Rea's steals lead Division into 'A' final
Division's Christina Rea hits for two during the semifinals Lynbrook. (Mar. 1, 2011) Credit: Patrick E. McCarthy
Division's Christina Rea has a problem with nerves sometimes. During last year's Nassau Class A final, she had to be taken out of the game because she was to the point of hyperventilating.
It wasn't as drastic Tuesday night, but Rea did have some cottonmouth and needed to chew gum to alleviate it. Unfortunately for Lynbrook, it didn't result in the removal of Rea from the floor.
Rea put on an epic display of thievery, making four steals during a critical run in the third quarter to lift top-seeded Division to a 42-35 win over No. 5 Lynbrook at Freeport. Defending champion Division (19-1) will play Garden City and try to repeat Saturday at 2 p.m. at C.W. Post.
"I'm a little mental sometimes,'' said Rea, who scored eight of her 13 points in a 14-5 third quarter. "I was more composed this time.''
Said Division coach Steve Kissane: "I told her if she needed to do yoga on top of a mountain to relax, then she needed to do it. I thought her play was the turning point in the game.''
A turning point for Lynbrook came with 5:15 left in the third quarter when Jen Fay, the Owls' second-leading scorer, was down on the court in pain with a right knee injury. She didn't return.
"She's a dominant force on our team,'' Lynbrook coach Heather Manikas said. "We were down for a bit, but they fought back in the fourth quarter.''
Lynbrook led 22-20 when Fay left the game. After a Division free throw, Rea hit two more to give Division a 23-22 lead before Brooke Gerstman (16 points) hit a three-pointer to give Lynbrook (15-5) a 25-23 lead.
Kristen Stuart (nine points) gave Division the lead for good on a putback to make it 27-25 with 1:48 left in the quarter. Then came a Rea steal and layup, a Rea basket off a Taylor Malings steal, and another Rea steal leading to her own layup and a 33-25 lead after three.
"That got us fired up,'' Stuart said. "We're a defensive team and that really got us going.''
Division led by 14 in the fourth quarter before Lynbrook got as close as six points.
"We knew it was going to be difficult making it back to the final losing two starters,'' Stuart said, "but we did it.''
Sarra Sounds Off, Ep. 15: LI's top basketball players On the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off," Newsday's Gregg Sarra and Matt Lindsay take a look top boys and girls basketball players on Long Island.
Sarra Sounds Off, Ep. 15: LI's top basketball players On the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off," Newsday's Gregg Sarra and Matt Lindsay take a look top boys and girls basketball players on Long Island.
