Long Beach clings to playoff hopes

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It was a tale of two halves last Friday afternoon when host Long Beach was unable to make a 15-point halftime lead hold up against Mepham in a Conference AA-III girls’ basketball game, falling 63-53 despite having three players score in double figures.

The Lady Marines (7-7 overall, 4-6 in AA-III) managed only 12 second-half points — six in each of the final two quarters — and still have some work to do in order to qualify for the Nassau Class AA playoffs. Senior Megan Anderson, who sank five treys, had 24 points and led the Lady Pirates’ comeback along with senior Alexa Morris, who added 15 points and 12 rebounds.

“We definitely let it get away,” Long Beach head coach Kristin Ciccone said. “They caught fire in the second half, and fatigue became a factor for us. 

“We got tired at the end, but some of the shots Anderson hit were from NBA-range so give her credit,” she added. “We weren’t going to guard her that far behind the three-point line.”

Kadaja Bailey continued her big freshman season for the Lady Marines with a game-high 27 points, a shade under her 28.5 ppg average. She had all of their second-half points and also their only successful free throws — two — in the game. Sophomore Siobhan Rafferty added a season-high 13 points, while senior Alexis Farina chipped in 11.

“Siobhan played a great first half,” Ciccone said of Rafferty. “She can play at that level and be a presence on the court all the time. Lacrosse is her main sport, but it’s fun to watch her play basketball. She’s very athletic.”

Long Beach enjoyed one of its best quarters of the season, Ciccone said, scoring 23 points in the first while opening an 11-point lead against the three-time defending conference champs. “We were hitting everything and playing with confidence early,” Ciccone explained. “They started out playing a box-and-one, so we went to a triangle and got everyone involved.”

The Lady Marines, who scored only 32 points in losing the first meeting at Mepham on Jan. 6, led the rematch 41-26 at halftime. “We gave up 41 points in the first half and that’s our game average,” Mepham head coach Jim Mulvey said. “So we went more to a straight man defense.

“We started limiting them to one shot and getting into transition,” he added. “You can’t trade baskets when you’re down by 15.”

In addition to Anderson catching fire, senior Nicole Moccio stepped up for the Lady Pirates with eight second-half points after not scoring in the first half. The outcome clinched a playoff berth for Mepham and put a dash in the Lady Marines’ hopes.

Long Beach, Herricks, Calhoun and MacArthur were separated by just a half-game heading into this week’s action. “We’re a good team, but it’s important to play a full 32 minutes,” Ciccone said. “We go to MacArthur next and then we finish at home against Westbury. We need to beat them both.”