Parlato leads Wantagh past Garden City
Wantagh's Alex Parlato looks for room to shoot. (Jan. 5, 2012) Credit: Patrick E. McCarthy
It's not often Alex Parlato is faced with a sizable challenge. The 6-3 Wantagh center towers over most of her opponents and is able to easily grab rebounds and swat away shots.
Parlato's dominance in the paint was key as she had 10 points, 12 rebounds and seven blocks to lead Wantagh to a 35-29 road win over defending Class A Long Island champion Garden City in Nassau Conference I girls basketball Thursday night.
Parlato faced a formidable opponent in Garden City's Christina Mangels (nine points) and the Wantagh freshman more than held her own with the senior.
"I definitely like the challenge," Parlato said. "I don't like playing easy people. She's a good player so it was good to face up with her."
Wantagh (5-3, 1-0) took a 23-11 lead at halftime but Garden City clawed back. Playing a full-court trapping defense, the Trojans (6-2, 0-1) chipped away at a 16-point deficit, tying the score at 29 with 2:36 to go. Katie Trimmer had 10 points for Garden City, which played without leading scorer Sam Auricchio (coach's decision).
Wantagh's Brenna Smith hit a jumper from inside 10 feet to put the Warriors up 31-29 with 42.5 seconds left.
"Brenna Smith who's averaging one-point a game, made a key basket," Wantagh coach Stan Bujacich said. "She's our best defender and our best rebounder.''
The Warriors forced a turnover on the ensuing possession and Michelle Buccheri and Tara Basile (nine points) each made two free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
Parlato admitted to being nervous in the waning moments but came up with a key rebound in the closing seconds.
"I was nervous but I tried keeping my composure so that I could play my part on the team for us to win," she said.
Basile shut down Trojans sharpshooter Kim Ryan, holding her to four points and Garden City had no three-pointers.
Bujacich was thrilled after his team topped the defending Long Island champions.
"That's a big win for us confidence wise and we wanted this game," Bujacich said. "We eyeballed this game at the beginning of the year. Win or lose we still have nine league games left but it's great to get off to this start."
