By ANDREW McCLURE
If proponents of this adage are looking for proof, they need only look at the South Side girls' basketball season.
After starting by winning four of their first five games, the Lady Cyclones struggled down the stretch. Their tough finish culminated with a playoff ouster on their home floor at the hands of Westbury.
Senior guard Shemique Hooks scored 18 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to lead the 10th-seeded Lady Dragons to a 52-46 win in the first round of the Nassau Class A playoffs last Thursday night. Hooks scored seven points during a 15-0 Westbury run in the third quarter. Katie Starsia led the seventh-seeded Lady Cyclones with 14 points.
The loss was tough for coach Katie Cosenza. "We just didn't play as well as we can," she said. "We battled all year in a tough conference with the new ability-based format. I think those games kind of took their toll on us."
South Side ran out to a quick 7-0 lead, and it looked like the Lady Dragons would be no match. But, Westbury shook off the jitters and fought back. Hooks closed out the opening quarter with a long three, and then a lay in with just two seconds on the clock to cut South Side's lead to 9-7.
Neither team established momentum in a back-and-forth second quarter. However, both Tara and Megan Lonergan picked up their second foul midway through the quarter. South Side's Lizzy Ahern scored four points in the final three minutes of the quarter as the Lady Cyclones took a 17-16 halftime lead.
The seesaw battle changed when Tara Lonergan, who came in averaging 15 points per game, picked up her third foul with 3:47 left in the third quarter. After an outstanding display of hustle by South Side's Amanda Roman led to a layup by Ahern, and a 26-22 lead, the Lady Dragons took over. All five of Westbury's starters scored as a four-point deficit became a 37-26 Westbury lead at the end of three quarters.
After falling behind 43-30 with 4:20 to play, the Lady Cyclones made a run. Starsia scored seven consecutive points to bring South Side back. The spurt didn't surprise her coach. "Katie is the type of player who can lead a comeback," Cosenza said. "She scores and the rest of the team feeds off her."
A basket by sophomore Colleen Burke pulled the Lady Cyclones to within 47-44 with less than a minute to play, but they could get no closer. South Side (10-9) missed all 10 of its free throws in the second half.
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