O'Brien, Galgano, Castaldo lead Mepham girls
Mepham's Nicole Castaldo drives to the basket against Bellmore JFK during her team's 53-49 win. (Jan. 28, 2011) Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
With 5.6 seconds left in Friday's game and Mepham clinging to a two-point lead, Kristen O'Brien fired a perfect inbound pass from midcourt to Nicole Castaldo.
Castaldo could have just taken a foul and headed for the free-throw line, but she elected to stay with the Mepham philosophy: Be aggressive. She drove to the basket and scored with 3.6 seconds left, sealing a 53-49 win over visiting Bellmore JFK.
"I realized there wasn't much time left," Castaldo said, "so I figured I would go up with it and if I miss, I get fouled."
Said Mepham coach Jim Mulvey of Castaldo's decision: "Our mind-set is to score. We don't want to be passive."
O'Brien had 22 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, Mary Galgano scored 13 points and Castaldo added six points and 12 rebounds for Mepham (12-0, 9-0 in Nassau Conference AA-III).
Carly Thea scored 23 points and Allie Keller and Morgan Kitton had 11 each for Bellmore JFK (6-6, 4-5).
Mepham appeared to be in line for a comfortable victory when it built a 42-25 lead with 2:15 left in the third quarter, hitting seven three-pointers. Then Bellmore JFK went on a 9-0 run before Galgano hit a jumper to push Mepham's lead to 44-34.
But Bellmore JFK still wouldn't go away.
O'Brien hit two free throws to give Mepham an eight-point lead with 1:42 left, but Keller hit a three-pointer with 41 seconds left, Kitton added a free throw and Thea sank a three-pointer with 13 seconds remaining to bring Bellmore JFK within 50-49.
Mepham's Jillian Picinich hit the first of two free throws with 10 seconds left to make it 51-49. When she missed the second, Keller grabbed the rebound and called timeout, but Bellmore JFK was called for a backcourt violation with 5.6 seconds left.
"We were intimidated early," Bellmore JFK coach Debbie Cipolla-Minafo said. "We regrouped and came out strong. We were much more aggressive and we pressed."
It was the second consecutive four-point win for Mepham.
"It was a mental test," O'Brien said. "Teams are looking to beat us. It was a wake-up call."
Sarra Sounds Off, Ep.16: From Island to island, how football helped overcome tragedy Newsday's Gregg Sarra talks to Carey football player James McGrath about how he has persevered after losing his parents at a young age, and to the Lahainaluna (Hawaii) High School football coach about how his team persevered after the Maui wildfires of 2023, plus a behind-the-scenes look at the All-Long Island teams photo shoot.
Sarra Sounds Off, Ep.16: From Island to island, how football helped overcome tragedy Newsday's Gregg Sarra talks to Carey football player James McGrath about how he has persevered after losing his parents at a young age, and to the Lahainaluna (Hawaii) High School football coach about how his team persevered after the Maui wildfires of 2023, plus a behind-the-scenes look at the All-Long Island teams photo shoot.
