Holly Logan and Alex Buonfiglio lead surprising Cold Spring Harbor to Class A final
Oh, that enrollment boost!
Cold Spring Harbor's girls basketball team had a nice run, winning three consecutive Nassau Class B championships. But a sudden spike in enrollment this school year threatened to end that. The Seahawks were bumped up to Class A -- out of their comfort zone and, essentially, competing with the big kids on the playground.
The student body grew. Their roster didn't.
Holly Logan: "I have a lot of faith in my team, but I honestly didn't expect us to get this far."
Alexandra Buonfiglio: "It's a higher level of competition. I don't think we anticipated being great this year."
How things have changed. Now it's Cold Spring Harbor's opponents who perhaps regret the school's influx of students.
Buonfiglio scored 16 points and Logan had 14 as the sixth-seeded Seahawks beat No. 7 Seaford, 54-41, Sunday in a Nassau Class A semifinal.
"I guess we proved ourselves wrong," Buonfiglio said.
They'll have a chance to prove themselves against North Shore in the final Saturday.
"It's amazing, graduating three all-county players and moving up [to Class A], to still reach this point," coach Rory Malone said. "My goal was for us to make the final four and show we can compete . . . They've gone above and beyond."
The Seahawks (18-2) had a great regular season, stunned No. 3 Floral Park in the quarterfinals and dominated stretches against Seaford.
Caroline Kiernan had eight points and nine rebounds and Tara Atkinson added five points, eight rebounds and four steals for Cold Spring Harbor, which led 27-12 at halftime.
"We've always been a fast and athletic team, but lately we've been pressing more and it's become a factor," said Logan, a defensive stalwart in the backcourt. "Especially being in a higher class, you have to hustle and play with intensity."
In other words, the Seahawks brought their "A" game.
Jessica Rini, a 6-1 center, scored 19 points and Desire Fowlkes had 11 for Seaford (15-5). But seldom were there open lanes through which to drive, and CSH did not allow the Vikings to make a three-pointer.
"People thought we were gonna lose right away," Kiernan said, "but we've proven otherwise. Our team fights for every point in every game."
In any classification.