Sewanhaka looking to hit stride

Any coach will tell you the importance of getting hot at the right time of the season. Sewanhaka head coach Alex Soupios is no exception. His Lady Indians have yet to get on the kind of roll a team wants to be on as the playoffs come around, but he’s hopeful last Saturday’s home win over Bellmore-JFK will be a sign of things to come.

Sophomore Destiny Hurt scored a game-high 19 points, seven of which came during a 19-2 third quarter, to lead Sewanhaka to a 72-30 rout of the Lady Cougars. Junior Casey Hayes added 18 points and six rebounds as the Lady Indians shook off a poor first half performance and ran away with the game after the break.

Soupios gives his team credit for stepping up its game in the second half. “We switched to a 1-3-1 zone in the second half, and got real active on defense,” Soupios explained. “We made the necessary adjustments. We were lazy on defense in the opening half, and weren’t recognizing what Kennedy was doing. The girls worked harder in the second half, and were trapping and getting in the passing lanes. Hopefully, we’re peaking at the right time.”

The Lady Indians (8-6 overall, 4-3 in Conference A1) were pedestrian in the first half, and held just a 36-26 lead at the break. After some urging from Soupios in the locker room, Sewanhaka came out like gangbusters in the second half. 

The Lady Indians forced turnover after turnover, and outscored Kennedy 36-4 over the last two quarters. Freshman guard Cherish Francis scored nine points and dished out seven assists. Senior forward Michelle Niles pulled down nine rebounds.

With three games remaining on the schedule, a critical matchup with Great Neck South, and contests with perennial power Garden City and Jericho, Sewanhaka hopes it is building momentum as the postseason approaches.

“There’s always room for improvement, and there are a lot of things we can get better at,” Soupios said. “I’m proud of the way we’ve come together as a team. We’ve jelled, and we’re getting solid contributions from players off the bench. Today, we showed that we’re capable of making adjustments. I like the way the girls battled.”

The Lady Indians will close out their home schedule when they welcome in Jericho on Senior Night at 4:30 p.m. next Monday.

In the first meeting with Jericho on Jan. 20, Hurt scored 22 points to lead a 64-57 road triumph. She also added six rebounds and five assists. Hayes had 14 points and nine rebounds, while Niles added 13 in each category. Senior Daniella Ford chipped in six points for the Lady Indians, who busted out to an 18-6 lead after the first quarter and took a 13-point lead into halftime. The Lady Jayhawks got 14 points apiece from  Tathiana Pierre and Jillian Sullivan.