Monserrate leads Locust Valley girls to 'B' title

Alexis Monserrate's name echoed through Carle Place's ears like an unshakable bad dream. The announcer's deep baritone said it once, and again, and five times in total to start the fourth quarter.

Those two words ended up meaning only one thing for the Frogs last night at the Nassau Class B girls basketball final at C.W. Post: The End.

Monserrate scored 11 of her game-high 30 points in the fourth quarter, including a lead-grabbing layup with 4:50 left in the frame, to spearhead Locust Valley as it defeated Carle Place, 48-36. Locust Valley (11-7) will play East Rockaway at 6 p.m. Saturday in the Small Schools championship at Post.

"She found another gear," Locust Valley coach Mike Guidone said. "I knew she had it, but I didn't know if she could get to it tonight. We've seen it in spurts, but not at the biggest moment."

A Jillian Flecker layup in heavy traffic gave Carle Place (11-7) a 31-30 lead with 5:42 left in the fourth before Monserrate took off on the Frogs' defense. She scored six straight points before two converted foul shots by Carle Place's Emily Mullin snapped her streak. Monserrate charged on and converted a three-point play in the next possession and scored another two points on an acrobatic jump hook. Flecker had a team-high 12 points.

With 1:54 left in the game, Monserrate had scored all of Locust Valley's points in the frame to the tune of a 41-33 lead, then its biggest advantage. Foul shots by Taylor Coddington, Courtney Morgan and Brooke Spallino provided the Falcons' final scoring.

"We couldn't make the money shots," Carle Place coach Michael Bello said. "Alexis got hot and we couldn't stop them."

SEE PHOTOSLocust Valley 48, Carle Place 36

Partially because their biggest defender went down. Captain Dana McLaughlin hurt her ankle with 2:06 left in the third quarter with Carle Place behind 28-23.

Far from being discouraged, Carle Place mounted a comeback. Mullin (10 points) converted a three-point play with 1:31 left in the quarter and sank a baseline jumper with 33 seconds left to draw the Frogs to within 30-29. Carle Place would suffer in the next quarter, though, shooting 1-for-12 from the field.

It was a stark reversal of fortunes: Carle Place opened the game with a 7-0 run and held off Locust Valley until 3:33 into the second, when the Falcons took their first lead at 14-13. Locust Valley took off from there, erupting into what turned out to be a 9-2 run with a Courtney Morgan putback as the exclamation point. She was bolstered by Natasha Jachan, who broke a tie at 21 with a layup 30 seconds into the third. Jachan finished with seven points and a game-high nine rebounds.

"She was just all over the floor," Guidone said of Jachan. As for Monserrate, Guidone said, she certainly helped send a message to the Suffolk Class B champion - either Mattituck or Center Moriches - which the Falcons will face March 9. "We can play a tight game and we can be successful," he said.

SEE PHOTOSHigh school sports -- February

Monserrate was less philosophical: "I just saw a lot of open shots," she said. And of the postseason atmosphere and that announcer calling out her name in breathless succession? "Well," she said with braces in full display. "There was a lot of stuff going on. I don't think about it."