Long Beach denied momentum

Looking to carry over its momentum from a season-best offensive effort five days earlier, Long Beach’s girls’ basketball team did just that against visiting Great Neck South on Jan. 18 but only for the first 10 minutes.

The Lady Marines led by a point on senior Siobhan Rafferty’s basket to open the second quarter but couldn’t overcome turnover and shooting woes, and ultimately dropped the Conference AA/A-III matchup at Long Beach Middle School, 52-33.

“It’s frustrating because we played well in our previous game,” Long Beach head coach Kristin Ciccone said, referring to her team’s 60-55 defeat at Calhoun. “That’s the way we’re capable of playing when we follow the game plan and listen,” she added. “Today started ok but then we reverted to some bad habits.” 

Great Neck South’s Kristen Renta led all scorers with a season-high 20 points, including a dozen from long range. Madison Solomon added 16 points — she went 8-for-12 from the foul line — and 13 rebounds, while Rafferty paced Long Beach with 12 points and 8 boards.

“They’re a good team,” Ciccone said. “They have height and were hitting outside shots. A couple of times we got stranded in transition and they took advantage of it. Some of the things we practiced we didn’t carry over into the game.”

Four of Long Beach’s starters scored in the first quarter and it held a 10-7 lead after six-and-a-half minutes. Rafferty opened the game with a trey, senior Katie Whelan and junior Taylor Haines added field goals, and senior Samantha Chase knocked down a free throw as part of the promising start. The Lady Blazers led 11-10 after the opening quarter on two Solomon free throws and a layup by Renta just before the buzzer. 

After Rafferty, who averages a team-high 14 points per game, regained the lead for the hosts, Great Neck South went on a 14-5 run to lead by eight at halftime. The Lady Blazers scored the last six points of the half after Whelan, who along with Rafferty scored 19 points at Calhoun, nailed a three-pointer to get Long Beach within 19-17.

Great Neck South extended its lead in the third quarter, taking advantage of numerous Long Beach turnovers and misfired shots, and began to pull away with a 41-24 cushion. “We’ve cut down on turnovers a lot since the beginning of the season and had only 12 against Calhoun,” Ciccone said. “We weren’t as aggressive in this game.”

Haines hit a three-pointer and Chase and junior Kaitlin Kelliher added baskets in the fourth, but the deficit was too large for Long Beach (2-9 overall, 0-6 in conference games) to overcome. Great Neck South attempted 29 free throws to the Lady Marines’ 7.

Ciccone said she’s looking forward to a home-heavy second half of the conference schedule, including rematches with Herricks and Calhoun. “The girls have a good attitude and they get along well,” she said. “Putting in more work during the offseason will help us compete at this level.”