Playoffs likely for Lady Falcons

Despite senior standout Ugo Nwaigwe being plagued by foul trouble and poor shooting and without two key contributors due to injury, Valley Stream South hung tough against visiting Floral Park last Friday night before suffering a 46-40 defeat in Conference A-III girls’ basketball action.

Julia Schmidt had 14 points and eight rebounds and Kaela Hilaire added 12 points and seven assists to lead the Lady Knights, who trailed after three quarters but outscored the Lady Falcons (6-4 in conference play, 8-6 overall) by a 15-7 margin in the fourth. Senior Catherine Powell had 13 points and junior Angela Aragona chipped in 11 to lead the hosts. Nwaigwe, who had four fouls by late third quarter and fouled out with 44 seconds remaining, had eight points and 14 rebounds.

“It was nice to see us battle back from seven points down at the half, but we were a little careless with some possessions in the fourth quarter,” VSS coach Dan Drumm said. “The game could’ve gone either way.”

Both teams are likely headed to the playoffs and showed why they can be factors in the Class A tournament—their ability to score from the perimeter and inside the paint. What Hilaire and Aragona lack in size they more than make up for in quickness, while Schmidt and Nwaigwe can dominate down low.

Nwaigwe controlled the boards again, but the put-backs weren’t falling in what was her second unmemorable game against Floral Park. She had just three points in the first meeting when the Lady Knights won 46-34 on Jan. 8. Earlier last week, Nwaigwe had 23 points and 15 rebounds to lead a victory over Great Neck North.  

With Nwaigwe tagged with her fourth foul with 1:48 left in the third, Aragona, Powell and junior Jessica Liberato picked up the slack last Friday night and sparked a run that erased a 24-17 halftime deficit and vaulted South in front 33-31 heading into the fourth. Aragona (eight) hit a pair of threes in the third, while Powell added two mid-range jumpers. “Hitting from the outside made all the difference in the third quarter,” Drumm said. “Our guards stepped up.”   

Hilaire was the biggest difference in the fourth quarter. She scored three straight buckets to give Floral Park a 37-33 lead, and it never looked back. Valerie Fox went 3-for-4 from the foul line in the final minute to seal the outcome.

The Lady Falcons played without junior forward Christie DeMarco (sprained ankle) for a fifth straight game and freshman guard Janise Hernandez (fractured ankle) for a second game. DeMarco could return as early as next week, but Hernandez appears done for the season since she won’t be cleared until the end of the month.

Conference games against Glen Cove and North Shore remain. With a two-game cushion over both Glen Cove and Great Neck North, lots would have to go wrong for South to miss the postseason.

“Making the playoffs was our main goal,” Drumm said. “If we can finish in third place, we’ll get a decent seed. We’ve played in the 10-7 game before and won on the road.”