Reily Roberts' 14 rebounds and four putbacks key Locust Valley girls' Long Island 'B' title
Locust Valley wins the Long Island Class B girls basketball championship at Hofstra on Wednesday. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
Reily Roberts knows how to follow orders.
Locust Valley’s junior forward was told by coach Mike Guidone to box out and outrebound Center Moriches to win the game in the paint.
Roberts did just that.
She had a game-high 14 rebounds and scored four of her six baskets on offensive putbacks to key Locust Valley’s 45-30 win over Center Moriches to capture the Long Island Class B girls basketball championship Wednesday night at Hofstra. Locust Valley won its second straight Long Island title.
“We had a little bit of a rough start, but we relied on our defense and did something very special,” Guidone said. “We’ve had a nice run over the last few years. And we had heavy graduation and some inexperience going into this year. We left no doubt that we were the best Class B team on Long Island.”
Locust Valley will play in a state Regional final vs. Putnam Valley at 4 p.m. on Saturday at Farmingdale State.
“Our coach told us we would have to control the boards and keep Climele Brown and Emma Morris from getting any second chances on offense,” Roberts said. “We played a great team game and worked well together. Our defensive pressure gave us offensive opportunities.”
Megan Magill and Morris hit three-pointers as Center Moriches scored the first six points of the game. Locust Valley didn’t get on the board until Kate Nabet nailed a short jumper with 3:40 left in the opening quarter. The basket ignited the dormant Falcons offense, which reeled off eight straight points to end the quarter ahead 8-6.
Payton Tini, who scored 33 points in the 41-31 win over Cold Spring Harbor in the Nassau Class B championship game, was held scoreless until the final 34 seconds of the first quarter. She banked a three-pointer and added a driving layup and hit the subsequent free throw for the three-point play. Tini, who leads the Falcons with an average of 20.7 points per game, said it was only a matter of time before the Falcons’ defense would help create offense.
“It was a slow start for sure,” said Tini, who led all scorers with 16. “We played exceptional team defense to keep it close. And then we had a big run to open the third quarter.”
Locust Valley (18-3) blew the game open in the third quarter. The Falcons’ smothering defense forced three turnovers and sparked a 9-0 run, keyed by a Tini three-pointer and two Roberts second-chance putbacks. The Falcons were just too strong on the boards and Center Moriches (16-7) was afforded few second chances. Morris led the Red Devils with 11 points.
“We didn’t look past Center Moriches,” Tini said. “We lost a lot of players to graduation and to repeat as champions is such a great feeling.”
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
