Rachel Mahler (20 points) leads Syosset and 'mayhem' press does the rest in win over Oceanside

Handling the pressure of the Syosset girls basketball team can be stressful.
With freshman Lilah Grubman forcing the issue at the front of the press, the Braves force turnovers and wreak havoc.
Call it, ‘mayhem.’
“Our press is called ‘mayhem,’ so that’s something we emphasize a lot,” said senior Rachel Mahler, who had 20 points in host Syosset’s 67-18 win over Oceanside in Nassau AA-I on Saturday. “We create chaos and we make the other teams flustered.”
Syosset (8-0) routinely keeps teams under 40 points, in large part to its defensive tenacity. The Braves are able to shoot a high percentage with the easy transition baskets that come from the turnovers they force, as was the case against Oceanside (2-5).
When Syosset isn’t scoring off its press, it’s running a complex pick-and-roll half-court set. Uncommon at the high school level (especially at the frequency the Braves run it), the pick-and-roll is just as difficult to defend as it is to execute.
Syosset coach Michael Ferreira said he has the “high-IQ” athletes to make it work.
“Instead of giving them plays to run, we try to teach them how to play the game of basketball and have them make reads,” he said. “We read what the defense gives us, then have our girls make plays.”
With forwards crashing from either elbow, all Kendall Halpern (six points) and Caroline Ruggiero (six) have to do is wait for the perfect moment to hit them in stride.
“Inside, we have two bigs who do almost everything,” Halpern said. “It makes our lives so much easier if we’re going to dump it inside. It just fits our team.”
It all culminates in a well-rounded Braves attack. Ferreira said he has the depth this season to rest his starters, keeping them fresh for potentially crucial moments at the end of games.
He had 10 players score against the Sailors, seemingly all of whom grasp the brand of basketball Syosset wants to play.
“Our idea is that we just want to keep teams up-tempo and wear them down over the course of four quarters,” Ferreira said. “We believe that if we’re playing our mayhem style of pressure defense, eventually it will take its toll on them.”
With “off the charts” athleticism, according to Halpern, Syosset has its sights set on a conference championship and a push for a county title.
The Braves hope to cause mayhem against Nassau’s top teams.
Said Halpern: “In that fourth quarter, we’re looking to run people down.”