Lady Bruins rally for repeat title

A minor defensive adjustment and timely second-half baskets fueled top-seeded Baldwin’s run to a second consecutive Nassau Class AA girls’ basketball championship, a 39-37 victory over No. 2 Farmingdale last Saturday at C.W. Post.

It took some time for the Lady Bruins (19-1) to get going offensively, but despite falling behind by 11 in the first eight minutes, they stormed back to outscore the Lady Dalers in each of the final three quarters.

“We were nervous on the inside,” Tournament MVP Kiera Corbin said of the slow start. “But we came together and played like a team.”

Baldwin meets Deer Park on Friday at 8 p.m. at Hofstra for the L.I. Class AA title. 

Senior Katie Greene scored a team-high 13 points, including a running hook in the lane with 2:02 remaining, and sealed the victory with a pair of free throws with 7.6 seconds to play. Corbin, also a senior, scored 11 points and teamed with junior point guard Alex Hampton to jumpstart the offense with aggressive drives to the hoop.

Sophomore forward Janae DeGraff anchored the low post defense with 10 rebounds and four blocked shots, adding several hustle plays that either forced turnovers or kept possessions alive during the comeback. “Our defense was ready,” DeGraff said. “We practice it [extensively] and were very polished. We studied all the tapes on Farmingdale.”

“She’s our unsung hero,” Baldwin coach Tom Catapano said of DeGraff. “She does all the dirty work. She doesn’t score a lot of points but does what a team needs to win championships.”

Farmingdale looked to beat Baldwin’s defense to the punch from the opening tap, employing an up-tempo offense led by Kelly McPartland. In an effort to prevent the Lady Bruins from employing their patented presses and traps, McPartland would immediately push the ball upcourt following a rebound or Baldwin basket, and scored seven of her team’s first 18 points. When she didn’t find a clear path to the hoop, McPartland would dish to an open teammate as the Lady Bruins’ defense tried to get organized.

“I take my hat off to Farmingdale,” Catapano said of the strategy. “They have outstanding athletes over there.”

But in the cat-and-mouse game on the sideline, it was Catapano that made the right adjustment. “We couldn’t pick [McPartland] up 70 feet from the rim because she’s too fast,” he said. “So we backed everyone up to halfcourt.”

McPartland would score just two points the rest of the way, the Lady Dalers’ first basket of the third quarter.

Baldwin trailed from the start, and didn’t catch Farmingdale until Hampton finished a drive to the basket with a left-handed scoop for a 25-24 lead with 3:25 to play in the third quarter. The Lady Bruins took the lead for good soon after as Corbin and Catapano teamed up to keep a crucial possession. After netting a steal, Corbin raced up court but tripped as she entered the lane. Sliding on the floor, however, Corbin managed to pull the ball back into her arms. Catapano immediately called a timeout before Farmingdale players could battle for possession. Coming out of the break, Corbin converted a layup, then putback an offensive rebound on the next possession to help open a 30-26 lead.

“I think [the comeback] is symbolic of the team we have and the character of the kids here,” Catapano said. “It was a culmination of everything we do.”

The game-changing run that started in the second quarter continued after halftime, as senior Courtney Jackson and Corbin each converted layups to cut the deficit to just 22-20. The two buckets were enough to create panic in Lady Dalers coach Pete Cerrone, who immediately called a timeout just 1:37 into the quarter to try and stem the turning tide. “They felt it coming,” Catapano said. “We can score 10-12 points in two or three minutes.”