Thursday, October 1, 2026
A year after defeating Baldwin by a point to claim its first-ever Long Island girls’ basketball title, Commack repeated as Class AA champions last Saturday afternoon with a 40-33 victory over the Lady Bruins before a jam-packed crowd of 2,000 at St. Joseph’s College in Patchogue.
Leanne Corso’s three-pointer midway through the third quarter ignited a 10-point run that turned a five-point deficit into a 28-23 advantage for the Lady Cougars, who took the lead for good after Jaclyn DelliSanti followed Corso’s baseline jumper with a traditional three-point play. Sophomore Casey Hearns scored the next four points and paced Commack (22-2) with 13, while sophomore Aziah Hudson led Baldwin (20-3) with 13.
“The playoffs have been Casey’s coming-out party, but we’re also a balanced team where everybody does something,” Commack head coach Denis Conroy said. “The fact that we survived Baldwin last year gave our girls confidence they could do it again. When you get to this level and face a tremendous opponent like Baldwin, you either gut it out with talent or win with intangibles. I think we’re a classic example of a talented team with all of the other things.”
The Lady Cougars, who became the first Class AA team to win back-to-back L.I. titles since North Babylon in 2007-08, advanced to face Ossining in a state semifinal on Friday at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy.
Baldwin, which entered the LIC averaging 64.5 points per game, went 8-for-16 from the foul line and struggled to score in transition. Lames ElGammal, the lone starting senior for head coach Tom Catapano’s team, had nine points and 10 rebounds and keyed a 9-0 outburst to open the second half with a basket and two free throws as the Lady Bruins surged to a 23-18 lead.
“I had to call two quick timeouts to settle us down,” Conroy said. “I didn’t think we were in danger of cracking, but we needed an answer. When Leanne stuck that three, it reenergized us.”
A runner in the lane by Hudson and Natalie Elcock’s free throw brought the Lady Bruins within 28-26 before Hearns stuck a trey at the end of the third quarter to put Commack ahead by five. A steal and layup by DelliSanti (10 points) opened the fourth to make it 33-26. Baldwin trimmed the margin to 35-31 with 1:19 remaining, but the Lady Cougars scored the next five to seal it.
“We didn’t play our typical game,” Catapano said. “I thought we defended well. We had opportunities to score, but we struggled to put the ball in the basket.”
Both teams struggled to find a rhythm in the first half, especially in the first eight minutes when they combined for just three field goals and were deadlocked at 6. “We were concerned about how quick Baldwin can strike,” Conroy said. “We’re also a strong defensive team and I thought we did a nice job weathering the storm early.”
