Bayport-Blue Point girls basketball beats Mount Sinai to move one win from first Suffolk title in 38 years

The golden age of Bayport-Blue Point girls athletics has extended itself onto the hardwood.

Last spring, the softball team won its first county title in 18 years and the girls lacrosse team won its first state title in 10 years. The volleyball team is one of the best in Suffolk on an annual basis.

Now, the girls basketball team is one victory away from claiming its first county title since 1986 after the sixth-seeded Phantoms defeated No. 3 Mount Sinai, 59-47, in a Suffolk Class A semifinal at Centereach High School on Wednesday night.

Coach Toni McKinnon, who also coaches the girls volleyball team, credited the success to multisport athletes and their experiences in other sports.

“For once we have three-sport athletes,” McKinnon said. “Not a lot of schools have that and if it wasn’t for these girls deciding to play three sports, this may not happen. They stayed with the sport, they stayed with the program all this time and that’s huge. We just keep building on from the year before, so our seniors really carry the way for our younger classmen.”

Bayport-Blue Point (15-6) advances to play No. 1 Kings Park noon Sunday at Suffolk County Community College’s Selden campus.

Ava Meyn had 24 points and Samantha Haber added 15 points for the Phantoms. Bayport-Blue Point opened the game on a 7-0 run, including two three-pointers by Haber, and led 15-10 after the first quarter.

“We just keep telling ourselves we didn’t get this far just to get this far,” Haber said. “We couldn’t have been more prepared for this game, so we just wanted it more, I think.”

Meyn scored seven of her 24 points in the second quarter after feeling like she didn’t have the best opening period.

“I definitely had to lock myself in for a second after the first quarter and get it straight,” Meyn said. “This was it and I just went all out and did all I could.”

Mount Sinai (15-6) went on a 9-0 run over 1:45 to take a 19-17 lead with 4:35 left in the second quarter. But Bayport-Blue Point answered with a 9-0 run over the final 3:15 of the half to open a 26-19 lead at halftime. Meyn had five points during that spurt.

“We went into the locker room and we said we have to keep the heat going, keep all the fire going and we did,” Meyn said. “We came out on fire and we didn’t let them come back.”

Bayport-Blue Point outscored Mt. Sinai, 20-12, in the third quarter to take a 46-31 lead into the final period. Kyla Orlando had 14 points for Mt. Sinai.

The Phantoms look to utilize their athleticism to break another long championship drought for another girls program on Sunday.

“I think everybody being athletic really helps us out,” Haber said. “Without any statistical evidence, I think we are the fastest team in Suffolk. We can run a track meet if we have to, so I think that definitely helps.”

The coaches could also tell they had the type of team to make history. They saw better attendance at offseason workouts and that has carried over to the winter.

“They were all hungry for it from the beginning,” McKinnon said. “As a coaching staff, we said, 'if we all buy in, this could really happen,' and we did.”