Thursday, October 1, 2026
After winning 16 regular-season games and its first conference championship since the 2010-11 campaign, South Side’s hopes for a deep run in the Nassau Class A girls’ basketball playoffs were doused by 13th-seeded Manhasset in a first-round matchup last Friday.
With fourth-seeded South Side’s leading scorer Jourdin Thomas saddled with her fourth personal foul midway through the third quarter, the visiting Lady Indians used an eight-point run to take the lead and never relinquished it on the way to a 54-51 upset victory.
Erin Barry and Lauren Merola had 14 points apiece and combined for a dozen of Manhasset’s 18 in the fourth quarter as it advanced to meet No. 5 Garden City in the quarterfinals. Thomas, a junior, poured in 13 of her game-high 20 in the first half when the Lady Cyclones led by as many as eight. Senior Maria Karanasos added 17 points and 10 rebounds.
“They probably shot as well from three-point range as they have all season, and we just missed too many shots in close,” South Side head coach Dan Ferrick said. “They executed their game plan better than we did.
“It’s disappointing, but I just told the girls they’ve got a lot to be proud of,” he added. “It wasn’t our night, but to say we won 16 games and a conference title is an excellent season.”
South Side (16-4) entered the playoffs riding a four-game winning streak, including a key come-from-behind 39-33 victory over Wantagh on Feb. 2 that put it in the driver’s seat in Conference A-II. Manhasset (12-8), which finished third in A-I, extended its win streak to six.
“We saw a very high level of competition throughout the season,” Lady Indians head coach Lauren Sadeh said. “Beating teams like Garden City and Sewanhaka gave us confidence in high-pressure games like this one.”
The Lady Cyclones trailed by as many as five but led 25-17 in a back-and-forth opening half that saw the visitors close with seven straight points to shave the margin to 25-24. Thomas, who finished the season averaging 16.7 points per game, scored nine points in the second quarter.
Thomas was also a factor early in the third, adding five points before picking up her fourth personal foul with 4:17 remaining and South Side holding a 31-26 advantage. Manhasset responded with a momentum-changing run, sparked by treys from Barry and Leah Ritterband and never relinquished the lead over the final 14 minutes.
“We knew their point guard was very fast and they had at least one strong rebounder,” Ferrick said.
Barry was clutch in the fourth quarter and gave the Lady Indians their biggest lead — 41-34 — with a layup off a steal with 6:44 remaining. Sophomore Gianna Mauro’s basket brought South Side back within 46-45 with 2:31 to go, but Merola stuck a clutch trey less than a minute later and Barry went 4-for-6 from the foul line in the final 21 seconds to seal the outcome.
