Thursday, October 1, 2026
Despite scoring only 11 points and trailing Uniondale by five at halftime of Sunday’s Nassau Class AAA girls’ basketball semifinal, Massapequa didn’t hit the panic button.
“I wasn’t overly concerned about struggling on offense, but we needed to be better on defense,” Chiefs head coach Billy Herr said. “I told the girls the offense would come around and to just keep shooting.”
A 20-point third quarter and 19-point fourth proved the difference in third-seeded Massapequa’s 50-41 come-from-behind win over the upset-minded Knights at Farmingdale State College. Senior Savanna Appleton scored 12 of her 18 points in the fourth to lead the rally as the Chiefs punched their ticket to the finals where they’ll face top-seeded Baldwin Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on the same court.
“We stayed positive and had a good talk at halftime,” Appleton said. “We woke up in the second half and we’re excited to get to face Baldwin.”
Massapequa, which got 10 points from junior Molly Hoffman and 7 from senior Victoria O’Neill, overcame a second straight monster playoff effort from Uniondale senior standout Zahara Saintyl, who had 24 points, 12 rebounds and 6 steals. She picked up her fourth personal foul with 5:06 remaining in the third quarter but never left the game.
The seventh-seeded Knights appeared in big trouble, trailing 38-31 midway through the fourth after Massapequa, behind Appleton, Hoffman and a clutch trey by senior Maeve Schiereck, enjoyed a run where it scored 16 of 20.
But it was quickly knotted at 38 after baskets by seniors Saintyl, Kayla Reid (from long range) and point guard Eniola Adisa. With exactly four minutes left, Appleton put the Chiefs (19-3) ahead for good with a driving layup.
“Really proud of the girls,” Uniondale head coach Nolan Dunkley said. “They battled the entire game just like they did all season.”
The Knights (9-10) advanced to the semifinals in upset fashion and avenged a lopsided regular-season defeat at Freeport in the process when it eliminated the second-seeded Red Devils, 44-34, in a quarterfinal matchup Feb. 21.
Saintyl was nothing short of dominant, hitting for 28 points to lead the way. All but one of her points came from the floor where she shot 13-for-18.
“She wasn’t settling for just outside shots, she was aggressive to the basket and unstoppable,” Dunkley said of Saintyl’s performance.
Adisa added 9 points for the Knights, who took charge by outscoring Freeport 15-4 in the third quarter. Just 12 days earlier, Uniondale suffered a 59-25 loss on the same court.
Massapequa, which topped Uniondale 56-39 during the regular season, rolled to a 68-34 quarterfinal victory over No. 6 Port Washington Feb. 21. Sophomore Sienna Erker had 18 points and 8 rebounds, while Hoffman (13) and Appleton (11) also scored in double figures.
