Oceanside's playoff hopes fade
Daniel becomes program's all-time leading scorer
Oceanside’s quest for a spot in the Nassau Class AA girls’ basketball playoffs took a considerable hit last Friday when a cold shooting night resulted in a 42-25 defeat at Syosset.
Senior Woodlyn Daniel, who last month became the program’s all-time leading scorer, accounted for all but seven of the Lady Sailors’ points with eight field goals and two free throws. Rachel Quinn led Syosset with 11 points.
“It was one of those games that wasn’t good from the beginning,” Oceanside coach Jason Manning said. “Syosset had a lot of energy and shot well from the outside, and we didn’t shoot well at all.”
The Lady Braves led by seven after the first quarter, took a 19-9 lead into halftime, and increased the margin to 15 heading into the fourth. The loss dropped the Lady Sailors to 2-7 in conference play and 6-8 overall. “The way it looks, we have to run the table in the last three games to have a shot at playoffs,” Manning explained. “We’ve played pretty competitively. We just have to take it one at a time.”
If only three games remain, Manning said he’ll enjoy coaching Daniel and the rest of the seniors for their last 96 minutes of high school basketball. On Jan. 15, in a 45-37 home loss to Freeport, Daniel broke Oceanside’s career scoring record in the second half on the way to a 19-point effort. She entered that game with 750 career points, only seven behind Devin Rhodes’ mark. Now, with Hempstead, Farmingdale and Freeport left on the regular-season schedule, Daniel sits at 812.
“She’s such a special kid,” Manning said. “What she’s done over a four-year period at the varsity level, averaging a double-double, is pretty impressive. She also ranks near the top of her graduating class with a weighted average of about 103.”
Daniel averaged 20.3 points over a three-game stretch in January, including a 24-point outing at Hempstead. Her career high of 26 came in the first meeting against Syosset.
Replacing Daniel and Maggie O’Keefe in the frontcourt next season will be difficult, Manning said. Junior Veronica Miller will be the team’s most accomplished forward, while sophomore twins Claire and Megan McNamara lead the backcourt. Claire hit for 13 points in a 52-38 loss at undefeated Massapequa on Jan. 18 that saw the Lady Sailors cut a 15-point halftime deficit down to seven in the second half. “The fight we showed at Massapequa was great,” Manning said.
