By ANDREW McCLURE
Senior forward Alisha Steele scored 21 points and pulled down 25 rebounds to lead the Lady Mules. Wyandanch was led by guard Kim Weathers, who scored 19 points and dished out seven assists.
The Runnin’ Lady Warriors, who improved to 21-5, led by as many as 17 points and controlled the game throughout, however the Lady Mules made a second half run to cut the lead to 52-46 with 5:04 to play. In the end, Malverne’s 23 turnovers were just too much to overcome. “That was the difference in the game,” coach Lisa Gress said of the giveaways. “You can’t hand the ball over to a strong team like Wyandanch and expect to win. They were the better team.”
The game began in bizarre fashion with both teams, perhaps feeling the pressure of a title game, missing wide open layups in the opening 30 seconds. Consecutive baskets by senior point guard Brittany Jenkins (19 points) gave Malverne an early 6-3 lead, but it was short-lived. Wyandanch answered by going on 11-0 run to take a commanding lead that it would never relinquish.
With the Wyandanch guards dominating, the Lady Mules were struck with another blow when junior forward Brianna Cunningham picked up her second foul midway through the opening quarter. Cunningham, who has developed a reputation for playing well in big spots, finished with 10 points and nine rebounds.
The Lady Mules at times looked overmatched, but they put forth a tremendous rally down the stretch. Trailing 52-39 with less than a minute to play in the third quarter, and seemingly running out of gas, Malverne ran off seven consecutive points to get within six. However, the guard play of the Runnin’ Lady Warriors continued to wear down the Lady Mules to seal the championship.
Gress gave Wyandanch, which captured its ninth Long Island crown, plenty of credit. “Their defensive pressure was too much for us,” Gress said. “They wore us down and forced us to make way too many turnovers. We made a nice run down the stretch to make it interesting.”
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