Westhampton girls basketball's Kate Sweet, Mia Velez step up for shorthanded squad
Westhampton's Mia Velez, middle, is congratulated by teammates Anya DeBoer, left, and Kate Sweet after making a free-throw in the second half against host Hauppauge on Friday Dec. 19, 2025. Credit: Kathy M Helgeson
The Westhampton girls basketball team was down two of its best players, but the Hurricanes proved their worth in Hauppauge on Friday night.
While missing senior standouts Sandra Clark and Jasmine Taylor because of illness, Westhampton fought to a tight, 51-47, Suffolk IV win over Hauppauge.
“Everybody had to step up,” coach Katie Peters said. “We had a ‘next girl up’ attitude, controlled what we could control and we played for [Clark and Taylor] tonight.”
Junior Kate Sweet internalized that mindset.
Despite dealing with a faceguard for the majority of the game, Sweet led the Hurricanes with 12 points and three assists. She opened the fourth quarter with a free throw that tied the score at 42 and later assisted Mia Velez’s go-ahead basket.
“We proved ourselves tonight,” Sweet said. “Losing two of our biggest contributors is really tough, but we’re still a team to be reckoned with without them. Our motive for the game was to play for them and I think we really executed on that.”
Following Sweet’s lead, Westhampton (6-1) had breakout performances from underclassmen Velez and Mary Atkinson. Velez, a sophomore, put up 11 points off the bench and Atkinson, a freshman, recorded 10 points in her second start of the season.
Atkinson said she never takes the opportunity to contribute for granted.
“As a freshman, it can honestly be really nerve-wracking,” Atkinson said. “I look up to these girls and I’m just so happy to be able to play. I think we all really brought the energy and everybody played a role in this win which makes it really special.”
Though only 5-1, Velez is a shifty guard who uses her size to get under defenders to score. Six of her points came in the fourth quarter as she played a clutch role to put Westhampton ahead for good and hand Hauppauge (5-1) its first loss of the season.
“Especially missing two of our key players, it meant a lot to us to go out there and play — and win — as a unit,” Velez said. “We knew we had to bring the defensive intensity and be calm with the ball. It wasn’t always pretty, but we got it done regardless.”
As a junior, Sweet said watching these younger players step up in high-pressure situations is especially exciting for her.
“They’re the future of this team and I’m so excited that I have one more year to play with them,” Sweet said. “They really came to play today and it’ll be so awesome to watch them keep developing and getting better as the season goes on.”
Tess Ferguson is a reporter on Newsday's high school sports staff. She joined the team after graduating with a journalism degree from Ithaca College in 2025.
