Lady Bruins cruise into semis

If the economy’s fortunes were trending up as rapidly Baldwin’s girls’ varsity basketball team, there’d be plenty more happy people walking the streets. The second-seeded Lady Bruins advanced to the Nassau Class AA semifinals after press time with a resounding 53-30 victory over No. 10 Syosset on Feb. 17.

Just two seasons ago, Baldwin (14-4 overall) was playing in Conference AA-III. Now, the program stands one win away from playing for the county championship.

Junior Courtney Jackson, normally relied on to be the defensive stopper, flashed her offensive skill in the quarterfinal win over the Lady Braves, scoring a game-high 20 points to go along with nine rebounds and six steals. “She guards every team’s best player,” Baldwin first-year coach Tom Catapano said, noting that Jackson excelled in transition against Syosset. “She does all the dirty work.”

The Lady Bruins limited Syosset to single-digit point totals in every quarter thanks in large part to a full-court press anchored by Jackson’s presence at the top. Senior Shayna Gatling scored 11 points and added nine rebounds, while junior Katie Green and sophomore Amber Harrison each contributed eight points. “We pressed a lot and did some good things in terms of getting points in transition,” Catapano said.

A close game at intermission—Baldwin led by five—the defense truly took control over the final two quarters, as the Lady Bruins outscored the Lady Braves, 31-13.

To advance to the program’s first Nassau title game since 1999, Baldwin faced off against No. 3 Massapequa on Wednesday, the third meeting between the teams this season. The Lady Bruins won the first two battles behind a pair of strong performances from sophomore point guard Alex Hampton. She totaled 33 points, and hit a game-winning three-pointer in the closing seconds of the first matchup. “[Advancing] has got to go through them one way or another,” Catapano said of the Lady Chiefs, who knocked Baldwin out of the playoffs last season and are annually one of the top teams in Nassau.

Entering the postseason on a high note after outlasting Farmingdale, 68-60 in double overtime on Feb. 8, the Lady Bruins also earned a first-round bye in the Class AA playoffs based on their second place finish in Conference AA-I. But as much confidence as the earlier wins over Massapequa may bring, Baldwin was well aware of how difficult the task of knocking off the Lady Chiefs for a third consecutive game would be. “The first thing we’ve got to do is make everything difficult for them.” Catapano said, of a Lady Chiefs team that waltzed into the semifinals off a 26-point quarterfinal win. “We want to steer their dribblers. We have to get them out of their rhythm.”

The semifinal winner advances to face either top-seeded Uniondale or No. 4 MacArthur on Saturday at 4:15 p.m. at C.W. Post.