Oceanside ousted by Hicksville

Back in December, the Oceanside girls’ basketball team earned a win over its first-round Nassau Class AA playoff opponent, Hicksville. But, last Friday night, the young Lady Sailors learned the postseason can be an entirely different animal. 

Oceanside made just one field goal in the opening nine minutes of its rematch with the Lady Comets, and watched its opponent build up an early 20-point advantage. The Lady Sailors failed to respond with a significant run of their own, and ended up suffering a 68-43 loss and an early postseason exit.

 “We were inexperienced coming into the year, and today the playoff moment definitely got to us,” Oceanside head coach Joe Supple said. “We were pressing a little bit early, and threw up some shots that we usually don’t take. Defensively we were a little too aggressive at times. I think the excitement got to our players early on, and we fell behind a good team.”

Much of Hicksville’s success in the game could be attributed to the duo of Julia Bentrewicz and Ijah Fletcher. The Lady Sailors had no answer for the shooting and driving abilities of Bentrewicz, as she posted a game-high 29 points. On the interior it was Fletcher who dominated, pulling down 21 rebounds to go along with her 16 points. 

“We got beat by a team that simply outplayed us,” Supple said. “They have two real solid players, and their role players were great today too. But, I couldn’t be more proud of the way we fought in the game.”

Despite Oceanside’s overall offensive struggles, the team still managed to produce three double-digit scorers in the contest. Senior Samantha Stein had 11 points on the night, while freshman Jamie Behar and junior Kasey Flavin each finished with 10 points. 

Late in the fourth quarter, with his team trailing by a large number, Supple began subbing out the club’s seniors. Stein, Kathleen Lucy and Sabrina Seeger each were given a moment to be applauded by members of the visiting Lady Sailors crowd, and received an emotional hug at the bench from their grateful head coach. 

“They’re three seniors who have been in the program for four years, and have meant a lot to us on and off the court,” Supple said. “In my first year, I’m very proud to have them as my three seniors. I told them that regardless of today, those are the types of seniors that are going to lead us to great things in the future.”

Supple’s first season at the helm for Oceanside featured plenty of ups and downs, including a big win over Massapequa. Despite mixed results, the coach felt the effort level from his squad was consistently present throughout the winter. 

“This season was a roller coaster, but I’m proud of the way my players battled throughout the year,” Supple said. “We play in a tough conference, but fought and got into the playoffs. I wish we would have executed better, but the effort and team camaraderie with this group has been amazing all year long.”