Angelene Bailey leads Longwood past Hills East in Suffolk Class AA semifinals

Say one thing for Angelene Bailey, she’s a quick study.

Bailey played sparingly last season, spending most of her sophomore season on the bench as the Longwood girls basketball team won the Long Island Class AA championship. She scored just 40 points last season.

“Now my teammates,” Bailey said, “need me to step up my game.”

Step up is exactly what Bailey has done. The 6-footer had 12 points, 17 rebounds and five blocks as defending champ and second-seeded Longwood defeated No. 3 Half Hollow Hills East, 41-29, in a Suffolk AA semifinals at Centereach High School on Saturday.

Another fact about Bailey: she only started playing basketball in eighth grade.

“We had a play and we added a new wrinkle, emphasizing getting [Bailey] the ball down low,” Longwood coach James Castiglione said. “Her shots weren’t falling early but it was a testament to her that she kept grinding it out.”

Bailey had just four points but added six rebounds and three blocks in the first half as the Lions led 19-13. Taydra Simpson carried the scoring load for Longwood (20-3) with 11 points in the opening half. She finished with 13 points and six rebounds.

Simpson also drew the tough assignment of guarding Hills East’s Remi Sisselman, who is fourth in Suffolk in scoring at 22.2 points per game in statistics reported to Newsday.

Sisselman had 11 of the Thunderbirds’ 13 first-half points. But Simpson, with help from Bailey, limited Sisselman (18 points) to one field goal and five free throws in the second half as Hills East (14-7) was never closer than nine points, 33-24, in the fourth quarter due to Longwood’s tenacious defense.

Bailey -- who had 15 points and 16 rebounds in a quarterfinal win against North Babylon -- had four points in each of the third and fourth quarters, and hauled in 11 rebounds, including six offensive boards, in the final 16 minutes.

Longwood meets Northport (20-2) in a rematch of last season’s AA championship game at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at St. Joseph’s (Patchogue). (Longwood won a year ago, 45-43.).

“This is a completely different group from last year,” Castiglione said. “We graduated three seniors who I’d had for four years. This group has a completely different dynamic . . . and Janelle is the difference maker.”

Senior point guard Janelle Brown is the catalyst for Longwood and finished with 10 points, 6 assists and 4 steals.

“Angelene is the biggest player on the court and she has the biggest heart,” Brown said. “I kept getting her the ball and giving her a chance, and in the second half she showed out.”