By STEVE SINISKI
On the heels of a 1-17 campaign, East Meadow (1-4 overall, 1-1 in Conference AA-IV) has already notched its first victory of this season and continues to fight down to the buzzer. Take for example, a 38-36 defeat at Bellmore-Kennedy on Dec. 20. The Lady Jets trimmed a three-point deficit to two on a free throw by Jamie Tracy with 3.7 seconds to play and nearly turned in an improbable win seconds later.
On the inbound play following Tracy's free throw, the Lady Cougars looked for the long pass downcourt in the hopes of killing off the rest of the clock. Sophomore Hillary Hoffman, however, picked the pass out of the air just inside the halfcourt line and managed to fire off a wide-open three-point try at the buzzer that didn't fall.
"We had a nice steal and didn't give up," coach Marybeth Collins said. "We had two opportunities in the final four seconds to make a shot."
The team's four defeats, including a pair in Conference AA-IV, have been by a total of just 15 points, or an average of 3.75 per game. "It's really important because it shows my kids aren't going to give up," Collins said. "One of these days, the shots are going to fall."
Freshman guard Melissa Cohen scored 13 points, while senior guard Nikki Green matched that with 13 of her own, including six of the team's first eight points in the first quarter. "Our guards have been strong for us in all areas," Collins said.
With Green and Cohen having little trouble breaking down the Lady Cougars man-to-man defense on the way to the paint, East Meadow opened up its largest lead of the game, 25-19 in the third quarter. Kennedy tweaked its scheme, however, opting instead to go to a 1-3-1 zone and managed to cut off the easy entry the guards enjoyed for the first 20 minutes. After eight straight points by the Lady Cougars Ina Li gave Kennedy its first lead of the game, 27-26, with 6:30 to play, the team's traded leads seven times down the stretch. A three-pointer by Lady Cougars forward Kim Smith in the final minute ended the seesaw fourth quarter.
The Lady Jets are back on the floor this Tuesday to kick off a three-game Conference AA-IV road swing. Up first is Long Beach at 4:45 p.m., and the Marines boast one of Nassau County's top offensive powers-senior point guard Jasmine Pitts. East Meadow then travels to Mepham (Jan. 11, 4:45 p.m.) and closes out the road swing at Baldwin on Jan. 15 at 7 p.m.
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