By TONY BELLISSIMO
The Lady Seahawks put on another fine offensive display, beating visiting Port Washington 53-31 on Dec. 23 behind 15 points apiece from guards Nicole Sullivan and Nicolette Sands. It was their second Conference AA-III victory and fourth overall out of the gate.
“We have unselfish players who really look for one another,” Coach Theresa Schmidt said. “We’re doing a good job of pushing the ball up the court. That’s one of the things we wanted to do this season because we’re a smaller team and we have two quick guards who handle the ball well.”
Spotting Port Washington some height was nothing new for Carey, although it didn’t stop junior Courtney Norell from controlling the boards. She grabbed 10 rebounds and just missed a double-double, chipping in nine points. Sands, a sophomore who added eight rebounds, scored nine points in the first quarter alone. “I think the girls enjoy the up-tempo,” Schmidt said. “We’ve come out strong in every game.”
Six different Lady Seahawks scored in an impressive first quarter and senior Alison Tuohy came off the bench to hit baskets on consecutive possessions early in the second to give them a 22-6 lead. Port Washington cut the margin to 11 points by halftime and got within nine when Kim Doyle, its only senior, opened second half with a layup. But Carey’s lead was never in doubt. Sullivan scored eight points in the third quarter, including a 4-for-4 performance from the foul line.
Sullivan, a senior, opened the season with a 26-point effort to lead a 72-44 win over Long Beach and followed with 16 points in a 71-31 blowout of Valley Stream South. She was held to nine points in the conference opener against Valley Stream Central, but five of those came in the fourth quarter of a 52-44 comeback victory and Sands (16 points, 10 rebounds, five assists) and senior Ashley Kopsick (14 points, eight rebounds) picked up the scoring slack.
Carey pulled away from the Lady Eagles late in the fourth quarter and outscored them 18-11 over the final eight minutes. Sands had six points and two steals in the quarter. The teams meet again at Central on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. “I projected Nicolette to be a starter this season,” Schmidt said, “but I didn’t expect her to play at such a high level this early.”
The Lady Seahawks averaged 62 points through the first four games. Kopsick added 13 points against Long Beach and along with Sands and Tuohy had nine points versus Valley Stream South. “We’re off to an excellent start,” Schmidt said. “We’re getting better and more confident with each game.”
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