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Mostly Cloudy County champions!
Baldwin beats Uniondale in 2OT
Top-seeded Uniondale had No. 2 Baldwin on the ropes for most of last Saturday's Nassau Class AA girls' basketball championship game at C.W. Post, but four missed foul shots in the final minute of regulation, including two with 9.2 seconds left and the score tied, came back to haunt the Lady Knights.
The Lady Bruins rallied from four points down in the first overtime and found another gear in the second OT to earn their first county title in 11 seasons with a 46-39 victory. Sophomore guard Alex Hampton, who sat out much of the first half with two fouls along with senior forward Shayna Gatling, scored five of her 12 points in overtime, including a pair of clutch free throws with 36.3 seconds left in the first OT. Gatling scored all 10 of her points after halftime, and junior Courtney Jackson led the offense with 13 points.
"It feels so great that all of our hard work paid off," said Hampton, who was named tournament MVP. "We wanted this so bad. I'm overwhelmed. It was a crazy game."
Uniondale, which beat Baldwin twice in the regular season, including once in overtime, missed nine of its last 12 free-throw attempts and went 14 for 31 from the line. The Lady Knights (13-7) were led by Siara Lowry's 13 points and Ifeanyi Ofili's 12. "We really struggled with our shooting," said Uniondale coach Danielle Nichol. "It's sad to come this far and fall short."
Baldwin (16-4) will meet the Suffolk County representative in the Long Island Class AA championship game on March 12 at 7:30 p.m. at Farmingdale State College. Potential opponents include North Babylon, Sachem East, Ward Melville and Smithtown West.
"It's an amazing feeling," said Lady Bruins first-year coach Tom Catapano, whose team beat defending county champion Syosset in the quarterfinals and last season's runner-up, Massapequa, in the semis. "I'm pretty numb," he added. "We had players in foul trouble all game and I thought our bench did a great job."
All five Baldwin starters scored at least one point in the second overtime, as the team outscored Uniondale 8-1. Senior Kalin Russell's only field goal put the Lady Bruins ahead for good, converting a feed from Jackson. Gatling and Jackson each had a field goal, and junior Katie Greene and Hampton hit free throws to finish it off.
