Thursday, October 1, 2026
Defending Nassau County and Long Island Class A girls’ basketball champion Wantagh trailed Plainedge by as many as 12 points in the second half of Thursday night’s semifinal but still had a shot to force overtime.
That shot was never attempted, however, as Plainedge’s swarming defense in the final eight seconds sealed the Warriors’ fate and brought it one step closer to its second county title in five seasons.
The fourth-seeded Red Devils held on for a thrilling 44-41 victory over top-seeded Wantagh at Farmingdale State College. They’ll meet No. 3 Floral Park in the championship game next Friday at 5:30 p.m. on the same court.
“We pride ourselves so much on defense and that last possession epitomized the girls’ hard work and attention to detail,” Plainedge head coach Sarah Tansey said. “It’s a proud moment. That’s a great team we just beat.”
The Red Devils (16-6) also avenged a pair of regular-season losses to Wantagh (19-3), which captured the Conference A-1 title. They got a game-high 17 points from junior Peyton Wise, who missed crunch time with cramping in both calves, 12 points from junior Michela Netto, and 10 points from junior point guard Allison Younghans.
“It was tough to watch the end of the game, but I knew my teammates had my back,” said Wise, who had 13 points at halftime as Plainedge built a 24-16 lead. “The defense carried us.”
Five days after the Red Devils held fifth-seeded North Shore to a season-low 25 points, they presented a different look to the Warriors with Younghans getting the defensive assignment against junior standout Kayla Mannix.
“That was one big change we made and Allie did an unbelievable job against one of the best players in the county,” Tansey said.
Mannix, who totaled 37 points in Wantagh’s two wins over Plainedge, was held to 11 this time. She also had a dozen rebounds and 5 blocks.
But she didn’t score in the third quarter when the Warriors rallied from a 29-17 deficit. Sophomores Makayla McNeil (11 points) and Isabelle Ferraro (10), along with senior point guard Sabrina Asadurian (7) did most of the damage as the defending champs made it a one-possession game several times.
“We got into a bunch of foul trouble and kept fighting,” Wantagh head coach Stan Bujacich said. “We had it down to one possession more than once, but we couldn’t get all the way back. Nineteen wins is a great season.”
Clutch treys by Netto and Younghans allowed the Red Devils to take a 35-30 lead into the fourth.
“We played two close games with them already so we were expecting nothing else,” Younghans said. “We played our hearts out.”
Baskets by junior Samantha Zaccaro, Wise and freshman Maddie Belz had Plainedge in good shape leading 43-36 with 4:22 remaining. But then Wise hobbled off the court and the offense went cold, leaving the outcome in doubt until the defense slammed the door.
“We were tiring late, but the girls kept their composure,” Tansey said. “When that buzzer sounded, it was pure joy.”
