Sewanhaka falls to Island Trees

Catherine Zamroz scored 17 points and Brianna Wilson added 11 to lead Island Trees to a 56-52 victory over visiting Sewanhaka in the opening round of the Nassau Class A playoffs last Saturday afternoon. The Lady Indians, who got 17 points from Michelle Niles, finished the season with a record of 10-8. 

Trailing by 10 points with just 2:54 to play, Sewanhaka mounted a furious comeback. A three by sophomore Destiny Hurt, and layups by Daniella Ford and Casey Hayes cut the Lady Bulldogs lead to 51-48 with 2:02 on the clock. 

The Lady Indians had chances to tie the game, but a pair of free throws by Wilson iced the game for Island Trees, which advanced to meet No. 3 Wantagh in the quarterfinals.

Sewanhaka head coach Soupios was proud of his team’s late resurgence. “With so many girls in foul trouble, we had to go deep into our bench,” Soupios said. “We brought up underclassmen from the junior varsity for the playoffs, and they weren’t one bit intimidated. After a few days of practice, I thought they’d be up to the test. They passed with flying colors.”

With Hurt, Hayes, and Cherish Francis on the bench, Soupios asked eighth-graders Carly Bolivar and Ashley Cattle to make their varsity debuts. Cattle used her quickness to wreak havoc on defense, and Bolivar announced her presence with authority by burying a three and adding an 18-foot jumper in the final minute.

Pressure defense in the final quarter was the key ingredient in Sewanhaka’s comeback, but the Lady Indians couldn’t do anything about the all of the uncontested opportunities that Island Trees was given. The Lady Bulldogs spent the afternoon on the charity stripe, taking 39 free throws and making 26 of them.

A couple of baffling foul calls on Hayes, 12 seconds apart, put the team’s leading scorer on the bench with four fouls early in the third quarter. The junior forward, who entered the game averaging 16.6 points per contest, was held to eight points.

On a day when consistency was far from the norm, Niles was the team’s steadiest performer. Each time it looked as if Island Trees was going to make a big run, the senior captain hit a huge basket. 

Ford, who spent as much time diving on the floor after loose balls as she did on her feet, had trouble finding the bottom of the net, but, as usual, did all of the little things on the court that made her an all-time great at Sewanhaka. 

Ford was disappointed in losing her last game, but she sees the big picture. “I’ve thought about what this was going to be like for a long time,” Ford said. “Obviously, I didn’t want it to end like this, but we gave everything we had right until the end. As seniors, we were responsible for showing the younger girls the right way to do things. I can’t wait to come back see them play.”