Caitlin Leary's dominance helps Carle Place girls to Long Island Class B title

The Carle Place coaches challenged their superstar at halftime. Sure, Caitlin Leary had 16 points and the Frogs held a 12-point advantage at the break, but they knew she could be even more dominant. It didn’t take long for Leary to prove they were right.

Leary scored the first six points of the second half to help Carle Place pull ahead in a 55-32 victory over Mattituck in the Long Island Class B girls basketball championship in a state Southeast Regional semifinal at St. Joseph’s (LI) on Tuesday.

“The coaching staff challenged the team, maybe challenged her individually, that it’s time for you to show who you are,” coach Conor Reardon said. “It’s easy to read about her, it’s easy to read the stat lines, maybe see some film, but you don’t know how good she is until she’s on the court with you. And I think in that third quarter, she showed that.”

The program’s all-time leading scorer finished with 25 points, including nine points in the third quarter. She made three layups in the opening 2:12 of the third quarter before knocking down a three-pointer later on as Carle Place opened a 43-21 lead after the period.

“Once they gave me the lane, I knew I had to take it,” Leary said. “In the first half, I was kind of getting my groove, but I’m happy I eventually found it and found those lanes to be able to finish it.”

Carle Place (16-6) advances to play Putnam Valley in the state Southeast Regional final at 11 a.m. on Saturday at Yorktown High School. Mattituck finished its season at 16-9.

With a victory on Saturday, the Frogs would advance to their first state semifinal in program history.

“We’re so happy to regain the title and we deserve to be here,” Leary said. “I love this team and we’ve put in all the work, so I’m happy that it’s paying off.”

Ava Gomes is a freshman forward in a starting lineup featuring seniors Paige Selhorn, Sierra Weilert, Milana D’Alessandro and Leary. Gomes made the varsity team as an eighth grader last season but suffered a torn meniscus in her first game, costing her the remainder of the season. She was heartbroken to be off the court during that time.

But Gomes made a huge impact on Tuesday, posting 15 rebounds with four points.

“It was super tough mentally, I just felt like crying a lot,” Gomes said. “It was sad not to be a part of it. But now this is just really special. I get to see the seniors have their moment and I love being a part of it.”

Madison Reedy had seven points, D’Alessandro had five points and Selhorn had nine points and 10 rebounds. Claire McKenzie had 11 points for Mattituck.

Carle Place lost in the Nassau playoffs last season to snap a stretch of four straight Long Island championships. Leary didn’t want her classmates’ season to end the same way.

“I know the whole team looks up to me, so I know they’re always going to give me the ball when I’m open,” Leary said. “I knew I had to take charge to lead this team.”

“I feel so good for the seniors because they put in a lot of work and there’s a lot of pressure when you’re the next group and you see the success that keeps coming down the line and it’s up to you now,’ Reardon said. “And after last year when they came up short, I think the pressure started to rise a little bit more."