By Brian Dessart
"This is a special group of girls," said the Rocks' third-year coach, Karin Leary. "We worked and built this program to where we wanted it to be."
Oyster Bay took the early lead 10 seconds into the first quarter on a two-point shot by Tillie Mirman, and East Rockaway was down by three points at the end of the quarter, 9-6.
The turning point came in the second quarter, as three consecutive two-point shots by Melissa Gelb in a span of less than two minutes gave East Rockaway a 12-9 lead. But after a personal foul was called on the Rocks' Sarah D'Archangelis with three seconds to go in the half, Oyster Bay's Kristen Serikstad tied the score at 14.
"I knew I had to step it up and get the team going," said Gelb, who finished with eight points.
The third quarter proved to be a battle of wills, each side looking to the other to surrender. With the score tied three times and neither team getting ahead by more than four points, Oyster Bay's Sarah Satory hit a right-side bank shot with 27 seconds remaining to put Oyster Bay up by one, 26-25.
In the fourth quarter, East Rockaway showed the greatest wrist strength. With three baskets by Meredith Levison, the Rocks grabbed a six-point lead, 34-28, halfway through the quarter. Oyster Bay never got closer then four points in the final minutes, as East Rockaway went seven for eight from the free-throw line in the last minute of the contest -- five of those points coming from senior Caitlin Tamashiro.
"We had to wait 18 days to play this game, and it wasn't fair," said Oyster Bay's second-year coach, Val Halesworth. "It was like playing our first game all over again."
Levison finished with 12 points, and Amanda Schenck added 10. Oyster Bay's Katie Daub finished with nine.
"This is the best team I've ever played on," said Gelb. "This championship is a culmination of four to five years of playing together. It finally paid off."
East Rockaway played Southhold for the Long Island title after the Herald's deadline. The results will appear in the March 13 edition.
