Lady Bruins riding win streak

A buzzer-beating, 35-34, loss to North Babylon on Dec. 28, didn’t derail Baldwin’s Lady Bruins (5-1 overall, 4-0 in Conference AA-II) on the basketball court.

Instead, they rebounded from the loss with consecutive conference victories over MacArthur (52-42 last Friday) and Hicksville (56-29 on Jan. 8) on the strength of a defense that limited both teams to nine points or less in five of the eight quarters. “The girls realize that [defense] is their ticket,” coach Tom Catapano said. “When they defend well it gives us the best chance of winning now and winning later on. They truly take pride in not allowing their opponent to score and being there with help defense.”

Senior point guard Alex Hampton, playing on a sprained ankle suffered in the North Babylon loss, scored a game-high 21 points with seven rebounds, four assists and four steals against the Lady Generals, while junior Janae DeGraff had 12 points and nine rebounds. “The second she comes out of games you feel her presence missing,” Catapano said of DeGraff. “She’s such a key cog to the whole thing.”

As impressive as the 10-point victory was, the win over the Lady Comets may have been even more so. Hicksville entered with just one loss in its first five games and none in conference play but couldn’t overcome Baldwin’s relentless defensive effort. After scoring just six points in the opening quarter, the Lady Comets offense was stymied even more, scoring two in the second quarter. “We pressed full court and put two [girls] on Caitlyn Garger,” Catapano said. “She didn’t have the ball in her hands as much as she wanted to. And then we denied Garger the ball coming back.”

Garger, Hicksville’s top-scoring option who topped the 20-point barrier four times in the first five games, was hounded by Baldwin senior Ayanna Hudson and managed just 11 points. Sophomore Jade Aponte led the Lady Bruins offense with 10 points with six coming on a pair of three-pointers. “She can flat out fill up the nets,” Catapano said of Aponte who had a season high in points. “She’s probably the most natural scorer on the team and we’re working on her getting better on the defensive end.”

Hampton and sophomore guard Tyra Harrison each scored nine. Hudson and sophomore guard Mariah Butler each added seven. On top of shooting well from the floor and scoring consistently in the transition game, Baldwin also broke down the Lady Comets’ 1-3-1 zone in halfcourt play, turning in a well-rounded effort.

The two-time defending Nassau County champions defense continues to get stronger with Butler emerging as a stopper along with Hudson. While Hudson locks in on an opponent’s top forward, Butler routinely draws the top guard and is responsible for applying the pressure as soon as the ball is inbounded. “She’s really bought into the role and is tenacious,” Catapano said.

Baldwin hosts Calhoun Tuesday with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m.