Mount Sinai girls basketball avenges loss to Bayport-Blue Point
Mia Betancourt of Mt. Sinai looks to drive past Ava Meyn of Bayport-Blue Point during a Suffolk League VI girls basketball game at Mt. Sinai on Thursday. Credit: David Meisenholder
The Mount Sinai girls basketball team waited nearly a full year for the moment it would face Bayport-Blue Point again.
After falling in last year’s county Class A semifinals to Bayport-Blue Point, the Mustangs used a big second quarter to avenge the season-ending loss with a 48-36 home win in Thursday’s Suffolk VI matchup.
Bayport-Blue Point (4-7, 4-5) outscored Mount Sinai 9-5 in the first quarter, but the Mustangs’ Sophia Caruso came off the bench to hit two three-pointers and Ava DeMarco added a third as Mount Sinai took a 20-14 lead into the second half.
“In the second quarter, we got our mindset back and reminded ourselves of the unfinished business we had with them from last year,” said Caruso, who scored all of her 12 points from beyond the arc. “I haven’t been having great games, but I’ve been working hard to perfect my threes and I’m glad that I got out of that rut and could contribute those to the team today.”
Senior point guard Mia Betancourt added four of her 12 points in the third quarter, and Mount Sinai (10-1, 6-1) extended its lead to double-digits when senior forward Kyla Orlando made a free throw with two seconds left.
“I just trusted my teammates,” Betancourt said. “Even if I’m being face-guarded and you shut me down, there’s four other players that can score too. Everyone is able to contribute when we need them.”
Bayport-Blue Point’s Ava Meyn scored 10 of her 18 points in the fourth quarter and grabbed 16 rebounds for the Phantoms, who cut their deficit to nine with one minute left. Caruso’s final step-back three with 32 seconds left sealed the victory.
“We locked down our defense. We changed it to try our best to cut off Ava Meyn, because she’s a really good player, and held them to 36 points, which is definitely huge for us,” Betancourt said. “It’s given us the confidence we need to get back to where we ended last season.”
Orlando and sophomore Alexa Cergol each had eight points for the Mustangs.
“We all have a great chemistry and that makes it easy to find where our problems are and fix them early enough in the game so that we don’t get overrun,” Cergol said. “We’re definitely coming back stronger than last year.”
