Lindsay Hogan's total game on display as Locust Valley wins LI 'B' title
Locust Valley players celebrate their win during the Long Island Class B girls basketball finals against Greenport/Southold on Wednesday at Shoreham-Wading River. Credit: Bob Sorensen
Lindsay Hogan can score with the best basketball players on Long Island. But her game goes beyond just putting the ball in the basket – as she displayed yet again Wednesday.
The 6-foot senior guard/forward can drive to the rim and knock down a shot from beyond the arc. But whether she’s throwing a pass the length of the court following a rebound or running the fast break, Hogan can also dish the ball with the best around.
"Her basketball IQ is through the roof, she sees things you couldn’t dream of," junior guard Payton Tini said. "She’ll throw no-look and she just knows that it’s open."
Hogan had 21 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and four steals to lead Locust Valley to a 55-17 victory over Greenport/Southold in the Long Island Class B girls basketball championship in a Southeast Regional semifinal at Shoreham-Wading River High School Wednesday.
"A lot of people say assists are better than scoring and sometimes it does feel better to make a nice pass for a teammate to score," Hogan said. "Passing is a big part of my game."
Locust Valley (23-0) advances to play the winner of Red Hook/Putnam Valley in the state Class B Southeast Regional final at Hofstra Saturday at 1 p.m. The Falcons extended their Long Island girls basketball record winning streak to 54 games. Greenport/Southold finishes 15-5.
The opportunity to play in a Long Island championship was two years in the making for the Falcons. Locust Valley was set to play in the Long Island Class A final in March 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the remainder of the postseason. Some members of the 2020 team traveled to Shoreham Wednesday as they wanted to see their former teammates embrace the moment.
"First thing I said to them when they congratulated me was, ‘It started with you,’" Tini said. "They were a huge part of this team. We would not have had our winning streak without them and it was such a great group and it’s also a great group this year."
Tini had 15 points, Amber Linden had seven points and four rebounds and Reily Roberts had six points and six rebounds in the win.
Locust Valley got off to another strong start, scoring the game’s first nine points and opening a 28-6 advantage at halftime. The Falcons began the second half on a 17-0 run and held Greenport/Southold to two field goals over the opening three quarters.
"[Staring fast has] kind of been our signature lately, I feel like," Hogan said. "Hitting shots early is the key to success later in the game."
Locust Valley’s defense has shined throughout the playoffs, holding teams to fewer than 30 points in the last four games. The Falcons have won by an average margin of 29.8 points per game this season.
"It’s been unbelievable," coach Michael Guidone said. "When you are holding quality opponents to under 30, under 20, it’s just a testament to them buying into what we are doing and I think it’s been historically good."
Guidone added that it’s the part of the season where teams haven’t seen Hogan in person yet, and the senior can better show off her variety of skills.
"In these types of games where maybe teams haven’t seen her, she’s able to get all her stuff on full display," he said. "We move her to the point at times and there’s no dropoff. She’s such an unselfish player."
The Falcons are one victory away from traveling to Troy for the state semifinals after never knowing if they would have made it in 2020 and 2021.
"It’s unreal," Tini said. "We’ve wanted this for the last two years. It was like we never got to finish what we started and now we have. It’s an amazing feeling."
