Unbeaten Northport takes League II title
Whitman's Rachel Perea tries to drive past Northport's Kellie Cortina, left, and Chrystal Pope, right, in the Suffolk High School League II girls basketball game. (Feb. 8, 2011) Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
At one point in the second quarter, Northport had four of its starters sitting on the bench in foul trouble. Nine fouls were called on the Tigers during the first quarter, and 21 for the game.
Most teams wouldn't have been able to overcome it. Northport is one of the few that can with lots of depth, and it showed in a 47-41 Suffolk League II girls basketball road win over Whitman Tuesday night.
"It was a big factor," Chrystal Pope said of the Tigers' depth. "Our bench really helped us out."
Pope scored 11 points and Allie Clarke scored nine, but Kristin Cleary (six points), Allie Pavinelli, Erin O'Brien, Annie Dodge and Bryce Paganas all came off the bench and played well.
"That's a big thing about us," Northport coach Rich Castellano said. "That's what will make us tough in the playoffs."
Whitman (13-3, 10-2) is the only competition for Northport (16-0, 12-0) in league play, and the Tigers also won their first meeting, 38-27.
The win likely gives Northport a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the playoffs. North Babylon is the only other AA team that is undefeated.
Whitman had a seven-point lead midway through the second quarter as Kelly Bilodeau carried the team in the first half with 14 of her 18 points. Bilodeau gave Whitman a 25-19 lead with 1:49 left, but Whitman also had foul trouble and played without three starters during the final minutes of the half.
Northport closed the half with an 8-0 run, including Paganas' score off an inbounds pass with one second on the shot clock and Cleary hitting a three-pointer off the glass. Whitman played well in the first half and still trailed 27-25.
The Tigers led for the entire second half. Alexandra Leftridge (13 points), who sat out 12 minutes of the first half after picking up her second foul four minutes into the game, scored to bring Whitman within 33-32 with 2:25 left in the third.
Megan Marinelli answered with a three-pointer to make it 36-32 after three. Whitman cut it to 38-35 and grabbed a defensive rebound before Pope intercepted a cross-court pass by Bilodeau in her own end, and Pope cruised in for the layup with 5:21 left to make it 40-35.
"I just read her eyes," Pope said. "Our defense always makes our offense."
"This is a real big win," Clarke said. "They are our only competition in the league. It shows we are ready for the playoffs."
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
