The Manhasset Indians faced the South Side Cyclones, on February 26, in the Class AA semifinals of the Nassau championship game at Farmingdale State College. The one-seeded Indians won 44-38.
The game looked like a blow-out in favor of Manhasset when the girls went up 35-19 after a huge third quarter where they outscored South Side 17-6. In the fourth quarter, the Cyclones brought the game back with a 17-2 run making it a one-point game 37-36. Danielle Perfetto hit a big three for her team stopping the South Side run and keeping the lead for the team. Manhasset weathered the storm and closed out the game to move on to the championship round for the second straight year.
Senior Mia Lopinto led Manhasset with 15 points. Kyla Murphy scored 10 leading her South Side team. The Indians managed to contain an offense that had scored 50 points or more in nine of their last eleven games to just 38.
In the first quarter, South Side scored a quick four points, holding Manhasset to zero points until Lopinto hit two free throws three minutes into the game. Manhasset found themselves down 9-3 but a Lopinto step-back three cut the lead to a one-score game. The three energized Manhasset as they went to the second quarter down 9-8.
Lauren Perfetto hit a three to start the second period, giving Manhasset a lead that they held onto for the rest of the game. In the period, Manhasset outscored South Side 10-4 giving them a 18-13 lead into halftime.
The third quarter saw Manhasset break away with a 14-4 run. The Cyclones’ Katelyn Mullen made a floater to stop the run with her team down 32-19. The third quarter ended with Manhasset up 35-19. Lopinto, L. Perfetto, and Lauren Connolly all scored four points with D. Perfetto putting in five points during the quarter.
South Side found themselves in a hole and went to work quickly to dig themselves out of it. Mullen made a jumper to start the quarter including two threes from Ella Burbige and Ellie Lennon for a quick 8-0 run. Out of a Manhasset timeout, Harper Lambert made a jump shot putting a halt to the South Side run. The Cyclones went another run, scoring nine straight points, cutting the once 16-point lead to just one, 37-36. With all the momentum against them, D. Perfetto made a three to silence the Cyclones. Manhasset held on to win 44-38.
Manhasset moved on to face the seven-seeded East Meadow Jets after the win over the Cyclones. They returned to Farmingdale State College on March 4th for the championship tilt. An exciting game took place with high scoring and a dramatic finish ending 69-66 in favor of East Meadow.
Manhasset took an early 20-12 lead after the first quarter and looked like they were going to run with it but East Meadow came out of the gates firing in the second quarter. They hit four of their eleven threes in the quarter and outscored Manhasset 24-10, taking a 36-30 lead into halftime.
The fourth quarter saw Manhasset down by as large as 14 points but a 10-0 run helped bring them within four and then Lopinto hit a three, making it a one-score game 65-62. Kayla Lederer split her free throws giving East Meadow a four-point lead but Lopinto came right back with a floater, now only a two-point game. Allie Twible split a pair of free throws and it was L. Perfetto’s turn to make it a one-point game as she grabbed an offensive rebound, making the score 67-66. Viola was fouled and made sure not to miss as she gave her team the three-point cushion they needed to win the game.
The Perfetto sisters led their team with Danielle scoring 19 and Lauren scoring 15. Twible and Charlotte Viola scored 20 and 18 respectively for their team. The Jets exploited the zone of the Indians finding multiple open threes.
Connolly helped her team early in the first quarter scoring the first nine points for her team, using her size advantage to nab offensive rebounds, creating second-chance points for herself. A Twible three gave the Jets a 12-9 lead but Manhasset came back and ended the quarter on an 11-0 run.
The second quarter started with Viola blocking L. Perfetto, running the break herself, and drawing the foul. She hit both and Manhasset followed with a layup from Ladopoulos and a L. Perfetto three. The Jets then ripped off a 20-3 run only stopped by a three from D. Perfetto. Twible hit a floater at the buzzer putting them up 36-30 after two.
Lopinto didn’t get scoring until the second half where she scored all her points helping her team try and mount a comeback. The East Meadow defense frustrated Manhasset as they created turnovers, leading to fastbreaks. D. Perfetto made a three at the end of the third cutting the lead to under 10, 50-41.
Angelina Cronin, Lederer, and Viola all made threes giving the Jets a 14-point lead. Manhasset didn’t go away easy with a 10-0 run that included four different scorers. Lopinto hit two big shots bringing her team right back into the game but Viola’s free throws in the clutch kept her team on top to capture their first Nassau championship.
Manhasset finished their season 19-4 but ultimately fell short of repeating as champions, an outstanding season nonetheless.
