By Tony Bellisimo
The third-seeded Lady Cyclones, who trailed by as many as 10 points and were down by nine at halftime, outscored the visitors 27-13 in the second half to advance to face No. 2 Island Trees in the semis on Wednesday in Freeport. The winner moves on to the county championship game at Hofstra on March 4 at 4 p.m.
Madtes scored a game-high 19 points, and Lonergan scored all 10 of her points in the last 12 minutes. Christine LiCalzi led Garden City with 14 points.
"They wanted it more in the beginning, but we wanted it more in the end," said South Side coach Katie Cosenza. "We've been in tight spots many times before. We changed our defense to start the second half and executed a lot better offensively. It was a tough game, and a real nice win to get."
It didn't look good for the Conference V champions for a while. The score was tied at 11 after the first quarter, but Garden City took control early in the second thanks to the guard play of eighth-grader Diana Leondis (11 points) and junior Kelly Donnelly (eight). Leondis scored five points and Donnelly four in the second quarter as the Lady Trojans built a 26-17 lead at the half.
"Their guards are quick, and created most of their offense in the first half, so we went to a straight zone in hopes of containing them and it worked," said Cosenza.
A Leondis free throw opened the scoring in the second half and gave Garden City its biggest lead, but South Side wasn't about to fade. Madtes began a 7-0 spurt with a three-pointer and capped it with one of her five assists, feeding senior Kristen Bretscher for two of her four points in the third quarter. "That run got the crowd going, which was something we needed," said Cosenza.
The Lady Cyclones (15-5 overall) also needed Lonergan, who kicked into another gear after some unfriendly rims helped keep her scoreless in the first half. "Tara's come up big all season long, and I told her to keep taking the ball to the basket," Cosenza said. "I was confident some of her shots would start falling.
Lonergan got on the score sheet midway through the third with a pair of free throws, and hit three of her next four field-goal attempts, the last of which put South Side ahead 38-35 with 5:55 remaining. Madtes's 10-foot jumper on the previous possession had given the Lady Cyclones the lead for good. Lonergan added two pressure foul shots to make it 40-37, and senior Lauren Heitshusen scored in traffic with 1:26 left to secure the team a trip to the semis.
"This game was a microcosm of our season," Garden City coach Anthony Sparacia said. "We played well in spurts. We did whatever we wanted in the first half but couldn't sustain it."
Cyclones coach looks back
Seeded fifth in its conference heading into the season, South Side is one of only four Nassau Class A teams still playing. The Lady Cyclones, who captured the Conference V title by winning 11 of 12 games, carried their momentum into the playoffs and sent both Sewanhaka and Garden City home to reach the county semifinals after a 7-11 finish last winter.
"Our chemistry and teamwork is better than it was last season," third-year coach Cosenza said after last Saturday's quarterfinal win over Garden City. "I knew we had talent, and more importantly I knew we had 13 girls that wanted to play and work hard."
Despite returning only two starters and three others with varsity experience, Cosenza built a challenging non-league schedule that proved just that. South Side entered conference play at 2-4 and was staring at early matchups with Floral Park and New Hyde Park, two teams that reached the Class A semifinals last season. "I was worried about the initial stretch," said Cosenza. "We were still in the process of gelling."
But settling on a starting lineup of seniors Lauren Heitschusen, Tara Mahoney and Kristen Bretscher, junior Sara Madtes and freshman Tara Lonergan from the get-go paid immediate dividends. In the first few weeks of conference play, the Lady Cyclones took down each of the top four seeds. "Our confidence soared," said Cosenza. "We trailed most of the time against Floral Park and New Hyde Park, but gutted it out and found ways to win."
South Side won its first nine conference games before losing to Great Neck South, but bounced back with victories over West Hempstead and New Hyde Park to clinch first place. "Our main goal was to make the playoffs," Cosenza said. "To win such a tough conference was amazing. The girls deserve a lot of credit."
Not stopping there, Mahoney (13 points), Heitshusen (12), Lonergan (nine), sophomore Katie Norwood (eight), Madtes (seven) and sophomore Katie Starsia (six) led a 56-44 win over Sewanhaka in the playoff opener on Feb. 22.
Madtes (19 points, five assists) starred in the victory over Garden City that moved South Side into the Final Four along with defending champion Wantagh, Floral Park, and the Lady Cyclones' opponent in the semis, Island Trees.
