to the line and knocked them down.”

Copiague played strong defense throughout, deflecting many passes and made it difficult for Longwood to set up its offense. “They’re a really good team,” Moore said. “We played really good defense. We just kept it together at the end. Defense wins games.”

Moore is going to be a big part of the Eagles winning games. The 6-foot forward gets a lot of attention from the opposition and is expected to be the focal point as a 14-year old.

“She’s incredibly talented,” Copiague coach Carole Olsen said. “We ask a lot of her, but she can handle it.”

COPIAGUE 54

LONGWOOD 46

Longwood 15 7 15 8-45

Floyd 5 10 14 9-38

LW: Walker 3, Ballato 2, Bowlay-Williams 3, Hinton 22, Holmes 2, Ruiz 5, West 8. Totals: 17-10-45. FL: Outsen 3, Smith 5, Reyes 6, Murphy 14, Houpe 8, Galani 2. Totals: 14-8-38. Threes: LW 1 (Walker); FL 2 (Outsen, Smith). Dec. 16

Longwood 6 15 9 5-35

Ward Melville 6 7 6 13-32

LW: West 10, Ballato 2, Bowlay-Williams 2, Holmes 6, Ruiz 13, Walker 2. Totals: 12-10-35. WM: Scarfogliero 5, O’Hern 6, Gorman 4, Geiger 2, Dennis 11, Dinta 4. Totals: 11-9-32. Threes: L (West); W (Scarfogliero). Jesse Smith had 20 points and 11 rebounds to pace Ward Melville in League I. Russell Winters added 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Patriots. Dec. 22

Pavinelli, Clarke lead Northport in Shootout

Cutler, Ian. 

Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 28 Dec 2012

Yesterday’s opening-round finale of the Suffolk Shootout tripleheader at Northport hardly lived up to its name early on. Northport and Longwood were caught in a slow-paced, turnover-filled first quarter, with Northport crawling to a 10-3 lead with less than two minutes left.

But that’s when Allie Pavinelli flipped a switch and sparked what turned into a Northport blowout.

Pavinelli scored eight points in the final 40 seconds of the quarter on two three-pointers and a breakaway layup off a steal, giving the Tigers a 19-3 lead after one en route to a 55-31 non-league victory.

“We didn’t start off well but once we started pulling through that’s what gave me the ability to do that,” Pavinelli said. “We were going on a run, so being motivated by that got me to shoot more and get some confidence.”

Northport coach Rich Castellano said his team’s defense was key, as the Tigers established a 31-9 lead at halftime with Longwood (4-2) making just three field goals in the first half. Castellano noted Kristin Cleary’s ability to contain Longwood‘s Kiersten West played a big role in the win. West scored nine points – five below her season average of 14.

Northport (5-1) featured Allie Clarke in the second half. She showed off her range with two three-pointers and also displayed her ability to play in the post, scoring most of her game-high 15 points in the paint.

Pavinelli finished with 12 points, while Cleary and Lizzy Atkinson each scored eight.

“This is a big win for us,” Clarke said. “It shows other teams that we’re right on board with the top teams in Suffolk.”

SCORECARD

NORTHPORT 55

LONGWOOD 31

Harborfields 10 10 5 10-35

Longwood 7 0 10 8-25

HAR: Ryan 8, Deren 4, Werbitsky 8, Luxenberg 7, Kelly 8. Totals: 12-10-35. LW: Ruiz 3, Walker 2, Holmes 8, Hinton 2, Bowlay-Williams 1, West 9. Totals: 11-2-25. Threes: HAR 1 (Ryan); LW 1 (Ruiz). Dec. 30

Patchogue-Medford 47, Longwood 44: Kiera Murray went 5-for-6 from the free-throw line in the final minute to seal the victory for Patchogue-Medford (2-2) in a League I game Friday. Murray had 16 points, six assists and four steals and Alexa Sergio 11 points and 11 rebounds. Jan. 6

Longwood 11 12 9 16-48

Brentwood 10 18 10 8-46

Sade Holmes made a free throw with 22 seconds left in regulation to seal the win for Longwood (4-1) in League I. Charlotte Walker added 15 points and 11 rebounds. LW: Ruiz 8, Holmes 12, Ballato 2, Walker 15, Hinton 4, West 7. Totals: 15-14-48. BRN: Douglas 13, Almonacy 17, Moffitt 4, Jones 2, Jenkins 2, Ellis 6, Young 2. Totals: 17-11-46. Three-pointers: LW 4 (Ruiz 2, Holmes 2); BRN 1 (Douglas ). Jan. 9

Sachem East 60, Longwood 50: Katie Doherty had 18 points and Kathleen Evernson added 17 points to lead Sachem East (5-0) in League I. SAE: Doherty 18, Schretzman 9, Drake 9, Drake 7, Everson 17. Totals: 19-16-60. LW: West 23, Ruiz 11, Holmes 4, Walker 2, Hinton 10. Totals: 18-7-50. Threes: SAE 6 (Doherty 3, Schretzman 3); LW 7 (West 5, Ruiz, Holmes). Jan. 12

Commack 56, Longwood 40: Sophomore Chelsea Schultz had a career-high 19 points and senior Brittany Botticelli had a career-high 15 points to lead Commack (6-1) in League I. COM: Botticelli 15, Schultz 19, Lobaccaro 7, Lane 6, Keenan 4, Haller 2, Dellisanti 3. Totals: 17-20-56. LW: Ruiz 4, Holmes 7, Walker 2, Hinton 8, Bowlay-Williams 3, West 16. Totals: 14-10-40. Three-pointers: COM 2 (Botticelli, Schultz); LW 2 (Ruiz, Holmes). Jan. 16

Longwood 10 15 15 15-55

Floyd 10 10 11 10-41

LW: West 16, Holmes 7, Hinton 15, Bowlay-Williams 4, Parker 1. Totals: 15-13-43. FL: Giles 3, Reyes 2, Outsen 1, Outsen 2, Murphy 14, Houpe 15, Galani 2, Smith 2. Totals: 12-16-41. Three-pointers: FL 1 (Giles). Jan. 19

Longwood 10 15 15 15-55

Floyd 10 10 11 10-41

Tahj Hinton had 15 points and 16 rebounds to lead Longwood (5-1) in League I on Friday. Sade Holmes added seven points. LW: Ruiz 12, Parker 1, West 16, Holmes 7, Hinton 15, Bowlay-Williams 4. Totals: 20-13-55. FL: Giles 3, Reyes 2, Outsen 1, Outsen 2, Murphy 14, Houpe 15, Galani 2, Smith 2. Totals: 12-16-41. Three-pointers: LW 2 (Ruiz 2); FL 1 (Giles). Jan. 20

Longwood 10 11 9 16-46

Sachem North 8 8 11 10-37

LW: Holmes 9, Walker 15, Ruiz 4, Hinton 11, Bowlay-Williams 5, West 2. Totals: 15-14-46. SN: Mazliah 6, Calabria 10, Levine 14, Foltmann 1, Simpson 6. Totals: 14-6-37. Three-pointers: LW 2 (Holmes 2); SN 3 (Mazliah 2, Calabria). Jan. 23

Longwood 2 14 9 18-43

Ward Melville 6 8 9 11-34

LW: Walker 7, Ruiz 8, Ballato 2, Holmes 11, Hinton 14, Bowlay-Williams 1. Totals: 10-21-43. WM: Scarfogliero 8, Lombardo 3, Napoli 5, Macchione 2, Gorman 5, Geiger 4, Fathi 2, Brady 5. Totals: 11-9-34. Three-pointers: LW 2 (Walker, Ruiz); WM 3 (Scarfogliero 2, Lombardo). Jan. 25

Longwood 13 12 18 15-58

Patchogue-Medford 5 5 9 11-30

LW: Ruiz 12, Ballato 4, Walker 5, Holmes 6, Hinton 7, Gordon 1, Bowlay-Williams 10, West 13. Totals: 18-21-58. PM: Culhane 3, Minicozzi 3, Murray 10, Sergio 2, Romano 2, Nolan 2, Harmon 2, Gordon 4, Flowers 2. Totals: 11-5-30. Three-pointers: LW 1 (Ruiz); PM 3 (Culhane, Minicozzi, Murray). Jan. 30

Longwood 12 8 9 15-44

Brentwood 16 10 4 9-39

L: Walker 4, Ruiz 5, Holmes 6, Hinton 8, Bowlay-Williams 6, West 15. Totals: 9-26-44. B: Douglas 14, Jones 3, Moffitt 7, Almonacy 15. Totals: 13-10-39. Threes: B 3 (Douglas 2, Jones). Feb. 2

Sachem East 11 14 21 12-58

Longwood 6 18 11 17-52

Katie Doherty had 18 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals to lead Sachem East (11-1) in League I. Sammy Drake added 12 points and four rebounds, and Kathleen Everson had 10 points, six rebounds and two blocks. SAE: Schretzman 9, Doherty 18, Carmel 6, Everson 10, Drake 12, Drake 3. Totals: 23-6-58. LW: Ruiz 14, Walker 2, Holmes 10, Hinton 6, Bowlay-Williams 4, West 16. Totals: 15-19-52. Three-pointers: SAE 6 (Schretzman 3, Doherty 2, Carmel); LW 3 (Ruiz 3). Feb. 6

SUFFOLK

Class AA First Round

(8) Kings Park 14 14 15 17-60

(9) Longwood 9 19 13 10-51

KIP: Ahern 14, Mueller 13, Stephens 13, Santoli 10, Ranalli 4, Picciano 2, O’Connell 2, Teape 2. Totals: 18-22-60. LW: West 23, Walker 2, Ruiz 2, Holmes 9, Hinton 9, Bowlay-Williams 6. Totals: 21-7-51. Threes: KIP 2 (Ahern, Mueller); LW 2 (West 2).