With 11 games in the books and adversity in the form of a season-ending injury to one of its senior leaders, Freeport girls’ basketball head coach Meredith Jones remains encouraged by a scrappy young team she expects to improve while keeping the Nassau Class AAA playoffs in sight.
“We’ve been in every game because we’re playing so hard and bringing the defense,” Jones said. “We’re adjusting to having only one or two seniors on the court most of the time, but the young ones are growing up fast with all of the close-game situations. Almost every game has come down to the last couple of possessions.”
The Red Devils entered this week with an overall mark of 5-6, including a split of its first two Conference AAA games. In the fourth game, however, senior Queenasha Ellis suffered a torn ACL in a non-conference victory over South Side ending her high school basketball career.
“It’s a big loss because Queenasha contributed to our offense and we’re averaging less than 40 points per game,” Jones said. “She’s a great athlete and defender and her experience was important. She’s been vocal from the bench and trying to help any way she can.”
Guard/forward combo Nia Phillips is Freeport’s lone starting senior and also its leading scorer, pouring in about 13 points per game. Phillips had an interesting night Dec. 21, sealing a 45-37 win over Oceanside by knocking down all but one of her eight free throw attempts in crunch time. She finished with a team-high 16 points, with 14 coming from the charity stripe.