Keleysha Petit-Frere and Kelly Bergersen score double-digits to lead Farmingdale over Freeport
Farmingdale and Freeport have a long history playing each other in girls basketball, producing a solid rivalry between the schools.
“This is a rivalry that goes back to the early '80s,” Farmingdale coach Pete Cerrone said. “There’s no bad Freeport vs. Farmingdale game.”
Saturday night's game was the lastest example as the Dalers prevailed 48-45 in Nassau AA-I.
Defense dominated the first 4 minutes and 10 seconds of the game as neither team was able to score. The Dalers knew they had to control the tempo and avoid getting trapped by the Red Devils.
“With our team camaraderie, we pulled it together,” said Farmingdale senior guard Kelly Bergersen, who scored 10 points, including three three-pointers. “We had a lot of energy especially on the defensive end and good defense translates to solid offense.”
Farmingdale (8-9, 5-5 in AA-I) opened the second quarter on an 8-2 run, taking a 15-13 lead with 5:50 left in the quarter. The Dalers' Lindsey Shimborske scored nine points in the second quarter as Farmingdale took a 24-20 lead at halftime.
Senior forward Keleysha Petit-Frere, who finished with 23 rebounds and 12 points, sparked the Dalers' defense.
“The key was slowing things down,” Petit-Frere said. “We had to pass the ball inside and kick it out for the threes.”
It was a one-point game in the fourth when Bergersen hit a big three-pointer to give Farmingdale a 41-37 lead with 4:30 remaining.
“The Devils pressured out our threes with the strength of their defense,” Bergersen said. “So just being able to help my team get up at that moment was huge.”
The Dalers have five freshmen and five sophomores. When the team ran into foul trouble in the second and third quarters, the younger players stepped up. Alena Godas came off the bench to hit two three-pointers in the third quarter and Jenna Ruffini, also coming off the bench, had a basket in the second quarter.
“It was a full team effort.” Cerrone said. “It was nice to see the young ones respond in the second and third quarter and then the veterans come through at the end.”
Taneece Wooden, a freshman, led Freeport (9-6, 6-4 in AA-I) with 14 points.
