Resounding victory for lady Indians

Kelsey McGayhey is head and shoulders above the rest as she reaches for a loose ball. Click on any image to see a slide show of these photos.
Even Coach Peter Miedema couldn’t stop the Indians’ momentum inthe final minutes of their win against Port Jefferson last Friday:”I was trying to tell them to stop shooting and to run the clockand they still didn’t want to listen, he said. “I couldn’t slowthem down.
But he wasn’t upset with the girls’ continued drive to putpoints on the board: “I’ll take that any day, he said.
The 42-30 win was a significant improvement from the previousgame, a 52-20 loss to Stony Brook. Not wanting a repeat of thatbrutal defeat, Coach Miedema and the girls had a team meetingbefore the game to talk about the tempo of the game and how”everyone’s expectations should be higher, he said.
This game’s tempo was clear from the start. The girls jumped outto an early lead which they held for the entire game.
This lead began 2:30 into the game, when Katie Siller passed theball to Kelsey McGayhey, who was fouled and sunk both her freethrows. Thirty seconds later Siller sent a beautiful bounce pass toEmily Gibbs, who put another two points on the board.
After a Port Jefferson jump shot, McGayhey answered with alayup, despite being fouled, and sunk her subsequent free throwgiving the Indians a 7-2 lead. Just over a minute later, MackenzieNeedham stole a Port Jefferson pass and made a break for an easylayup. The first quarter ended 13-7, Indians.
The second quarter began and ended with layups from McGayhey.She scored that second layup with just seconds left on the clock,when Rachel Heinze threw the ball down court from under theIndians’ basket to a sprinting McGayhey, who put it in just beforethe buzzer.
At one point in the third quarter it looked like Port Jeffersonwas putting together a comeback. Halfway into the period, a PortJefferson jump shot put the score at 23-20, Indians. But then, asCoach Miedema put it, “we kicked it back into another gear again,reestablished ourselves, got our composure, and pulled away again.The girls went on a scoring spree that continued into the finalquarter – at 6:00, the score was 32-22 Indians.
The crowd was on its feet a minute and 30 seconds later, whenthe girls scored 6 points in quick succession: Stephanie Vecchiosunk two foul shots, McGayhey grabbed her own rebound and scored,and Stacey Clark hit a jump shot of her own. The points put thegame out of Port Jefferson’s reach, and their final scoring drivewasn’t enough to top the Indians’ 42 points.
Throughout the game the team cycled the ball past defenders withease, firing off crisp passes across the court throughout the game.”The ball movement was definitely sharper, said Coach Miedema. Itset up frequent scoring opportunities for the Indians.
But if the crowd’s occasional shouts of “shoot it! were anyindication, the girls didn’t utilize all of thoseopportunities.
Furthermore, the girls had problems with unforced errors,racking up a large number of turnovers from travelling. “We’ll justhave to clean it up a little bit, said Coach Miedema.
But they more than made up for these problems with theirdefensive play: Stephanie Vecchio, among others, “came in andplayed some outstanding defense, said Coach Miedema. The teamcreated a large number of turnovers that they were able to turninto valuable fast break points.
It was a satisfying win for both the coach and the team: “it wasnice being at home and giving the fans a victory ¦and the parents and the community something to cheer about.
The Indians had a more difficult time with Southold on Monday,losing 60-36. The score of their game against McGann-Mercy onWednesday wasn’t available when the Reporter went to press. Thenext varsity game will be on the home court against Connetquot at4:30 p.m. tomorrow.