Floyd's Kayla Gilmore credits team in 51-point effort
Floyd guard Kayla Gilmore dribbles into the Sachem East zone in a Suffolk League I game on Jan. 27, 2022, at Sachem East. Credit: George A Faella
When Kayla Gilmore set the single-game scoring record for Floyd High School, the former record holder had one of the best seats in the house.
Gilmore, a junior guard, scored 51 points in a 66-34 victory over Riverhead on Dec. 28. It was the most points scored in a Floyd game by a girl or a boy, surpassing Maggie Makofsky’s mark of 42 points (2000 vs. Longwood) and Robert Hodgson’s record of 47 points (1994 vs. Sachem) according to coach Rich Sinclair.
And now, Hodgson is an assistant coach for the Floyd girls team.
Gilmore didn’t even know she had 51 points until the team got on the bus after the game. That’s when she was informed of that – and the fact that it was a new school record.
“[Coach Hodgson] said to just keep working hard and there are many more records I can achieve,” Gilmore said. “He said he’s proud of me, so that was very nice.”
Gilmore said she couldn’t have imagined scoring 51 points in a game and passed the credit to others for doing so.
“It was definitely very exciting but I wouldn’t be able to do it without my teammates,” Gilmore said. “Everyone played extremely well that game, so the looks were just there and the shots were falling.”
And in an age where many players rely on three-point shooting to increase their point total, Gilmore reached the mark without knocking down a single triple. She made 20 field goals and went 11 of 15 from the foul line in the contest. She also had 13 steals.
“She was on a mission,” Sinclair said.
Gilmore, who is committed to play lacrosse at the University of Maryland, has her eyes set on more than individual achievements. She wants to make team history as well. Floyd hasn’t won a league title since 1982 and made the playoffs last year for the first time since 2013.
“We look at that banner every day and point to it and we 100 percent mean business by it,” Gilmore said. “We don’t have a county championship, Long Island championship so for us, we take it one day at a time but we have one goal in mind and that’s to be league champs and to win and go as far as we can. And we all believe we can.”
Strong conference start for Island Trees
The Bulldogs have started their conference season 3-0 after going 5-7 in the Nassau Conference V last season. They’ve done so with a balanced scoring attack with five players averaging at least five points per game. Jillian Sandez and Kayla Tretola lead the way, averaging 7.7 and 7.4 points per game, respectively.
Our Lady of Mercy on a roll
The Mustangs have won seven straight games since dropping their season-opener to Massapequa, 57-56. They lost to Sacred Heart in the NSCHSAA semifinals last year but returned Meghan Andersen, who is committed to play at Fairfield and is averaging 27.5 points per game over a 7-1 start.
