Preview: No. 2 Longwood (15-4) experienced a disappointing quarterfinal playoff exit with Kaczmarski last season. Longwood still is a contender because it has three returning All-League seniors in Asya Cotton, Sarah Hillen and Dawn Klein.
Longwood 59, Huntington 31: Sara Hillen (11) and Asya Cotton totaled 20 points in the first half as Longwood built a 33-18 lead at Northport. Hillen scored a game-high 18 points and Cotton added 15. –Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 20 Dec 1996:
Klein, Hillen Key Longwood Win: [SUFFOLK Edition]
Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 20 Feb 1997
Dawn Klein (eight) and Sarah Hillen totaled 15 of Longwood’s 19 third-quarter points to help the seventh-seeded Lions erase a one-point halftime deficit in its 61-49 win over No. 10 Northport last night in a first-round game of the county Class A girls basketball tournament.
Longwood (11-8) opened the second half with an 8-0 run to take a 29-22 lead.
Klein had a career-high 26 points (5-for-7 three-pointers), 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Hillen had 15 points and 11 rebounds.
“Klein is a clutch player,” Longwood coach Pierce Hayes said. “She saves her best performances for the biggest games.”
Cheri Eleaser shot 7-for-8 from the foul line in the fourth quarter and 9-for-11 for the game for Longwood, which shot 18-for-24 (75 percent) from the foul line.
“We hit the shots tonight. I’d hate to think what would have happened if we didn’t,” Hayes said. “They played good basketball. They came to win.”
Jackie Lukas led Northport (8-10) with 18 points and Brianne Watkins and Kerry Beach added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
“They played us tough,” Hayes said. “They were coming off a big win over Sachem in their last regular-season game. They were much improved since early in the season.”
It was the fourth meeting of the season between the two teams. Northport won the first game in a semifinal of the Suffolk Shootout in December. Longwood responded with two wins during the regular season. Longwood will visit No. 2 Brentwood tomorrow at 6 p.m.
Brentwood, Whitman Ousted: [SUFFOLK Edition]
Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 22 Feb 1997
Asya Cotton scored eight of her 25 points in the first quarter as No. 7 Longwood took a 15-6 lead en route to a 64-46 win over Brentwood. Longwood (12-8) limited the Indians (14-5) to just 13 points in the first half, opening up a 15-point lead. “Terrific team defense set the tempo for the game,” said Longwood coach Pierce Hayes, whose team also received 14 points from Sarah Hillen and 12 from Cheri Eleazer, who made eight of nine free throws.
Longwood led by 16 after three quarters and Brentwood never made a serious threat in the fourth quarter. Anna Murillo had 26 points and 10 rebounds for Brentwood.