Danielle Cosgrove sparks Sachem East past Sachem North

Danielle Cosgrove is back, and her impact on the Sachem East girls basketball team can’t be understated.

The 6-3 senior suffered a right ankle sprain early in the year, delaying her season debut to Jan. 2. With three healthy weeks under her belt, the star bound for Notre Dame is playing without restrictions.

She showed her full arsenal in Tuesday night’s 46-42 win over visiting Sachem North in Suffolk I, scoring 27 points and hauling in 17 rebounds. She shot 3-for-7 from beyond the arc but did equal damage in the paint and at the free-throw line.

North beat East on Dec. 21, 38-33, without Cosgrove.

“It was tough the first couple weeks or so, just not being able to do what I do every single day,” Cosgrove said. “It was very hard for me. Thankfully, I have an amazing coaching staff, and I’m finally feeling back to my old self again.”

Cosgrove, who was honored before the game with Kaitlyn Wolff, Mackenzie Murphy, Alyssa Signor and Courtney Collins as part of Senior Night, scored six of Sachem East’s eight points in the fourth quarter.

She was aided by freshman point guard Mackenzie Szlosek, who scored all six of her points in the second half and made driving layups on consecutive possessions to turn a one-point lead into a 38-33 advantage at the end of the third quarter.

“I’m really fortunate I have all these five seniors to look up to,” Szlosek said. “In the second half, it was very meaningful for me to play and represent these seniors. I did whatever I could for them.”

Sachem East (6-3) led 45-39 with 1:53 remaining after a free throw from Cosgrove, but Sachem North (6-3) made it 45-42 after Kennadie Hallum’s basket with 14.2 seconds remaining.

North then fouled intentionally, sending Cosgrove to the line. She split the pair of free throws, sealing the win.

A back-and-forth game in the first half was made closer by two buzzer-beaters by North. Annie Keenan (14 points) finished a three-point play at the first quarter buzzer, and Amanda Steinberg (nine) made a jumper from the right baseline at the halftime buzzer.

It was Sam Szatkowski’s free throw that gave East the lead for good with 1:41 left in the third quarter.

“Tonight was huge,” Cosgrove said. “We went into it with Senior Night, it gets a little distracting. We had to focus and make sure we got done what we needed to do.”