Corbin leads Baldwin to first LI crown

Keira Corbin is one of the fastest guards on Long Island. She spent last season coming off the bench in Baldwin's run to the Long Island championship game and on Friday night she helped the Bruins win its first Long Island championship.

The 5-3 senior scored 15 points, Alex Hampton scored 11, and Katie Greene added 10 for Baldwin in a 44-31 win over Deer Park in the Long Island Class AA championship/Southeast Regional final at Hofstra. Baldwin (20-1) will play the winner of Cicero-North Syracuse against Shaker in a state semifinal Friday 8 p.m. at Hudson Valley CC in Troy.

Andrea Desvignes scored 13 points and Kelsey Dillon added 12 points for Deer Park (20-4).

"I'm really excited," Corbin said. "This is a great opportunity for us. We played good defense and that was the No. 1 key to the game."

Baldwin lost in this game to Sachem East last season.

"Our emotions were way more into this game," Hampton said. "Last year we were just happy to make it into the county championship and win there. This game we were determined to go all the way."

Corbin scored six points in the final quarter, including a jumper with 1:57 left to give Baldwin a 35-24 lead. Corbin forced a steal at midcourt and coasted in for the layup and a 31-21 lead with 7:10 left in the game.

SEE PHOTOSBaldwin 44, Deer Park 31

"I think she's the best athlete on Long Island," Baldwin coach Tom Catapano said of Corbin. "She does it on both ends. She single-handedly disrupted their offense. She'll pick up someone 85 feet from the basket and then score 20."

Corbin helped lead a stifling defensive effort. One of the key sparks for Deer Park in its run was hitting three-pointers. The Falcons hit six three-pointers in the Suffolk Class AA final against Sachem East and hit eight in the semifinals against Copiague.

Getting open looks against Baldwin was a tough task. The Bruins have three of the smallest guards around, but they are very quick and are aggressive on defense. Deer Park shot just 1-for-8 from three-point range in the first half and 1-for-16 for the game.

"We knew our ball pressure would hurt them," Catapano said. "We didn't let them get good looks. They didn't have time to set their feet."

Baldwin turned a one-point lead at the half into a 27-21 lead after three quarters.

It was a great run for Deer Park. Before this season, no player on the Falcons roster played in a playoff game. They narrowly missed the postseason the last two seasons and went 7-11 last year.

"It was an awesome season," Deer Park coach Mike Gennaro said. "I don't think anyone thought we would be here."