Sewanhaka nipped in semifinals

Make no mistake, championships are hard to come by. Every team dreams of being the top dog, but, in the end, there’s only one left standing.

Sewanhaka has been a program on the rise for the past few years, but the Lady Indians will have to wait at least another year to claim county supremacy after falling to No. 6 Garden City 46-41 in the Nassau Class A girls’ basketball semifinals. Freshman Kerry McCarraher scored 12 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to lead the Lady Trojans. Sewanhaka, the No. 7 seed, got 11 points from freshman Casey Hayes.

The Lady Indians led most of the way, and held a 32-24 lead early in the fourth quarter, but Garden City, which improved to 16-4, closed the game out on a 22- 9 run to advance to the Class A championship game, where it defeated Floral Park. Sewanhaka, which knocked off No. 2 Wantagh to advance to the semifinals, finished 14-6.

Sewanhaka head coach Alex Soupios gave the Lady Trojans their props. “Anthony Sparacia is a terrific coach,” Soupios said. “He made adjustments at the half, and his team came out and executed. They hit clutch shots in the last quarter, and it was the difference in the game.”

With the score tied at 37 and 2:02 to play, junior Tara DeAngelo, who had been held scoreless, nailed a three from the right corner to give Garden City its first lead of the game. The Lady Indians cut the lead to one on a basket by Hayes, but the Lady Trojans put the game away from the free throw line.

The first half was all Sewanhaka. With Daniella Ford running the show, the Lady Indians ran out to a 25-13 lead. Hayes, who earned All-Classification recognition, led the team with seven points, and Ford added three assists before the break. 

Ford was also tremendous on the defensive end of the floor. The sophomore point guard drew three charges and was often the first to get on the floor after loose balls

Seniors Shantell McCall, an All-County honoree who averaged 13 points per game, All-Conference forward Rachel Wisniewski, Katlyn Dempsey, and Danielle Georges played their final game at Sewanhaka.

With a slew of talented players returning, and two years of playoff experience, expect Sewanhaka to be in the hunt for a title in 2013-14. Hayes, Ford, sophomore Michelle Niles, freshman Daniella Weinschreider, and junior Jenny Pechacek make up the nucleus of those returning. Ford picked up All-County honors, with Niles earning All-Conference recognition.

Soupios was proud of his team’s accomplishment, and is excited about the future. “We set a goal to make it to the final four, and we got there,” Soupios said. “The girls played very hard, and represented the school well. Whatever we earn in the future, the girls from this team and past teams will all be a part of it. The future is very bright for us. We just took another step in the right direction.”