Molly Mensch, Belle Smith spark Westhampton to Suffolk Class A title
Westhampton players celebrate their championship win against West Babylon in the Suffolk Class A girls basketball final at St. Joseph's College on Tuesday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
It only takes one.
Westhampton sophomore guard Molly Mensch hadn’t scored in Tuesday’s Suffolk A championship at St. Joseph’s College when she felt the ball hit her fingertips with 2:26 to play.
Mensch hauled in the offensive rebound and immediately went back up, draining the go-ahead basket, her only field goal of the night, to lift the top-seeded Hurricanes to a 38-36 victory over No. 2 West Babylon.
It’s the Hurricanes first title since 2005.
“I had to box out before I jumped, that was the most important thing,” Mensch said. “This is amazing . . . one of the best teams I’ve been on ever.”
After being held to one point in the third, the Hurricanes (21-2) needed a late offensive push and they got it from exactly who they expected — Belle Smith.
The senior guard scored nine of her 22 points in the fourth, including a bucket with 4:23 left to give Westhampton its first lead of the frame, as the Hurricanes opened the quarter on an 8-0 run.
Coach Katie Peters credited Smith for jump-starting Westhampton, calling her “a true winner on and off the court.”
“All season, they’ve done this, they allow teams to stay with us and then they turn on a different level of grit and determination,” Peters added. “It helps that we’ve been in close games.”
West Babylon (19-4) did its best to rally, regaining the lead on Lacey Downey’s free throw to make it 31-30 with 3:09 left. Westhampton didn’t worry.
Sparked by Mensch’s basket, the Hurricanes locked in on defense, taking a three-point lead with 1:37 left on Olivia Rongo’s steal and fast-break score.
“In the fourth quarter, we kept changing our defenses,” Smith said. “That’s when we started getting our momentum.”
Westhampton led by as many as five before West Babylon’s Avery Vergano made it a two-point game with 8.1 seconds left, but it was too little, too late.
The Hurricanes will play Pierson/Bridgehampton in Saturday’s Suffolk small school championship at 5 p.m. at St. Joseph’s College, looking for another win and the next step in what they hope will be a deep playoff run.
“We’re not ready to be done yet,” Smith said. “We’re going to keep fighting.”
