GIRLS BASKETBALL: Indians fight hard, fall to Stony Brook

TED HILLS | STAFF REPORTER

As varsity Coach Peter Miedema or junior varsity Coach Will Collins can tell you, sometimes scoreboards lie. Or, at least, they don't tell the whole story.

With less than half their opponents� final score, it looked like the varsity Indians were steamrolled in last Friday's 61-28 loss. But their early performance showed a different game, as they kept undefeated Stony Brook to just a 7-point lead in the first half.

And though the JV girls won their match-up against the Bears, their post-game huddle was no celebration.

VARSITY STARTS STRONG

The girls looked good right from the tip off, and worked hard for each basket � many of their possessions were long and required multiple passes to get the ball around the Bears defenders and to the hoop.

The Indians got their first point when Mackenzie Needham sent a no-look pass to Kelsey McGayhey, who sent it to the basket. She missed, but Katie Siller boxed out under the net and got the rebound. She ripped the ball out to Needham at the point, who charged to the net and hooked the ball around a defender for a beautiful layup.

With no score on the next Bears' possession, the Indians got the ball back and Needham threw a chest pass to Siller in the corner, who immediately sent it to Emily Gibbs under the net. Stony Brook fouled, and Gibbs sank both of her free throws � nothing but net, 4-2 Indians.

After Stony Brook�s Brannon Burke hit a jump shot for 2, Needham stole a Bears pass at half court and drove in for a quick layup and cheers from the crowd.

On their next possession, Needham tried to pass the ball to Gibbs but defenders tipped the pass. Gibbs dove on the loose ball and threw it from the floor to Siller underneath the net, who worked around a defender and sank a layup � 8-4 SI. Siller was fouled at 1:14 in the next Indians' possession, and sank one of her free throws.

They ended the quarter 9-9, and remained scoreless until Needham sank a free throw four minutes into the second quarter. Though their scoring was low, their defense kept them competitive � an impressive feat against Stony Brook, a team known for strong shooting and high-scoring games.

"In the first half, our defense was solid," said Coach Miedema. They used a 3-2 zone defense, a focus of recent practices. It forced the Bears to take shots from the outside.

Still, the Indians couldn�t keep up their scoring pace with the Bears', and the second quarter ended 27-20, Stony Brook.

"'We could stay in this game if they don�t hit those 3's,'" Coach Miedema recalled telling JV Coach Collins. "Then Stony Brook hit two right away in the third quarter. I smiled and said, 'Here it comes.'"

The girls' game began to deteriorate in the third quarter and Stony Brook started to rack up the points. With the Bears' fast-paced offense and few girls on the Indians bench to re-energize the squad, "you constantly have to push, so it wears on you," said Coach Miedema. "By the end of the game, we're tired, we're worn out."

Especially true when playing the deeper 11-girl Stony Brook team. Sloppy passes yielded repeated steals and turnovers for the Bears. It was clear that the girls had lost their steam �� they scored just 8 points in the second half.

Still, the game was "something to be proud of," said Miedema. "Everybody contributed somewhat today."
McGayhey scored a team-high 8 points and Siller was again a strong presence under the net. "Emily Gibbs was a little more aggressive taking it to the basket," said Coach Miedema, adding "Stephanie Vecchio played an important role on defense." He was also happy to bring up Megan Mundy from the JV, who he said is "going to be a good varsity player next year."

"It could be a little bit of a turning point" for the varsity girls, Coach Miedema said of the Stony Brook game. "I know it�s a little late in the season to say a turning point, but I felt a lot of energy out there, a lot of positive vibes and a lot of hustle."

Though it is too late for the 3-7 team to have thoughts of a playoff game, their strong first-half performance Friday showed what the girls are capable of. And with only two girls (Gibbs and Siller) graduating this year, the future looks promising for next year�s team.

JV PLAYS BELOW PAR BUT WINS

Even though the JV girls beat Stony Brook 21-13, their game wasn�t an ideal performance. "By their own admission, they didn�t play their best tonight," said Coach Collins.

Sloppy passing allowed both teams to make repeated steals, and the game�s low final score seemed to be mainly a product of a disjointed offense.

Still, said Coach Collins, the girls are becoming more aware of game dynamics: "they�re starting to recognize situations in basketball games � like controlling the clock and foul trouble."

He added that their defense is strong and they continue to play aggressively.

Their next game is against Southold today on the Indians� home court. JV tips off at 4 p.m., varsity at 5:45 p.m.