Lady Owls building momentum

The past two seasons have seen the Lynbrook Lady Owls make serious runs at their first county basketball championship since 1978, only to fall to Division in back-to-back years, once in the Nassau Class A title game, and once in the semifinals.

After last Friday’s 56-24 road victory over Valley Stream South, Lynbrook has won eight of its past nine games, and sits in first place, half-a-game ahead of Floral Park, in Conference A-III with a 7-1 record. Senior point guard Shannon Baker, who has averaged 15.3 points per game over the past three contests, scored 13 points to lead the Lady Owls.

Lynbrook coach Heather Manikas hopes the team is peaking at the right time. “We’ve been working very hard to get stronger at the things it takes to be successful,” Manikas said. “We feel like if we can clean up our own end, defend well, and limit our turnovers, we can play with anyone. The county is very balanced this season. While there’s no team that looks to be unbeatable, there are also no easy games. It’s going to come down to who wants it most.”

With Baker lighting it up from the perimeter, and Danielle Amaya (11 points, 10 rebounds) controlling things in the paint, Lynbrook ran out to a commanding 36-16 lead at the half over Valley Stream South. Brooke Gerstman scored 13 points and dished out nine assists.

It’s been a season of milestones for Gerstman. In addition to breaking the 1,000-point mark in a win over Great Neck North Dec. 16, the senior guard became the program’s leading scorer when she scored her 1,177th point in a 53-32 win over Glen Cove on Jan. 3. The record was previously held by Caroline Kaufmann, who was in attendance to congratulate Gerstman.

Manikas believes Gerstman, who is averaging 19.5 points per contest, has taken her game to another level. “Brooke is far more than a scorer,” Manikas said. “She is constantly dealing with defenses that are designed to slow her down, but rather than press or get frustrated by it, she looks to set her teammates up to score. She doesn’t care about her points; she cares about winning basketball games. Brooke is a tremendous leader for us.”

The Lady Owls give up height to nearly every opponent, but Amaya has been outstanding in the paint. The senior forward has registered double-digit rebound totals nearly every time she’s taken the floor in 2011-12. Baker, who is a tremendous defensive player, has emerged as a serious offensive threat in crunch time. Baker is averaging 10.3 points per game for the season.

Lynbrook will have revenge on its mind when Floral Park visits the Owls Nest this Friday for a 6:30 p.m. start. The Lady Knights (6-1 in conference play) handed the Lady Owls their only conference defeat when they came away with a 38-37 decision Jan. 6.