Wantagh wins semifinal thriller

Lady Warriors outlast rival Garden City in OT

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Is there a better high school sports rivalry in Nassau County than Wantagh vs. Garden City?

Wantagh senior Alex Parlato doesn’t think so. And though she couldn’t speak for the 1,000 fans at last Friday night’s Class A girls’ basketball semifinal showdown, most would probably agree.

Parlato closed the latest chapter in the multisport rivalry between the schools by going 4 for 4 from the foul line in the final 6.2 seconds of overtime to lift the third-seeded Lady Warriors to a thrilling come-from-behind 66-62 victory over No. 2 Garden City, at SUNY-Old Westbury.

“This is my sixth season of varsity basketball and the first time we’re going to the finals,” said Parlato, who poured in 33 points and grabbed 17 rebounds. “We lost in the quarterfinals three years in a row, so this is really exciting. Our chemistry has never been better, and after the way we just won, I think there’s no stopping us.”

Senior Christina Peden and juniors Nikki Sliwak and Darcie Smith all added 11 points for Wantagh, which will face top seed and defending champion North Shore, a 64-53 semifinal winner over No. 4 Floral Park, in the Class A title game on Saturday at LIU-Post at 5 p.m. The Lady Warriors (18-2) are seeking their first county championship since capturing back-to-back crowns in the 2004-05 and ’05-06 campaigns.

“Other than the two county finals, this is the most exciting game I’ve ever been a part of,” Wantagh head coach Stan Bujacich said. “A semifinal against our biggest rival that lost just once all season — to us — coming into tonight, I can’t ask for much more. Our girls work so well together. They made a few runs on us, but we worked our way back each time.”

Garden City, which got 21 points apiece from seniors Samantha Auricchio and Becky Reifler, led by as many as 9 points in the first half and was in the driver’s seat with 4:59 remaining after a driving layup by Auricchio made it 45-37.

“We weren’t going to quit,” said Parlato, who carried the team in crunch time.

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