Featured Story

JV girls drop home opener to Babylon; excels in energy and defense

BEVERLEA WALZ 13 Domily Gil and 5 Lily Garrison
BEVERLEA WALZ  Domily Gil  on the dribble as number 5 Lilly Garrison breaks free for a pass in  Shelter Island’s home loss to Babylon Tuesday afternoon.

Coach Michael Mundy is at the helm of the Shelter Island girls’ junior varsity basketball team for his second year. Their season’s opening game was Tuesday, December 6 against the Babylon Panthers. It was a 26-14 loss, but there were plenty of bright spots.

The team struggled with scoring in the early going, only putting up 4 points by halftime. However, as the team got into the game, Amira Lawrence put up several 3-point attempts, helping to spread out the defense and earning a bucket in the third quarter. Lawrence led the scoring with 5 points, while Melissa Frasco added 4. Madison Hallman scored 3 and Domily Gil chipped in 2 as she went 100 percent on her free throws.

The defense also improved throughout the game. In the fourth quarter the Panthers only managed 2 points, and the high energy Islander defense caused Babylon to turn the ball over with shot clock violations three times.

With 11 players on the roster, Coach Mundy is still tinkering with various combinations of athletes that work well together on the floor. Nichole Hand and Bianca Evangelista weren’t able to play in this game, but the coach anticipates their physical style of play will “help us out down low in the paint” and will add even more punch to the defense and rebounding. He added that the “freshman are working hard and getting used to the pace of the game.”

Coach Mundy singled out senior Amira Lawrence and junior Madison Hallman for their contributions during the Babylon game. “Amira was big on rebounds and a big presence in the paint for us,” he said. “Madi was great at point guard and running the offense.”

As the season gets rolling, this will be a fun team to watch develop. Grab your bleacher cushions and come on down to the gym! The next home game is at 4:30 on December 15 against Port Jefferson.