East Rockaway wins L.I. title

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As Nassau’s lone Class C school, East Rockaway had to play its usual waiting game after the basketball regular season ended while the rest of the county conducted weeklong tournaments featuring as many as 20 teams.

But first-year head coach Cheri Poland said the mostly inexperienced Lady Rocks embraced the downtime, practiced hard and worked on their weaknesses. “It’s a long season, and when you’re playing as many as three games in a week, it’s tough to work on everything you want to work on,” she said.

East Rockaway’s improved chemistry was on display Monday afternoon when they rallied from an early 11-point deficit to beat Pierson, 54-43, to capture the Long Island Class C championship/Regional Semifinal at Newfield High School in Selden.

Senior Hunter Vertuccio scored 14 of her game-high 27 points in the first half, and sophomore Riley O’Hagan had eight of her 11 points in a pivotal third quarter as the Lady Rocks (9-11) won their second L.I. title in three years. Senior Chastin Giles led Pierson with 22 points.

“We played well in spurts throughout the season, but today we showed how much we’ve grown,” Poland said. “We were off for three weeks, but we had a great effort against Carle Place in the Nassau B/C game last Monday. We were within four points of them in the fourth quarter, and that performance was a real confidence booster.”

The 54 points was the third-most East Rockaway posted in 20 games. Sophomore Katy Howard added 10 points and 10 rebounds, including the go-ahead basket in the final minute of the second quarter for a 22-21 halftime lead. Sophomore Theresa Lynch had four points.

“The girls did a great job of keeping their composure early,” Poland said. “We started slow, and I called timeout to tell them it was now or never to show up. The message was step up our game, or we’re going home.”

After outscoring the Lady Whalers 15-6 in the second to lead for the first time at intermission, O’Hagan kept East Rockaway’s momentum going by nailing a trey on the opening possession of the second half. She closed the third quarter with another shot from behind the arc that hit nothing but net, and the Lady Rocks were suddenly up 14.

“The third quarter was key for us,” Poland said of the 19-point outburst. “Riley’s spent a lot of extra time in the gym, and she came through with some big shots.”

Pierson (13-9) made a final push in the fourth quarter behind Giles, whose three threes coupled with freshman Meridith Spolarich’s four points cut East Rockaway’s lead to 45-41 with 3:30 remaining. But five points from Vertuccio, who hit 10 of 13 free throws, and four from Howard sealed the outcome.

“Hunter had a heck of a game and was a true leader today,” Poland said of Vertuccio, who also defended Giles.

East Rockaway advances to either Millbrook or Haldane in the Regional Finals at a site and time to be determined this Sunday, with a spot in the state tournament going to the winner.

“We’re a pretty young team, and we weren’t used to being on the court together before this season,” Vertuccio said. “We’ve become closer and more comfortable. We’ve been moving the ball quicker and creating more offense.”