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All-Long Island Girls Basketball, 2002

By Mark La Monica and Janet Paskin | STAFF WRITERS

April 21, 2002

Clockwise, from top left: Comsewogue coach Bob Davis, Angie Clark of Copiague, Nassau Player of the Year Lisa Macchia of Island Trees, Lisa Karcic of New Hyde Park, Nicolle Rubino of Comsewogue, Jillian Henn of Oyster Bay, Our Lady of Mercy coach Dawn Cerrone, Brittany Smith of St. Dominic, Jessica Powers of Massapequa, Suffolk Player of the Year Kia Wright of Copiague, Alissa Rubino of Comsewogue and Patti Cronin of East Islip. (Newsday / David L. Pokress)

A look at the girls basketball players who stood out on Long Island high school varsity squads in the winter of 2001-02.

SURE, there's a beach named after him. A causeway and a state park, too. But just who exactly was Robert Moses? Born in 1888 in New Haven, Conn., and raised in Manhattan, Moses was a master builder. A visionary planner beyond the scope of thought in the 1920s, '30s and beyond. He was responsible for just about every major road on Long Island, as well as the state park system. Robert Moses State Park in Babylon was named in his honor in 1964, a short while after the completion of a bridge that allowed cars to travel directly to the park instead of using the ferry.

Yet, Moses' most impressive year may have been 1929. Heckscher State Park opened that June, followed by the Southern State Parkway a month later. On Aug. 4, more than 25,000 cars drove across the Wantagh Causeway, another Moses-inspired development, to catch a glimpse - and some sun - at Jones Beach, the crowning achievement in a career spent shaping Long Island, and much of New York City.

So what better way to showcase Newsday's 19th annual All-Long Island girls basketball team than the sandy dunes at Robert Moses Beach? This group of players certainly made waves this season.

LISA MACCHIA

NASSAU PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Island Trees, 6-4, Senior

The game plan was poetically simplistic this season for Island Trees, and Lisa Macchia was the reason. Macchia, the Bulldogs' 6-4 center, was simply unstoppable in the paint - why on Earth not throw it inside? Macchia averaged 26.7 points, 18.3 rebounds and 5.0 blocks this season as Island Trees (19-4) captured the Nassau Class B title. She finished with 2,047 career points, making her the sixth-leading scorer in Long Island girls basketball history. A two-time All-Long Island selection, Macchia was a physical force, but she was not merely tall. She had soft hands, good court sense, and strong, graceful maneuvers. Macchia shot 70 percent from the free-throw line, averaged 2.3 assists and landed a scholarship to Boston College.

KIA WRIGHT

SUFFOLK PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Copiague, 5-7, Junior

There's not much this phenom guard can't do. Kia Wright shouldered the pressure of being the top girl on the top team and did it with style and substance. The three-time All-Long Island selection and first-time player of the year averaged 24.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 6.7 steals this season and led Copiague (24-1) to its first Suffolk Class A and Long Island championships. Her best performance might have been when she took over both sides of the court against Longwood in the Suffolk semifinals to the tune of 29 points, 9 rebounds, 8 steals and 6 assists. Wright has 1,992 career points, placing her No. 2 all-time in Suffolk. Wright, most likely in the first game next season, will become the seventh girl on Long Island to reach the 2,000-point plateau.

ANGIE CLARK

Copiague, 6-1, Junior

Fact: Angie Clark didn't play basketball as a freshman. Scary thought: Clark didn't play basketball as a freshman. Watching Clark catch the entry pass in the low post only to turn and sweetly hit a jumper in the span of two seconds, it's almost too impossible to believe that Clark wasn't born with a basketball in her hands. One of the brightest talents in the low post, Clark averaged 17.3 points, 15.4 rebounds and 3.1 blocks and helped Copiague (24-1) win its first Suffolk and Long Island titles. Truly a breakout season for this forward, who scored 30 points in back-to-back games and reached double figures in all but two games.

PATTI CRONIN

East Islip, 5-5, Senior

Coach Mike Petre likes to call Patti Cronin a "stat-sheet stuffer." She scored, she passed. She rebounded, she played defense. She did just about everything necessary to win a game for East Islip (19-3). In the playoffs? Fuhgeddaboutit! Cronin amassed an 11-5 record in the postseason, including a trip to the state public schools Class A final in 2001 and a second straight trip to the Suffolk Class A final this season. Cronin wrapped up her five-year career, which began with League III rookie of the year honors as an eighth-grader, with a school-record 1,260 points. Cronin, still deciding between scholarship offers from several Division II schools, averaged 17.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.1 steals and 4.0 assists this season. "Whatever we asked her to do, she did it," Petre said. "You might not pick her first at the park, but after you see her play for a few minutes, if you want to win, you'll pick her."

JILLIAN HENN

Oyster Bay, 5-8, Senior