Freeport's win a milestone for coach

Giving up a third quarter lead to fifth-seeded Port Washington and trailing by three points heading into the final quarter, the fourth-seeded Freeport Lady Devils girls’ basketball team fell back on what had brought them to the Nassau Class AA playoffs in the first place, a staunch defensive unit.

The tenacity of the defense and their control of the offensive and defensive glass allowed the Lady Devils to upend Port Washington, 40-35, in a tightly contested matchup Feb. 21.

In the fourth quarter, the Lady Devils were in desperate need of defensive stops to create offense for themselves. Coach Meredith Jones made a point of that to her team heading into crunch time in a fiery huddle that visibly filled her team with raw emotion.

When asked about what she had said in the huddle leading up to the fourth quarter, Jones simply smiled and said, “I told them it was go-time. I said ‘This is what we practice for and this is what we know how to do.’”

The Lady Devils were indeed riding a momentum wave and, with the addition of a flawless 6-for-6 stretch at the free throw line for senior guard Maya Thomas late in the game, they had secured yet another playoff victory. Thomas’ clutch play was sensational, scoring 8 of her 15 points in the fourth quarter to go with 13 rebounds on the night. Freshman Taylor Abraham also finished with 15 points and added 10 rebounds, while senior forward Phalan Smith further secured the glass for the Lady Devils grabbing another 12 rebounds on the night.

Soon after returning from the locker room having secured another playoff victory, the gym had been somewhat transformed into a celebration for Coach Jones’ 100th career win. A misty-eyed coach soon embraced and took photos with her team and adherents alike. “All of the coaches work extremely hard,” Jones said. “You don't just come in from November to March, these kids are your family. One hundred wins, it’s nice to be celebrated, because you can remember each year and all of the kids.” She had also mentioned this is her 11th season as head coach, and made sure to remember the arduous times just as clearly as she said she was to remember the successful ones.

That success manifested itself in both clutch free throw shooting and defensive stops.

Early on, Port Washington had been fueled by solid ball movement and a spark from forward Rachel Rosen, who finished with 16 points. However, Freeport was focused on making every shot a challenge and corralling every rebound.

“We wanted to force them to make a shot that was a challenge,” Jones said. “(We had to give them) nothing easy. Then box out so it was one-and-done.”