Cantwell's clutch steals lift North Shore
North Shore's Alexandra Cantwell looks to shoot. (Feb. 29, 2012) Credit: Patrick E. McCarthy
With her team ahead by only two points with less than two minutes to play, North Shore freshman Alexandra Cantwell displayed poised aggression. She stole the ball at midcourt and set up Erin Sheerin with a walk-in layup.
Cantwell made two more steals in the final 1:14, scoring on the second to put North Shore ahead by six points with less than 30 seconds left.
"I'm thinking that I need to time it right so I can get there to get the ball and score so we can keep our lead and not lose it," Cantwell said.
Cantwell scored 13 points, Amanda Johansen had 19 and Caroline Robertson added 12 as No. 1 North Shore defeated No. 5 Floral Park, 61-54, in a Nassau Class A semifinal Wednesday night at Freeport. North Shore (19-1) advanced to the final for the first time and will face defending champion No. 2 Garden City at 4:15 p.m. Saturday at LIU Post.
The Vikings were in the unfamiliar position of trailing in the second half. Floral Park led 44-32 with three minutes left in the third, but North Shore went on a 10-2 run to close out the quarter. The Vikings carried the momentum into the fourth as Johansen scored seven of the first nine North Shore points to go up 51-46.
"I was not going to let this be my last game," Johansen said. "Right when my shots started to fall, I knew that when I had the opportunity I had to take it."
The game became a free- throw contest in the final 4:30, and neither team could capitalize. North Shore went 4-for-16 from the foul line in the fourth quarter, making what could have been a lopsided win a nail-biter.
"Free throws have been a problem for our team," said Johansen, who was 1-for-10 from the line. "Especially when I went out there and first two [misses], then it's four and six, and it gets in your head."
Eighth-grader Kaela Hilaire scored 11 of her 15 points in the second half for Floral Park (16-4), and Lorraine Hickman had 14 points.
