Longwood……………….14111312-50

Middletown……………….719712-45

L: Danchalski 5 0-10, DeGiorgio 10 8-28, Lee 1 0-2, Grimes 1 1-3, Baxter 3 0-7. Totals: 20 9-50. M: Anthony 5 1 -12, Conley 3 0-7, Diaz 1 0-2, Manigault 6 2-14, Semple 3 0-8, Watts 1 0-2. Totals: 19-3-45. Three-point goals: L 1 (Baxter); M 5 (Conley 2, Semple 2, Anthony).Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 13 Dec 1999:

Schaefer’s 24 Second-Half Points Key Win: [SUFFOLK Edition]

Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 18 Dec 1999

The best players always know when to turn it on. Kelly Schaefer, Whitman’s highly-regarded senior forward, demonstrated that keen sense Friday night in a 52-45 non-league girls basketball victory over Longwood.

Entering the locker room at halftime with the score tied at 19, Schaefer had only four points to her name. Not long into the third quarter, teammate Jill Jensen had to sit because of foul trouble. Schaefer knew it was time to pick it up and do whatever was needed to lift Whitman.

So throughout the second half, Schaefer drove to the basket time and time again. The strategy paid off as the senior hit all 15 free throw attempts that resulted from her many drives. Schaefer (28 points) scored 12 in the fourth quarter-all on free throws-to spark a 19-10 quarter that erased a two-point deficit.

Whitman shot 22-for-27 from the line, while Longwood went 6-for- 10. Jensen added 12 points. Melissa Danchalski had 19 points and Danielle DeGiorgio added 15 points for Longwood.

Whitman………………………………..6131419 -52

Longwood……………………………..6131610 -45

W: Jensen 4-4-12, Muller 3-2-8, Brennan 0-1-1, Schaeffer 6-15-28, Scott 1-0-3. Totals: 14-22-52 . L: Danchalski 7-2-19, DeGiorgio 5-2- 15, Grimes 2-0-4, Baxter 1-0-3, Legnon 0-2-2, Hernandez 1-0-2. Totals: 17-6-45. Three-point goals: W 2 (Schaeffer, Scott); L 5 (Danchalski 3, DeGiorgio, Baxter).

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL PREVIEW / Kuhn Keys Hampton Bays:

David Pierson. STAFF WRITER. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 18 Dec 1999

All-County Jackie Lukas (12.6 ppg) will assume the role as go-to person for Northport (14-4), which also boasts senior point guard Jenn Carbajal (5.3 assists per game). The Tigers lost to Longwood (14- 6) in the quarterfinals and the Lions are poised to go far again. Longwood will rely on All-County players Melissa Danchalski (6-0) and Danielle DeGiorgio (5-11), who both averaged 12 points a game. Connetquot (14-5), with All-Long Island guard Lauren Weber (18 ppg), and Westhampton (17-2), with All-County players Erin Johnson (17 ppg) and Lauren Mallor (16 ppg), will be strong.

Shea Kenny had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Allison Hludzinski added nine points and seven steals for Miller Place in its 49-39 victory over Longwood. Danielle DeGiorgio scored 20 points for Longwood.Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 23 Dec 1999: 

Longwood………………………..14191413–60

Floyd………………………………….5161116–48

L: Danchalski 4-3-11, DeGiorgio 5-1-11, Grimes 2-0-4, Baxter 1-0- 3, Blanchett 7-1-15, Shaloo 2-0-4, Hernandez 3-0-6, Del’Ollio 3-0-6 Totals: 27-5-60. F: Vitaliano 0-1-1, Timmes 0-1-1, Marichal 2-5-9, Cordavano 2-2-6, Makosky 9-7-29, D’Amro 1-0-2. Totals:14-16-48. Three- point goals: L: 1 (Baxter); F: 4 (Maksosky 4). Dec. 30

Longwood Rolls. Danielle DeGiorgio had 16 points and 11 rebounds and Melissa Danchalski added 10 points and four assists to lead Longwood over Connetquot, 49-29, in the fifth-place game.

Longwood…………………………..141614 5 – 49

Connetquot………………………… 6 7 313 – 29

C: Caccamo 1-1-3, Burdi 1-0-2, Lannigan 1-0-2, Coscia 0-1-1, Flynn 2-0-4, Wilk 1-3-5, Plante 3-4-10, Vitale 1-0-2. Totals: 10-9-29. L: Danchalski 5-0-10, DeGiorgio 7-2-16, Grimes 3-0-6, Baxter 2-0-5, Tucker 0-1-1, Legnon 1-1-3, Brennan 1-0-2, Hernandez 3-0-6. Totals: 22-4-49. Three-point goals: L 1 (Baxter). Dec. 31

Teelah Grimes had 11 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists for Longwood in its 61-34 victory over Ward Melville. Longwood’s Danielle DiGiorgio had 22 points and six steals. Teammate Melissa Danchalski scored 19 points and added seven rebounds. –Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 05 Jan 2000:

Longwood…………………………..17151613 — 61

Ward Melville……………………….77713 — 34

L: Danchalski 9-1-19, DiGiorgio 9-4-22, Grimes 5-1-11, Baxter 2-0- 4, Blanchett 1-1-3, Hernandez 1-0-2, Totals 28-7-61. WM: Scaduto 1-0- 2, Kiernan 3-1-7, Beckerman 1-0-2, Koslowski 1-1-4, Calkins 2-1-5, Durr 1-0-2, Loiacono 3-0-6, Giordano 1-0-2, Pawul 1-2-4.Totals: 12-5- 34.Three-point goals: WM1 (Koslowski).

Longwood 64, Smithtown 58: Sophomore Teelah Grimes had 18 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists to lift Longwood. Juanita Hernandez scored 16 of her 18 points in the first half as Longwood (1-1) led by nine at the half. Lauren Tartamella led Smithtown (2-1) with 15 points. –

Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 10 Jan 2001

Danchalski Powers Longwood Win: [SUFFOLK Edition]

Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 12 Jan 2000

Kim Danchalski scored 13 points in the third quarter as Longwood outscored Sachem 24-16 en route to a 61-46 victory yesterday in a League I girls basketball game. Danchalski finished with 22 points. Longwood is 2-0 and Sachem is 2-1. In other games, Tania Liberato scored 17 points to lead Brentwood (1-2) to a 50-45 victory over Patchogue-Medford (0-2) … Lauren Tartamella had 21 points to lead Smithtown (3-0) over Ward Melville (0-3), 67-25.

Longwood Victorious in OT: [SUFFOLK Edition]

Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 15 Jan 2000: 

Danielle DeGiorgio hit two free throws with five seconds left in overtime to give Longwood a 69-67 win over Smithtown on Friday night in a League I girls basketball game.

DeGiorgio grabbed her own rebound and was fouled as she went up to take the potential winning shot.

With Longwood (3-0) trailing 63-60 in the closing seconds of regulation, Keola Lee drove for a layup and was fouled as the buzzer sounded. She completed the three-point play alone on the line.

DeGiorgio finished with 25 points and seven rebounds. Lauren Tartamella had 22 points for Smithtown (3-1).

Smithtown…………………………201113194-67

Longwood…………………………131512236-69

S: Shobin 1-5-7, Schroeder 4-6-16, Gazatic 0-4-4, Oehl 2-4-8, Tartamella 7-7-22, Glenn 1-1-3, Wisnietski 2-1-5, Bachman 1-0-2. Totals: 18-28-67. L: Danchalski 6-0-14, DeGiorgio 7-11-25, Grimes 2- 1-6, Baxter 0-4-4, Lee 5-6-16, Tucker 1-0-2, Hernandez 1-0-2. Totals: 22-22-69. Three-point goals: S 3 (Schroeder 2, Tartamella); L 3 (Danchalski 2, Grimes).

Danielle DeGiorgio had 18 points and six rebounds, and Melissa Danchalski added 15 points and 10 rebounds to lift Longwood (3-0) to a 60-30 win over Patchogue-Medford (1-3).

Patchogue-Medford6 12 8 4 -30

Longwood16 15 16 13 -60

PM: Santino 1-2-4, Horst 1-0-2, Proniewych 5-0-10, Wilson 1-1-3, Scala 1-0-2, Ventimiglia 0-3-3, Williamson 1-0-2, Bosch 2-0-4. Totals: 12-6-30. L: Danchalski 7-0-15, DeGiorgio 8-2-18, Grimes 2-1- 5, Lee 3-2-8, Legnon 0-1-1, Blanchette 2-1-5, Hernandez 3-2-8. Totals: 25-9-60. Three-point goals: L 1 (Danchalski). Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 19 Jan 2000:

Melissa Donchalski had 30 points and 15 rebounds to lead Longwood (5-0) to a 64-46 win over Floyd (3-2) in a League I game Monday. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 26 Jan 2000: 

LEAGUE I: Danielle DeGeorgio had 21 points and 11 rebounds to lead Longwood to a 47-37 victory over Smithtown (7-3). Melissa Danchalski had 18 points and 11 rebounds for Longwood (9-0). Longwood erased a 15-14 deficit with a 16-5 second quarter. Allison Wisniewski had 12 points and 13 rebounds and Lauren Tartamella 11 points for Smithtown. Feb.9

Longwood Rallies for Win:

Gregg Sarra. STAFF WRITER. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 05 Feb 2000:

The play was designed to free Sachem’s Toni Horvath or Victoria Valentin for a three-point attempt. The Sachem girls basketball team had squandered a 12-point lead and had five ticks left on the clock to send Friday night’s League I thriller into overtime.

The Flaming Arrows called a timeout to set up the play from under their own basket for one last chance to tie. During the timeout, Longwood coach Pierce Hayes scripted a defensive strategy to prevent such an outcome.

The traffic under the Sachem basket resembled a log jam as Horvath and Valentin tried to fight through picks and a horde of Longwood defenders. The ball was inbounded in the direction of Valentin, but the defensive pressure prevailed as Longwood’s Teelah Grimes deflected it toward midcourt.

It seemed like the entire student body of each school gave chase as the ball became lost in a cluster of bodies and the horn sounded to end a terrific game, 60-57, in favor of Longwood before 563 fans at Sachem.

Grimes’ three-pointer with 49 seconds left forged Longwood’s first lead at 56-55 since the 2:10 mark of the opening quarter. Melissa Danchalski then hit a long three-pointer to make it 59-55 with 32 seconds left. Seven seconds later, Sachem’s Liz Rakita made a layup. Longwood’s Jeanette Baxter added a free throw with nine seconds left for the final score.

The win allowed Longwood (11-1, 9-0) to remain alone in first place and on course for its first league championship in seven years. The loss leaves Sachem (9-4, 7-2) two games behind the league leaders and looking at the end of the Flaming Arrows’ five-year title reign with three games to play.

“We’d love to be the League I champions again but now we have to focus on the playoffs,” Sachem coach Mike Atkinson said. “They played well and their seniors stepped it up in a road game.”

No one was better than Longwood’s Danielle DeGiorgio. She made 11 of 16 field-goal attempts, including three three-pointers, to score 25 points. She helped keep the Lions within striking distance as Sachem played a beautiful first half, taking a 34-26 lead.

“This was such a big game for us and I was prepared,” DeGiorgio said. “I knew we could come back.”

Sachem opened its largest first-half lead at 31-19 after a Horvath steal and layup with 2:13 left. Longwood cut the deficit to eight just before the half ended on a layup by Juanita Hernandez. Longwood, which beat Sachem by 15 in the first meeting, had trouble with the threesome of Horvath (12 points), Valentin (nine) and Susan Lipani (nine), who combined for 30 first-half points.

Sachem led 47-44 at the end of the third quarter. The Flaming Arrows were able to hold off the Lions until the waning seconds, when Grimes and Danchalski nailed the big threes.

“It was a great game,” Hayes said. “Both teams played well.”

Longwood…………………………13 13 18 16-60

Sachem……………………………..17 17 13 10-57

L: DeGiorgio 11-0-25, Danchalski 6-1-15, Grimes 4-1-10, Baxter 1- 1-4, Lee 1-0-2, Hernandez 2-0-4. Totals: 25-3-60. S: Horvath 5-2-14, Lipani 6-0-13, Valentin 6-4-18, Seguin 1-0-2, Rakita 2-0-4, Hennessy 2-0-4, Erdmann 0-2-2. Totals: 22-8-57. Three-point goals: L 7 (DeGiorgio 3, Danchalski 2, Baxter, Grimes); S 5 (Horvath 2, Valentin 2, Lipani).

Longwood 64, Floyd 47: Jeanette Baxter had 19 points and Teelah Grimes added 10 rebounds and seven assists for Longwood (6-4). Liz Vitaliano scored 15 for Floyd (5-5). – Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 10 Feb 2001

Longwood 58, Brentwood 43: Teelah Grimes had 10 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists for Longwood (7-4). Brentwood is 3-8. – Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 14 Feb 2001:

Longwood Clinches Crown: [SUFFOLK Edition]

Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 16 Feb 2000

Danielle DeGiorgio had 26 points and 17 rebounds as Longwood withstood Maggie Makofsky’s 42 points to clinch the League I title by beating Floyd, 64-56, last night in girls basketball.

Makofsky, who missed all of last season with a torn right anterior cruciate ligament, shattered her previous high of 29 points.

“It was killing me all night,” the junior said of her knee. “I’ll probably have to have surgery again. I guess I was running on pure adrenaline.”

Melissa Danch added 19 points and 14 rebounds for Longwood (11- 0). Floyd (5-6) still is vying for a playoff spot and will host Sachem (8-2) at 4 p.m. Friday.

No 1 Longwood Advances – Feb. 28

Top seeded Longwood used a balanced offense to advance to the Class A semifinal. Melissa Danchalski, Danielle DeGiorgio, Keola Lee and Jeanette Baxter each had 12 points as Longwood topped No 8 Northport 55-41

DeGiorgio had seven rebounds and baxter added five assists and five rebounds and shot 4 of 5 from three-point land. Jackie Lucas and Stephanie Russoeach had 10 points for Northport (12-7).

Longwood (17-2) jumped to a 30-17 halftime lead, behind 9 points from DeGiorgio and seven from Danchalski en route to its 15 straight win. The Lions face Bellport Sunday at the University of Stony Brook at 7 p.m.

Playoff Preview

Longwood, Sachem, Bellport and Whitman perennially dominate the Class A ranks. Those four teams are again in the hunt, but another four to six teams are in the mix. As Sachem coach Mike Atkinson put it, “Upsets will be the norm this year. I think as many as 10 team could do some damage.”

Top-seeded Longwood (16-2) leads the group behind the twin towers: 6-foot Melissa Danchalski and 5-11 Danielle DeGiorgio.

The winner of the No. 8 Northport (11-6)-No. 9 Smithtown (12-6) game on Wednesday faces Longwood on Friday. The winner of No. 10 Half Hollow Hills East (11-6)-No. 7 Whitman (12-5) game Wednesday plays at No. 2 Westhampton (15-3) Friday. The winner of No. 11 Copiague (10- 8)-No. 6 Connetquot (13-4) game on Wednesday faces No. 3 Sachem (13- 4) Friday. The winner of the No. 12 West Babylon (9-8)-No. 5 East Islip (15-3) game Wednesday meets No. 4 Bellport (14-3) Friday. Feb. 19

Another Longwood First / DeGiorgio helps Lions net ‘A’ title:

David Pierson. STAFF WRITER. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 02 Mar 2000:

Longwood senior Danielle DeGiorgio couldn’t believe that after one quarter her teammates and their opponent, Sachem, had mustered only 10 points collectively, six by the Lions.

But after three quarters of anemic offense on the part of both teams, the Longwood center erupted for 14 of her 18 points in the fourth quarter to extend a tentative three-point lead and carry the top-seeded Lions to a 44-31 victory and their first Suffolk Class A girls basketball championship last night before 1,200 at the University at Stony Brook.

“This is the happiest moment of my life,” said DeGiorgio, who sank six free throws in the final quarter. “I always dreamt of this. I got put on the free-throw line . . . I’m a senior, I had to step it up.”

The victory marked a momentous two days in which both the Longwood girls and boys teams won the Class A title. The Longwood boys team beat Whitman Tuesday night for its first crown.

“Both teams taking the title is just beautiful,” Longwood coach Pierce Hayes said. “We’re a wonderful school and we deserved it. I’m enjoying this, but this is really for the kids.”

The Lions (19-2) took a 20-17 lead into the fourth quarter. Sophomore guard Jeanette Baxter, who recently found a consistent long- range shot, hit a three-pointer 24 seconds in to make it 23-17. DeGiorgio then began her shooting spree at the foul line, including two points with 1:10 remaining that gave Longwood a 41-26 lead.

“DeGiorgio is capable of taking the game away like that,” Hayes said. “She wore down Sachem’s defense after three quarters.”

For third-seeded Sachem (14-6), the two-time defending county champion, just being in the paint became as rare as scoring a point.

DeGiorgio and senior forward Melissa Danchalski stymied all Sachem attempts to drive at the basket and forced Sachem’s star freshman point guard, Toni Horvath, to shoot one ill-advised three-pointer after another.

“Some nights you have it, some nights you don’t,” Sachem coach Mike Atkinson said.

Horvath, who hit a dramatic three-pointer to defeat Whitman in the semifinals, didn’t score her first point until four minutes into the fourth quarter and finished with six. Longwood’s inside pressure never allowed her to take balanced shots under the basket.

“Melissa was unbelievable tonight on defense,” DeGiorgio said. “That’s what we do; it was a complete game of defense.”

“I’m so proud of my defense,” said Danchalski, who scored all six of her points in the first half. “We really worked on it and we said we wouldn’t let the ball in the paint. I really wanted to finish my senior year with a bang.”

Sachem also used a strong inside defense to hold Longwood to 13 points at the half, but only scored nine itself, before finally wearing down.

“After the first quarter, I knew Sachem wouldn’t score on us,” Hayes said. “But I began to worry that we wouldn’t either. I think we were nervous in the first half and it interfered with our ability.”

Senior captain Victoria Valentin led Sachem with 14 points, eight in the final quarter.

Baxter added 11 points, including eight in Longwood’s 24-14 fourth quarter.

SUFFOLK CLASS A FINAL

Longwood Ousts Bellport Girls / Defensive schemes, long-range shooting by Baxter right formula:

Gregg Sarra. STAFF WRITER. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 28 Feb 2000

Longwood rode a suffocating defense and the three-point shooting of sophomore guard Jeanette Baxter to a 45-38 victory over Bellport last night in a Suffolk Class A girls basketball semifinal before 1,459.

High-scoring Bellport, which had averaged 60 points, the second highest in the county, was limited to four field goals and just 10 points in the first half.

“We know kids have trouble shooting in this gym the first time they come here,” Hayes said. “We had to play defense.”

Bellport’s Molly Brothers finished with 15 points and a game-high 16 rebounds. She was effective clearing the boards but had difficulty getting open looks against Longwood’s defensive scheme.

Keola Lee stayed with Brothers underneath while Melissa Danchalski and Danielle DeGiorgio doubled down on her.

“Doubling down on Molly made it tough because we weren’t hitting the other open looks we were getting,” Bellport coach Wayne Caldicott said. “We gave them a run in the second half but it wasn’t enough.”

Baxter buried three of her four three-pointers as Longwood (18-2) opened a 22-10 halftime lead.

She hit her final three-pointer to make it 34-25 with 1:22 left in the third quarter and finished with 13 points.

“I’ve been in a groove,” said Baxter, who hit four three-pointers against Northport in the quarterfinals. “The big arena didn’t bother me at all.”

Hayes said Baxter has just been on fire. She hit a school-record seven three-pointers in the season finale against Brentwood.

“She’s just got an unbelievable stroke right now,” Hayes said.

Bellport (15-5) closed to within 41-38 with 59 seconds left before Danchalski hit two free throws with 24 ticks left, then secured the ensuing defensive rebound.

“We won it with defense,” Hayes said.

SUFFOLK CLASS A TOURNAMENT

SemifinalAt the University at Stony Brook

Bellport……………………………….8 2199-38

Longwood………………………….1481310-45

B: Brothers 6-3-15, Mayo 3-2-8, Carrabus 2-0-6, Clark 1-2-4, Win 1- 0-2, Sciangula 1-0-3. Totals: 14-7-38. L: Danchalski 4-3-11, DeGiorgio 6-1-13, Tucker 1-0-2, Grimes 1-Daily Double Denied / Miller Place girls outlast Longwood: [NASSAU AND SUFFOLK Edition]

David Pierson. STAFF WRITER. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 05 Mar 2000: C28.

Losing is a foreign feeling for the Miller Place girls basketball team. It has not been beaten since Dec. 10, the first game of the season.

And so when the Panthers stood poised to become the first Class B squad ever to claim the Suffolk overall championship, coach Liz Borsetti needed few words to galvanize her team.

“I told them this has never been done before,” Borsetti said. “You have it in front of you, it’s yours to get.”

Michelle Stevens scored 15 of her 18 points in the second half to help Miller Place overcome a four-point halftime deficit en route to a 41-37 victory over Longwood yesterday before 2,500 fans at the University at Stony Brook.

Miller Place (22-1) will play Nassau champion New Hyde Park (20- 2) for the Long Island Class B championship at 7 p.m. Saturday at Stony Brook. Longwood (19-3) will face Massapequa (15-6) in the Class A game at 5 p.m.

Stevens’ layup gave Miller Place the lead for good at 34-32 with 3:48 remaining after the teams exchanged leads three times beginning in the third quarter. Katie Kenny hit her second three-pointer three minutes after sinking her first and Stevens had a steal and layup to extend the lead to 39-32 with 2:26 left.

Longwood cut its deficit to 39-37 on a three-pointer by Melissa Danchalski (15 points) and a layup by Danielle DeGiorgio (17). But Stevens grabbed a rebound and laid it back in to end the scoring with 1:12 left. Miller Place forced two turnovers in the remaining time to hold off Longwood.

“We were never comfortable because we were so intense,” Stevens said. “Longwood was tough. They have some big girls.”

Much like Longwood‘s victory in the Class A final last Wednesday, both teams began flat on the offensive end. DeGiorgio and Danchalski helped hold Miller Place to six first-quarter points, and Longwood, whose only other scorer was Jeanette Baxter (five), was limited to eight.

“Stevens was dynamite,” Longwood coach Pierce Hayes said. “She took them on her back and carried them through. This loss doesn’t take anything away from the Class A victory. We’re just going to have to regroup and get ready for [Massapequa] next week.”

Miller Place shot 5-for-16 from the free-throw line, an aberration for a team that averaged 70 percent from the foul line during the regular season.

“We made history today,” Miller Place sophomore guard Shea Kenny said. “This was our goal and it proved we’re the best in Suffolk. Melissa and Danielle are very good players and we overcame them.”

Carone Powers Massapequa:

Jim Baumbach. STAFF WRITER. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 12 Mar 2000

Lauren Carone has experienced the highs that come with winning, and the lows that are coupled with losing. Heading into last night’s game against Longwood, the Massapequa senior already played in two Long Island championship games and in one state tournament.

Which explains why Carone was so fired up for last night. She knew what it felt like to win, and she wanted to experience that at least one more time.

The 5-9 small forward played with an unmatched fervor in an effort to prolong her final season. Nothing – not even an injury to her left ankle – could stop her. This was Lauren Carone‘s game.

Carone scored 23 points and shot 9-for-13 to lead Massapequa to a 53-47 win over Longwood in the Class A Southeast Regional Final / Long Island Championship before 800 fans at the University at Stony Brook.

Massapequa advances to the state public schools Final Four next weekend in Troy.

“This is an amazing feeling right now,” said Carone, who called it the most memorable performance of her career. “I don’t want it to end.”

In the first half, Carone scored 12 points and shot 5-for-7 as Massapequa (17-5) took a 26-17 lead. She opened the second half by scoring her team’s first six points, furthering the notion that it would take a lot for Longwood (19-4) to win.

But with 5:16 left in the third quarter and Massapequa ahead 32- 24, Carone lay on the floor, holding her left ankle in pain. On the previous play, Carone collided in the air with Longwood’s Keola Lee, who was attempting a shot in transition. Carone, who was charged with a foul, hobbled off the court.

“I landed on her [Lee] ankle,” Carone said. “Of course, I wanted to come right back in the game, but I didn’t know what to think. I could barely walk.”

Meanwhile, Longwood cut the deficit to 32-28 with 4:18 left. Less than a minute later, Carone checked back into the game and Massapequa ended the quarter on a 9-5 run. During that three-minute span, Carone, who said her ankle was sprained, fed Kellie Stuart (10 points) for two straight baskets before capping the run with a three- pointer from the corner. Carone stayed in for the rest of the game, and scored the game’s final two points on free throws to secure the win.

“I have never seen Lauren play like that, and I’ve seen her play some great games,” said senior Michelle Ciquera, who had six points. “She was amazing. She played her heart out.”

Massapequa coach Shari Roessler credited her players’ confidence and execution of the game plan. “I was impressed with the level of intensity and confidence that everyone played with,” said Roessler, whose team won a Long Island championship in 1998. “Everyone stepped up the defensive intensity for the playoffs, and it’s worked.”

Defensive intensity was a big reason Massapequa opened a double- digit lead in the second quarter. Roessler said the plan was to prevent passes from entering into Danielle DeGiorgio (12 points) or Melissa Danchalski (14 points) in the post. Once they got the ball, Massapequa sent two and sometimes three defenders their way.

“They used an intimidating defensive stance that forced many turnovers,” said Longwood coach Pierce Hayes, whose team won 18 of its previous 20 games. “They were hungry and they also hit their shots. There’s not much you can do when that happens.”

CLASS A SOUTHEAST REGIONAL FINAL /

LONG ISLAND CHAMPIONSHIP

At the University at Stony Brook

Massapequ………………………………….. 14 12 17 10 – 53

Longwood……………………………………..10 7 16 14 –