62.0°,
Overcast East Meadow looks for solid finish
Posted
East Meadow's Sara Elliott releases a shot in front of Syosset's Katelin Lesse during last Friday's Conference AA-II game.
Ron Manfredi/Herald
East Meadow's girls’ basketball team has been up to the task of hanging with its competition after moving up to Conference AA-II and had its chances to topple the top two teams in consecutive games before and after the midterm break.
Backed by an aggressive, up-tempo defense, the Lady Jets (5-9 overall, 3-6 in Conference AA-II) led second-place Syosset by a basket at halftime last Friday. Eighth-grader Shannon Stergis and senior Brittany Anghle were both on their way to topping double digits in points (13 and 12, respectively), when the Lady Braves managed to slow the game down and take East Meadow out of its fast-paced rhythm. Syosset pulled away in the second half for a 59-42 victory.
"We're much better when we're aggressive defensively and when we get out on the break and get easy layups," Lady Jets coach Bethany LeSueur said. "When teams slow us down in the halfcourt, it becomes tougher from us."
In the final game before midterms, first-place Great Neck South squeaked by East Meadow, 40-39, on a jumper with less than 10 seconds remaining. The Lady Rebels, still unbeaten in conference play at the time, overcame a 10-point deficit in the second half after Anghle went down in the third quarter with a leg injury. Junior point guard Melissa Cohen, who scored a team-high 11 points, became the top priority of the Great Neck South defense, and her effectiveness in transition was curtailed. The Lady Jets did manage to get one final, good look at the basket, but the shot didn't fall.
"Melissa was really running the ball up the court and Meg Cleary hit a couple of big shots," LeSueur said, also noting that senior Michelle Beganskas and junior Sarah Elliott performed well in the paint.
Despite the loss of Anghle, the East Meadow defense continued to get stops and didn't give up the lead until 1:30 remained. "That was the toughest game to come back from," LeSueur said. "We were up 10 most of the game."
Cleary netted eight points in the loss, while Anghle had seven. Eight players in all made the scorebook, displaying the versatility that has become commonplace for the offense. A season-high nine players scored in a 49-24 victory over Plainview-JFK on Jan. 16, led by Anghle's 10. "We definitely have more kids scoring [than most teams]," LeSueur said. "We're just looking for the third person [behind Cohen and Anghle] to be consistent."
The Lady Jets close out the regular season on Monday when Freeport comes to town for a 7 p.m. tip-off. Sparked by a season-high 17 points from Anghle, East Meadow won the first meeting between the teams, 47-36, on Jan. 14.
"Experience is the big key," LeSueur said. "Even though they're losses, they see it [the progress]. That's the big thing, game experience and learning what to do [in certain situations]."
Report an inappropriate comment
Comments