Lady Rocks nipped in county final

Eighth-grader Lindsey O’Sullivan’s running one-hander, just inside the free throw line, gave Friends Academy the lead with 15 seconds to play, and the Lady Quakers held on for a 46-42 win over East Rockaway in the Nassau Class C girls basketball championship game at C.W. Post’s Pratt Recreation Center last Sunday.

It’s the third county title and second straight for Friends.

Moments earlier, senior forward Ally Lark’s rebound and short fade away jumper had given the Lady Rocks a 42-41 lead. But it would be their last basket of the season. O’Sullivan led all scorers with a career-high 25 points, including 15 in the final eight minutes. Junior Jessica Cerasoli led East Rockaway with nine points.

Lady Rocks coach Karin Leary gave O’Sullivan her due. “We defended her pretty well on that last play, but she made a tough shot,” Leary said. “We knew it was going to be a tight game, because the teams are pretty evenly matched. We split the two times we met during the season, and both games were very close. I felt like we were in pretty good position, but we just missed too many layups.”

Neither team could muster much offense in the early going. The Lady Rocks held an 8-5 lead after one quarter. O’Sullivan started to get on track in the second quarter. She scored eight of her 25 points in the quarter as the Lady Quakers cut the East Rockaway lead to 19-18 at the half. 

Friends got into foul trouble in the third quarter, putting the Lady Rocks in position to do some damage from the foul line. Sophomore Gina Skelly used her athleticism to drive to the basket and get to the line. She scored all five of her points from the free throw line. East Rockaway would shoot just 11-for-25 from the line.

The teams took the floor in the fourth quarter with the Lady Rocks holding a 30-26 lead. O’Sullivan, who was held scoreless in the third quarter, was unstoppable. Each time the Orange & Black scored, O’Suliivan, who was named the game’s Most Valuable Player, would answer.

After Lark hit two free throws and Julia Koebert dropped one of two, East Rockaway had a 40-38 lead, but O’Sullivan converted a traditional three-point play to put the Quakers up 41-40 with 2:08 to play.

After O’Sullivan’s final bucket, East Rockaway junior Taylor Cussen made a strong move to the basket only have her shot blocked by Rose Mangiorotti.