By TONY BELLISSIMO
Down by as many as 10 points in the second half, the Valley Stream Central girls basketball team staged a furious rally at Calhoun last Friday but came up short as the Lady Colts won it 54-52 on a Nadine Vasquez lay-up with 28 seconds remaining.
"There were some positives to take from the game even though we lost," Lady Eagles coach Denise Schatz said. "It came down to rebounding and second and third chances and that was the difference. We just have to pick up the pieces and move on."
Central (2-2 in Conference II, 4-5 overall) trailed 14-12 after the first quarter and 38-29 at half-time. The teams combined for 41 points in the second quarter with Calhoun accounting for 24 of them.
"They hit some big shots in the second quarter and it put them on pace to score about 80 points," Schatz said. "But we tightened up the defense and chipped away in the second half."
Junior forward Stacy Schultz, who scored a game-high 22 points, hit a 10-foot jumper with 38 seconds left to tie the contest at 52. That set the stage for Vasquez' heroics. Junior point guard Keri Kelty added 11 points for the Lady Eagles. Vasquez had 16 points and guard Chrissy Arnone added 15 for Calhoun, which improved to 2-2 in Conference II.
"We're not going to look back at the loss," Schatz said. "I'm content with where we stand after four conference games. We're on equal ground. We won two and we lost two so far and we have two tough games coming up. It's a learning process and we have to keep working hard and become more consistent."
The loss to the Lady Colts snapped a two-game winning streak for Central, which beat Port Washington (61-40) and Long Beach (69-43) handily. Four players scored in double figures in the victory over Port Washington. Schultz (16), Darlene Barone (11), Stephanie Filiaut (10) and Meghan Mannion (10) combined for all but five of Central's points. Schultz scored 27 points and grabbed 20 rebounds to lead the charge versus Long Beach. Freshman Lisa Longo added 11 points and 11 assists.
"Stacy's been a force for us," Schatz said. "She's scoring when we need it and getting rebounds when we need them. She's holding her own inside and beneath the basket and she's not intimidated by anyone."
As a whole, the Lady Eagles don't plan on backing down to any opponent. And that's a good thing considering the upcoming schedule includes two games against Elmont and a rematch with Herricks. The Highlanders beat Central in the conference opener by 27 points.
"Our poorest game of the season came against Herricks," Schatz said. "This time around I'm sure we'll give them a much tougher game."
Herricks, which visits Central this Friday at 4:30 p.m., led the first meeting by a mere two points after the opening quarter before pulling away behind a career-high 24 points from junior point guard Jackie Fertitta.
Stopping Fertitta and Shaina Jordan are two keys for the Lady Eagles. "We might try a few different things," Schatz said. Elmont visits Central this week and then hosts it on Feb. 2. The Lady Spartans are strong playoff contenders and Schatz is expecting them to provide a tough hurdle.
"I don't know much about Elmont except that it always has a solid team," Schatz said. "We're going to have to play well to win."
