Oyakhilome provides spark for Lindenhurst
Lindenhurst forward Valerie Oyakhilome #15 moves to the basket with the layup. (Jan. 11, 2011) Credit: George A. Faella
Valerie Oyakhilome's job has been to come off the bench and provide some offense for the second unit in her first year on Lindenhurst's varsity. But the 5-9 sophomore forward has played so well that her minutes are the second most on the team.
Oyakhilome showed why last night.
After a lackluster first half for Lindenhurst, Oyakhilome scored 11 of her 14 points in the second half and added nine rebounds in a 51-42 win over visiting Longwood in Suffolk League I girls basketball.
"We had some jitters early on," Oyakhilome said. "We played more as a team, used screens and developed plays in the second half."
Oyakhilome hit a jumper with 32 seconds left in the third quarter to give Lindenhurst the lead for good at 32-31. Stephanie Ingenito scored on a drive to give Lindenhurst a three-point lead, but Alyson Osieki scored on a putback as time expired in the third to pull Longwood (3-5, 1-3) within 34-33. Oyakhilome scored on a pass from Colleen Ames to give Lindenhurst a 36-33 lead at the start of the fourth quarter.
"She's our secret weapon," Lindenhurst coach Greg Flynn said of Oyakhilome. "No one really knows about her. She's bailed us out a lot."
Added Ingenito: "She was killing it on JV last year. She's early to practice and stays late to work on her shooting. Teams are finding out about her now. She's blowing up."
It was needed on a night when the Bulldogs' leading scorer, Ames, was held to three points. Ingenito had 10 points and six steals and Shannon Crehan had 10 points, 13 rebounds and eight blocked shots for Lindenhurst (7-1, 4-0).
"That's a great sign," Flynn said. "We've been dependent on Colleen's scoring. They keyed on her and it provided an opportunity for everyone else."
Lindenhurst had a poor first half and trailed 23-17. Ingenito sparked the defense with several steals in the third quarter, keying an 8-0 run that gave Lindenhurst its first lead at 25-23 with 4:58 left in the period. Asja Mayo scored on a putback to tie the score at 25 before Oyakhilome scored on a three-point play to make it 28-25.
One of the biggest baskets of the game came in the fourth quarter when Crehan hit a three-pointer from the top of the key, giving the Bulldogs a 39-33 lead. Aliyah Blake scored to get Longwood as close as 45-42 with three minutes left in the game before Oyakhilome hit a jumper from the corner with 2:44 left to push the lead to 47-42.
Lindenhurst made the playoffs last season for the first time since 1993 and the nucleus of the team has been together for three seasons.
"It was a step making the playoffs," Ingenito said. "We have some flaws that we need to work on, but we're playing well."
