South Side outlasts Carey

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After squandering a nine-point lead in the second quarter, South Side opened the second half with a 10-point run to break a tie and held on for a 45-37 victory at Carey in a Conference A-II girls’ basketball game on Jan. 8.

The Lady Cyclones were led by junior Maria Karanasos, who scored seven of her game-high 15 points in the third quarter and added 10 rebounds and four blocks, and junior Laura McNally, who had 12 points and 10 boards. Senior Victoria Porcasi had 13 points, including a history making free throw in the second quarter, to lead the Lady Seahawks.

“It’s an important win,” South Side head coach Katelyn Dunn said. “We had a tough time putting them away. We started strong but had a lull in the second quarter when we stopped pushing the ball. In the third quarter we got back to what we need to do, which is move the ball and get it to our forwards.”

South Side (5-4 overall, 2-0 in A-II) held the largest lead of the game at 31-20 midway through the third following a Karanasos free throw, but Carey (6-3, 1-1) crept within one with less than three minutes remaining in regulation before the visitors sealed the outcome from the foul line. 

“We had our spurts, but we weren’t consistent enough today,” Carey head coach Theresa Schmidt said. “Our shot selection wasn’t great and we weren’t in sync like we’ve been in other games.”

Behind a couple of baskets from junior Brett Robison, the Lady Seahawks led 7-6 after five minutes before South Side’s first of two 10-point spurts. Karanasos scored six straight, and junior Grace Kelleher closed the first quarter with a bucket to give the Lady Cyclones a 14-7 advantage. “Maria’s got three double-doubles already,” Dunn said of Karanasos. “She’s really coming into her own.” 

McNally and senior Megan Harkins sank free throws before senior Keva Moore (12 points) got Carey back on track. Then Porcasi, who in the season opener reached the 1,000-point plateau for her career, etched her name in the school record book once again. With 4:36 left in the half, she followed her first field goal of the game with a free throw to become Carey’s all-time scoring leader, passing Meghan Karcher. By game’s end, Porcasi had 1,127 career points. “It’s a tremendous accomplishment,” Schmidt said. “Victoria’s had a big couple of months.”

Five points by Moore, who hit for 18 to lead a win over New Hyde Park in the conference opener, helped the Lady Seahawks draw even at 18 by halftime. Down 11 in the second half, Porcasi, who scored nine points in a six-minute span after being held in check by a combination of juniors Brianna Bigelow and Kelly O’Sullivan, along with Moore brought the hosts within 36-35 with 2:41 remaining.

South Side’s ability to protect the ball and hit free throws (8 of 11) down the stretch allowed it to finish the job. “We had too many ups and downs in December, so this is big for our confidence,” Dunn said.

The teams meet again at South Side on Jan. 30.