And score a bunch of points it did. After the timeout, the Lady Bruins scored 22 of the next 24 points, and ultimately opened up a seven-point lead at halftime. Much of the run occurred with Harrison on the bench in foul trouble. “When your senior captain goes out two minutes into the county championship [with fouls], most teams would have folded,” Catapano added.

Not the experienced Lady Bruins. The pick-me-ups came from multiple sources, not just ElGammel or Butler (seven points, five assists), whose second-quarter three-pointer completed the early portion of the comeback. Junior Jade Aponte scored all eight of her points in one two-minute stretch of the second quarter, while eighth-graders Asiah Hudson and Jenna Annecchiarico kept up the defensive pressure. “Coach always tells us that defense wins championships,” Butler said. “It’s everywhere you look, even in the Super Bowl. There are no tricks [to it].”

After allowing 15 points in the first quarter, Baldwin limited Massapequa to that total combined in the second (eight) and third (seven), all while maintaining man-to-man defensive pressure despite getting called for a number of early fouls. In fact, the Lady Chiefs were held scoreless for stretches of 5:29 in the first and second quarters and 4:25 in the third. “They practice like that every day,” Catapano said of his squad’s aggressive play. “They grind it out in practice. For us that’s what’s expected. The defense always comes before the offense.”

As Massapequa was kept off the scoreboard coming out of intermission, Baldwin increased its lead to 19 points with a flurry of transition baskets. Harrison had four points, Place had a jumper and a layup and ElGammal had a pair of free throws, while Butler netted a pair of steals during the run.

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