Girls win 4 in a row on way to post-season
The Shelter Island girls varsity basketball team is on a roll. They won Tuesday night’s Smithtown Christian game, 60-30, and before that they had won four league games in a row, beating Ross, Stony Brook, Pierson and Port Jefferson. As of Tuesday night, their league record stands at 5-1.
This coming week will start the second half of the season. Coach Peter Miedema said, “We start by playing two tough games away, Southold and Pierson. If we win both games, the goal of at least sharing the league title is well within reach.”
Despite some minor injuries, the girls are working and improving, although Coach Miedema feels they still have a way to go to reach their full potential. He plans to input some new offenses and different looks to keep their opponents guessing. “I’m happy to see the girls winning but I think we have another gear somewhere and am hoping to find it soon,” he said.
Over the next two weeks, the team will focus on new offensive and defensive schemes, minimizing the turnovers and improving rebounding. The whole team is improving as a unit and Coach Miedema said he is excited about their progress. With their eyes on the post-season, the team is focusing on one game at a time.
Kelsey McGayhey continues her assault on the 1,000-point milestone. Averaging 25.1 points per game, as of January 15 she had 929 career points, just 71 away. At Smithtown Christian, she had 34 and every team member made at least one basket. That leaves Kelsey with 37 points to go before she hits 1,000.
Unfortunately, due to scheduling, it looks as though she will likely break that mark on the road.
JUNIOR VARSITY
The JV team is 3-2 as of January 15. The girls lost to Port Jefferson on January 12 and beat Ross the day before. Coach Brian Doelger said he has been pleasantly surprised with the team. “Last year the JV team had a lot of players that were already trained basketball players. This year, only Abbie Ross-Gates and Keri-Ann Mahoney had ever played high school basketball before. That being said, the kids are learning the game at a good pace. Both Pete [Miedema] and I are trying to teach the kids the fundamentals and nuances of the game.”
Anyone who has seen the team in action knows that they hustle tremendously every game. What they lack in basketball knowledge is made up for in energy and hard work. Ross-Gates has been the MVP and leading scorer to date but everyone is contributing. In two games this year, every player on the roster has scored.
Olivia Garrison shines as a hardworking guard while Samantha Capello and MeMe Lawrence have done a great job fighting for the ball with girls who are usually much bigger and lead the team in rebounding. Erin Colligan has been learning the game while providing great defense and buoying the rest of the team with her always-positive and funny attitude. Jill Calabro occasionally takes a break from varsity action to supplement the thin JV roster as needed.
Serina Kaasik, an eighth grader, has melded well with the older girls and was singled out by Coach Doelger as a smart basketball player. “She sees the floor so well and has been a great team player,” the coach said. In the game against Ross, she had 9 points and a minimum of 10 assists.
The key to JV sports is development. Coach Doelger said he is very pleased to be seeing success at developing the players while still being able to win games. They hope to finish the season above .500 in the league.
The girls and boys basketball schedule are often mirror opposites: if the boys team is playing away, the girls are usually competing at home against the same school.
Check the schedule and come on down to the gym to cheer on the hometown favorites!
