Kate Sweet helps Westhampton girls basketball get past Hauppauge, advance to Suffolk Class AA final
Westhampton celebrates winning a Suffolk Class AA girls basketball semifinal against Hauppauge at Westhampton High School on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. Credit: Brittney Dietz
With Westhampton’s season on the line, junior guard Kate Sweet would not be denied.
Sweet racked up 21 points, four rebounds, two assists, four steals and three blocks to lead second-seeded Westhampton past sixth-seeded Hauppauge, 48-45, in the semifinals of the Suffolk Class AA playoffs on Friday night. Westhampton (20-2) will face fourth-seeded Harborfields at Stony Brook University in the final at 5:30 p.m. Friday.
“I was nervous all day,” Sweet said. “Obviously these games are a little bit more to me. As soon as we got on the court and got the first tip, all of my nerves went away and I just focused on wanting it.”
It got dicey for host Westhampton in the final three quarters. After going up 18-7 by the end of the first quarter, most of its players got themselves into foul trouble, forcing them to play softer on defense. To make matters worse, the Hurricanes’ offense went cold. That allowed Hauppauge (16-5) to slowly crawl back into it, cutting it to a 45-44 lead with 1:33 remaining after a steal and fast-break layup by senior guard Alexa Fortune.
Westhampton’s offense continued to struggle in the fourth quarter, with its only viable weapon being Sweet in transition. She got to the basket on the fast break four times, knocking down two running floaters and two layups. Her first two fast-break scores grew the Hurricanes’ lead from one possession to two, and her third basket made it 45-36 with 3:19 left.
The final transition bucket came with 1:02 to play following a steal by senior forward Jasmine Taylor. She banked in a floater from the right low post to make it 47-44.
Sweet's performance helped extend the careers of Taylor and senior guard Sandra Clarke, who have been teammates with Sweet for the last four years.
“I want to give the seniors one good last ride with me, and I want to go all the way with them,” Sweet said. “I was just really focused and wanted to give them that goal.”
Taylor added six points, eight rebounds, two assists, three steals and a block, while also forcing a turnover with 7.6 seconds remaining to protect the one-possession lead.
“I’m so grateful we get to keep going forward,” Taylor said. “Everyone pushed through in the final moments. Kate with those clutch shots. It was great.”
Mike Anderson is a high school sports reporter who has covered 12 sports so far at Newsday. He was the sports editor of Stony Brook University's campus newspaper for two years.
