Jazmynn Julien, Madison Richter help Whitman girls basketball stymie Bay Shore
Jazmynn Julien of Whitman puts up a three-pointer against visiting Bay Shore during a Suffolk League I girls basketball game on Tuesday. Credit: David Meisenholder
A tough loss can either linger — or light a spark. For Whitman, it was clearly the latter.
After a difficult setback against Westhampton on Saturday, the Wildcats wasted little time reminding everyone — and themselves — of who they are, coming out sharp and relentless on their home court Tuesday night and rolling to a dominant 47-16 win over previously undefeated Bay Shore.
“A loss against Westhampton, we take that personally, because they beat us twice last season,” junior Jazmynn Julien said. “But despite that, we wanted to come out strong tonight in a league game and prove how strong we are and that one loss doesn’t define us.”
It took Whitman some time to get rolling.
Junior Madison Richter scored the game’s first points with a jumper from just inside the three-point line, but the basket stood as the lone field goal for several minutes as both teams struggled to find a rhythm. Whitman finished the first quarter ahead 7-0.
“Bay Shore’s man defense was tough,” Whitman coach Dan Trebour said. “They weren’t giving us many great opportunities, so we had difficulty scoring in that first quarter.”
Richter added two more baskets in the second quarter to help Whitman (3-1) put 20 points on the board, while the Wildcats held Bay Shore to just five at the half.
“We weren’t moving the ball as well as we usually do, and our shots just weren’t falling,” Richter said. “But once we got that momentum, the shots started to fall.”
Coming out of the half, the Wildcats erupted for a 20-4 run. Julien scored her first points of the game, knocking down two jumpers and a three-pointer. Julien, who averaged more than 15 points per game last season, said she stays focused and continues shooting when her shots aren’t falling rather than letting frustration set in.
“When things aren’t going my way, instead of getting frustrated, I reassure myself, and Trebour reassures me, that they’re still good looks,” Julien said. “Someone has to attack the basket, and I know eventually I’ll find my groove.”
Sophomore Hannah Creighton added a layup and a three-pointer in the third-quarter run, while senior Paige Hiller scored four points.
“We kept grinding out stops and started rebounding well,” Trebour said. “If you keep getting stops, you’ll eventually get better opportunities.”
Julien finished with 12 points, six rebounds, two steals and a block. Richter added 11 points and five rebounds. Kimora Pearson scored nine points for Bay Shore (5-1).
Whitman has reached the Suffolk County finals in each of the past three seasons and Richter, a member of those teams, said the Wildcats’ experience should help put them back there again.
“A lot of us have been on those teams where we’ve had successful playoff runs,” Richter said. “We know what it’s like to be in that position, and we know what our coach, and community expect from us. We’ve taken everything we’ve learned from those seasons and implemented it in our game.”
