Last Friday’s first-place showdown between Conference AA-I girls’ basketball rivals Baldwin and Uniondale lived up to all the hype and took more than the standard 32 minutes to decide.
Ifeanyi Ofili’s basket with seven seconds remaining in overtime lifted the visiting Lady Knights past the Lady Bruins, 44-43, in an intense back-and-forth battle that was within five points from the opening tip. Ofili, who scored just four points in regulation, had all five points in the extra four-minute quarter for Uniondale, which improved to 5-0 in conference play and 6-4 overall. The loss snapped a seven-game winning streak for Baldwin (3-1, 7-2).
“It was a physical game—the refs let us play,” Lady Bruins first-year coach Tom Catapano said. “Uniondale did a nice job of making everything difficult for us. Our girls fought as hard as they could. It’s a tough loss, and they’re upset about it.”
Baldwin, coming off impressive conference victories at Massapequa and Mepham over a four-day span, failed on two possessions in the final six seconds that could’ve won it. Senior Shayna Gatling was called for charging—her fifth foul—after releasing a running shot with two seconds left, and sophomore Alex Hampton (10 points) was barely off the mark with a three-point attempt at the buzzer after Ofili’s inbounds pass hit the ceiling and gave the ball back to the Lady Bruins.
“It was just one of those games you knew would come down to the last shot,” Uniondale coach Danielle Nicol said. “We could’ve played a better offensive game, but we did what we set out to do defensively.”
The Lady Bruins trailed by a basket after one quarter and fell behind 15-10 midway through the second before their offense enjoyed its first spurt of the game. Gatling, who was saddled with foul trouble most of the night and scored only six points after totaling 28 in wins over Massapequa and Mepham, ignited the crowd with one of her patented driving layups. Sophomore Ayanna Hudson was also instrumental in the 7-2 run that tied it at 17 at halftime, hitting a short jumper and a pair of free throws.
Hampton had six points in an evenly played third quarter, and junior Kiera Corbin (five points) provided a spark in crunch time. Uniondale led by as many as three points in the fourth but faced a 39-36 deficit with 1:05 to go after Gatling and senior Kalin Russell (nine points, nine rebounds). The Lady Knights tied it with 46 seconds left in regulation on a three-pointer by Myajha Elston.
In OT, only Ofili and Baldwin junior Courtney Jackson (four points) put the ball in the basket.
“We’ve been in three straight games decided by five points or less,” Catapano said. “We’re definitely battle-tested already. I’m really happy with how hard we’re playing. We didn’t lose because of a lack of effort.”
The Lady Bruins are back home Jan. 20 against Massapequa at 7 p.m. They defeated the Lady Chiefs, 56-54, on Jan. 2, to avenge a Class AA quarterfinal playoff loss from a year ago. Hampton, who along with Gatling scored 15 points, won it with a three-pointer with four seconds left.
