Baldwin tops Longwood for L.I. championship

A week after Baldwin squeezed past Syosset for its eighth consecutive county title despite being held to a season-low 31 points, the Lady Bruins didn’t take long to make an offensive statement Saturday as their signature defense gave Longwood fits throughout the Long Island Class AA girls’ basketball championship game.

All five Baldwin starters scored in the opening quarter as it exploded for 21 points and led all the way in a convincing 53-32 victory over Longwood at Eastport-South Manor High School. Sophomore Renelle Grannum scored a game-high 16 points, freshman Payton Dulin added 15, and junior Dallysshya Moreno had 13 points and 15 rebounds as the Lady Bruins captured their fifth L.I. crown in 13th-year head coach Tom Catapano’s tenure.

“So many people doubted us because we have such a young team, but we know how hard we work and the talent we have in our gym every day,” Moreno said. “We really emphasized a strong start coming off last week’s performance. Coach has been saying we still had our best game in our pocket and I’m glad we showed it.”

Giselle Harris scored 9 points to lead Longwood (22-2), which defeated Baldwin, 48-43, the last time Long Island championships were played three seasons ago. The Lions were held to 11 second-half points in the much-anticipated rematch and saw their 16-game win streak snapped.

“I couldn’t be prouder of this group,” Catapano said. “We survived against Syosset when we weren’t at our best, but I had a feeling with the nerves out of our system we’d play loose and a lot better than we did a week ago.

“Our offense was really rolling in the first half and I thought our defense was just amazing again,” he added.

Baldwin (17-4) advanced to the state Final Four in Troy and will meet either Albany or Cicer-North Syracuse in a semifinal on Friday at Hudson Valley Community College at 3:15 p.m.  

“We were training all season for this moment and it feels amazing,” said Grannum, who along with Dulin hit a pair of three-pointers in the first quarter to help build a 13-point lead. “We watched about 10 Longwood game films to prepare,” she added. “We put in tons of hours. Coach always says ‘when hard work meets opportunity, something special can happen.’”

Defense has been a Lady Bruins’ staple throughout Catapano’s helm and for a second straight game they shut down an elite opponent. After limiting Syosset’s Lilah Grubman, who entered the Nassau final averaging 16 points per game, to one field goal and a pair of free throws, Baldwin became the first team all season to not allow double-digit points to Longwood’s Taydra Simpson.

Simpson, who scored 11 points as a freshman to help the Lions to the L.I. title in March of 2019, was held to 7 on Saturday, nearly one-third of her 20.3 per game average.

Catapano credited the relentless defensive effort of junior Katelyn Simpson, as well as senior Paris Nosworthy, and Moreno’s dominance on the boards as keys to victory.

“Taydra Simpson is a great player and so is Katelyn Simpson, who did a tremendous job,” Catapano noted. “The other thing is we watched many games where Longwood crushed opponents on the glass. Dallysshya made sure that didn’t happen to us.”

Grannum, who scored 14 points in the first half, drained a trey with 2:30 remaining in the second quarter as Baldwin to equaled its output against Syosset and led 31-17. It was 36-21 at halftime and Longwood managed just one basket in the third quarter as the margin swelled to 20.

“We’re one big family and it’s an incredible feeling,” Moreno said.    
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