Thursday, October 1, 2026
Eighth-seeded Calhoun trailed by as many as 12 points in the third quarter of its Nassau Class AA girls’ basketball first-round matchup last Saturday against No. 9 Oceanside. But sophomore forwards Katie Healy and Honora Campbell refused to let their team suffer an early postseason exit.
The duo combined for 22 second-half points, and led the Lady Colts to a thrilling 47-46 come-from-behind victory. Healy converted a go-ahead layup with 27 seconds remaining, to help complete Calhoun’s comeback win.
“We made some great shots in the second half,” Lady Colts head coach Peter Magnuson said. “Our girls are so tenacious. They never give up and they always bring it.”
Senior Risa Zucker scored a game-high 20 points in a losing effort for the Lady Sailors. Fellow seniors Sami Bloecker, Cassie Cesario and Courtney Capobianco also played well in what proved to be their high school basketball finales.
“I don’t think we did anything wrong,” Oceanside head coach Jason Manning said. “They just played a great game and made a lot of big shots. All the credit goes to them.”
Manning’s squad struggled from the field early in the contest, registering just two made field goals over the game’s first 13 minutes. The Lady Sailors managed to keep the game close, by making 11 of their first 12 free throws attempts.
Oceanside finally saw its shots starting to fall towards the end of the first half. Zucker hit a three-pointer as time expired in the second quarter, to give her team a 25-18 advantage at the break.
The Lady Sailors began the third stanza on a 7-2 run, and seemed poised to pull away on the scoreboard. However, Healy was able to calm things down for Calhoun by scoring six consecutive points. From there the momentum seemed to swing back towards the Lady Colts.
“We were just trying to play our game and have fun,” Healy said. “We stayed calm out there, and kept passing the ball.”
Strong ball movement helped Calhoun end the quarter on a 14-4 run, and begin the fourth tied at 36. “We had a chance to put them away, but they’re a tough team,” Manning said. “Maybe with them having a home playoff game, they were able to get a little extra energy from the crowd.”
With 2:33 remaining in regulation, Campbell hit two free throws for the Lady Colts, putting them up 45-43. She finished with seven points in the fourth quarter.
Just under a minute later, Bloecker nailed a three-pointer, giving Oceanside a one-point lead. But, after Healy’s layup put Calhoun back ahead, Oceanside failed to come up with another basket in the game’s final half-minute.
“This was a real team effort,” Magnuson said, “Katie and Honora were once again two of our best players. Kimberly Pike was all over the floor, getting loose balls and rebounds. Christine Argentieri, Dana Brown and Angelina Theodores all hit big shots. The girls really stepped up and did a great job.”
