Historic run for Kennedy ends

Despite winning its first nine games out of the gate, including its first two against Conference A-II rivals, Kennedy was in danger of missing the Nassau Class A girls’ basketball playoffs heading into the regular-season finale.

The Lady Cougars, however, flipped the script on a Valley Stream Central squad that defeated them by 18 points in the first meeting and earned a postseason berth with a 70-65 win, thanks in large part to junior point guard Rachel Nossen’s career-high 31 points.

That season-saving effort was the start of a four-game winning streak that landed Kennedy in the semifinals for the first time in program history. Its impressive run as the No. 13 seed in the Class A tournament ended last Saturday with a 46-25 defeat to top-seeded Floral Park at Farmingdale State.

“Today just wasn’t our day,” Lady Cougars head coach Mallory Palmieri said. “I told the girls all season we had the talent to be a Final Four team. They were laser-focused and never once during the postseason did they lose sight of the end goal. It was an exciting run.”

Sophomore Erin Harkins scored 11 of her game-high 15 points in the first half for Floral Park, which advanced to face No. 2 Locust Valley in the championship game. Freshman Maya Bateau added 10 points and six blocked shots for the Lady Knights, who held Kennedy to seven points in the first half and never trailed.

The Lady Cougars, who finished 16-7 overall, missed their first 11 shots and managed just one basket in the opening quarter when junior Cameron Montalbano banked in a layup with 55 seconds to go.

Floral Park led 5-2 after eight minutes and scored the first 10 points of the second quarter as Kennedy continued to struggle offensively. Harkins nailed one of her two three-pointers in the quarter during the spurt, which saw the Lady Knights continue their gameplan of doubling Nossen whenever she touched the ball.

Nossen finished with three points. Montalbano, who picked up her fourth foul with 2:11 remaining in the third quarter with the deficit at 19, had nine points. Sophomore Jamie Maroof had all six of her points in the second half.

With Nossen and Montalbano leading the way, Kennedy, after handing Jericho in an outbracket playoff matchup at home, took to the road and knocked off No. 4 Division, an undefeated conference champ, as well as defending county and Long Island champion Sewanhaka, the No. 13-seed which beat the Lady Cougars twice during the regular season.

“Playing at Sewanhaka earlier in the season definitely helped us the second time,” Palmieri said.

Montalbano had a lights-out 33-point effort to lift Kennedy over Division, 64-60, in what was a day of upsets Feb. 20. Seniors Kenar Gelman and Dylan Manger pulled down 12 and 11 rebounds, respectively. Five days later, the Lady Cougars scored 23 of the game’s final 32 points at Sewanhaka for a 56-47 victory. Nossen and Montalbano had 19 points apiece.