Freeport advances to semis

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For the first time in eight seasons under head coach Meredith Jones, the Freeport Lady Red Devils are headed to the Nassau County Class AA girls’ basketball semifinals where they will face No. 1 Baldwin. 

The dynamic duo of junior A.J. Smith (34 points) and senior Taylor Miller (16) provided most of the offense in fourth-seeded Freeport’s 66-36 victory over shorthanded No. 5 Long Beach in a quarterfinal matchup Tuesday evening. It marked the third straight season the Lady Red Devils eliminated the Lady Marines from the playoff tournament.

“It’s very exciting to be in the semifinals,” Jones said. “We’re definitely playing at the peak of our game. Now we’ll see how we handle the big stage.”

Freeport (15-3) will face Baldwin this Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. at LIU-Post. The Lady Bruins advanced with a 25-point win over Uniondale. In the other semifinal, No. 2 Massapequa takes on No. 3 Mepham.

Long Beach (12-5), which eliminated Elmont in the first round, was missing four starters and was led by eighth-grader Kedesia Bailey’s 17 points. Bailey had 14 points and freshman Destiny Hurt added nine in the win over Elmont. “We played better against Elmont than we did tonight, but a lot of young girls stepped up in both games,” Lady Marines head coach Kristin Ciccone said. “It’s tough going up against one of the top four teams in the county when your whole chemistry is off.” 

After Long Beach took an early 9-7 lead on senior Mary McDonagh’s three-pointer, the Lady Red Devils scored 11 straight and never looked back. Smith had 11 points in the first quarter, 10 in the second, 11 in the third, and a basket in the fourth, and came within four points of matching her career high set in the second game of the season against Syosset. “They were missing their height and had nobody to battle with AJ,” Jones said.

Freeport led 38-18 at halftime, and increased it to 60-33 heading into the fourth. Last Feb. 15, the Lady Red Devils won a first-round playoff game at Long Beach, 37-23, before falling in the quarterfinals to Massapequa.

“We have a few things we need to tighten up for Saturday,” Jones said. “Our defensive rotations are going to be important. I think we match up well against Baldwin. But we have to bring our ‘A’ game because they always do.”