It was clear from the opening tap when junior forward Janae DeGraff picked up floor burns securing a Baldwin possession that the two-time defending Nassau County Class AA girls’ basketball champions were ready to make it three in a row.
That effort foreshadowed a dominating effort on both sides of the floor as the top-seeded Lady Bruins steamrolled No. 2 Massapequa, 62-41, in the title game at C.W. Post on Saturday afternoon. Senior point guard Alex Hampton scored a career-high 24 points, sophomore guard Mariah Butler shutdown Massapequa’s Morgan Roessler and the bench once again came up aces.
“Every single player put up 110 percent,” said Hampton, who was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. “I couldn’t be more proud as a team captain.”
Baldwin advanced to the Long Island Championship Game at Farmingdale State to meet Suffolk champion Riverhead for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff on Friday.
A parade of free throws over the final 2:54 — Baldwin converted 12 of 14 attempts —completed a blowout that took shape in the first quarter. The Lady Bruins raced out to a 15-4 lead in the first eight minutes, holding the Lady Chiefs to just a three-pointer by Roessler and a free throw over in the frame. “Defense was the key factor,” Hampton said. “We wanted to set the tone and that’s how we got our momentum.”
The defensive effort was keyed by Butler, who gave up a significant height advantage to Roessler but still kept the Lady Chiefs’ top weapon under wraps. “The game plan was to deny her and not let her get any easy baskets,” Butler said. “I had to play very physical with her.”
“Half of our practice is defense,” Baldwin coach Tom Catapano said. “The kids realize that is the ticket to their success.”
Butler limited Roessler to just nine points before leaving because of an injury in the third quarter, but even that couldn’t slow down the Lady Bruins. On the very first possession after her exit, freshman Jade Aponte, who took Butler’s place, drained a three-pointer at the shot-clock buzzer to open up a 39-25 edge. “The kids were all ready to go,” Catapano said. “It’s a tribute to them. They’re all winners.”
Senior forward Ayanna Hudson, saddled by foul trouble in a one-point semifinal win over Uniondale, bounced back with seven rebounds, one block and one steal, while senior Amber Harrison poured in 15 points and a pair of steals. Junior Chelsea May chipped in with four points, three rebounds and a block, while DeGraff (six points, seven rebounds, one block) had several other hustle plays that led to Lady Bruins baskets.
In fact, it was DeGraff who pulled down a rebound in the closing seconds of the first quarter that set up a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Harrison. An earlier save of possession by DeGraff on the Massapequa baseline led directly to a three by Butler.
Hampton controlled the tempo from the start, driving the lane when given the opportunity — and there were many as her 10 free throws in 12 attempts show — or working the ball around the perimeter. Baldwin had six three-pointers, including three in the first quarter, and seven different players had at least three points.
“She’s the best player in the county and the best point guard,” Catapano said of Hampton, who also earned championship game MVP honors as a sophomore.
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