Katie McMahon, Arianna McLean lead South Side over Jericho

The South Side girls basketball team picked up the pace on Tuesday night.

Nursing a one-point lead at halftime, but struggling against Jericho’s 1-3-1 zone, the Cyclones knew something had to change. So, the squad focused on offense, on pushing tempo and, sparked by a 22-point third quarter, hit its stride down the stretch to top the Jayhawks, 62-53, in Nassau A-III.

“In the first half we were slow, and we weren’t getting all the open shots we wanted,” said senior guard Katie McMahon, who scored 12 of her 19 points in the second half. “So, moving [the ball] around faster helped create shots for us.”

South Side (7-1) opened the third on a 10-2 run, making it a 34-25 game with 5:45 left in the quarter. Bridget Basile hit back-to-back baskets and coach Dan Ferrick said he changed his lineup out of the break, looking for fresh faces to give the Cyclones an extra-burst of determination.

“There was more energy, and that’s all we were looking for,” Ferrick said. “It was accountability, really, that’s what it came down to.”

As their confidence grew with every bucket, the Cyclones continued to attack the Jayhawks’ zone, pushing the ball down low and finding holes.

“We had to be aware of our spacing,” said senior forward Arianna McLean, who finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds. “At halftime we talked about communication. Once we implanted that, it came together.”

South Side also held its own on the glass, pulling down offensive rebounds for second and third looks at the basket. McLean was a strong presence in the paint, but the Cyclones got rebounds from their backcourt as well and, on defense, crashed the boards to hold Jericho (3-4) to one-and-done possessions.

“Rebounds win games,” McMahon said. “Our defense helped too. If you get the rebound, you’ve got the ball and that’s how you’re able to score.”

Jade Stoler finished with 28 points for the Jayhawks, who did their best to rally, making it a 4-point game with just over four minutes left in the third. South Side answered quickly, holding Jericho to five points in the final minutes of the quarter to extend the lead and never looked back.

It wasn’t a perfect win, but Ferrick said he was pleased with the second-half offense, particularly when it came to spreading the ball around, a trend the Cyclones hope will continue for the remainder of the season.

“That’s the beauty of it,” Ferrick said. “We’re hard to defend. Any girl on any given day can be the leading scorer. That’s the fun part.”