Girls basketball back in the gym: Take on Pierson after cancellations

It has been a while since the Shelter Island JV girls’ basketball team has had a game. With injuries and illness affecting both the Islanders and their opponents, it had been almost exactly a month since their last competition.

As the Pierson Whalers and Shelter Island Islanders warmed up on Tuesday, Jan. 20, it was great to see all six athletes in blue and white on the court. 

Makayla Cronin, who has been sidelined with an injury since the very beginning of the season, is back. With only one player in relief, it still means that most players are running the entire game, but that little buffer is important and certainly came in handy for this game.

During the first quarter both teams seemed to take their time getting warmed up. There were some nice plays run, but the shots just weren’t falling. Despite some excellent, aggressive defense by Keili Osorio Lopez in the paint, the Whalers got out to a 5-point lead before Natalie Mamisashvili translated Osorio Lopez’s pass into the first points for the Islanders.

As the quarter wound down, the Pierson coach reminded her players to look at the clock. With 6.7 seconds left, she likely wanted them to try and get one last shot off. But “six-seven” is a thing these days, so laughter in the gym ended the quarter.

The second quarter began with a great play: The ball was inbounded, Maeve Springer took a quick step, then stopped and popped for a nothing-but-net 3-pointer. After that, Pierson started pressing, limiting the offense and causing the Islanders some headaches. 

Their rebounding was solid though, with Springer grabbing three of her nine in this quarter. Kylie Kuhr contributed six, Osorio Lopez had five and Mamisashvili added four on the day.

The start of the second half showed how hard Osorio Lopez had been playing. Coming back up the court after a defensive run, she was limping a bit. Powering through, she picked up her fourth foul and had to be taken out. This gave sixth player Makayla Cronin the opportunity to contribute. While initially a bit timid, she warmed up, and with her trademark quick feet and defense started to make an impact. Cronin also had a nice assist as Springer scored another basket.

While scoring was slow for the home team, their defense continued to make it hard for the Whalers to score uncontested. The Islander defense helped run out the shot clock several times against Whalers. Four players had steals: Quinn Sobejana led the team with three, while Kuhr and Osorio Lopez each added two. Springer also swiped one. 

In the final quarter, Osorio Lopez was back in. Springer showed her nice court vision as she passed to an open Sobejana to set up a play. Kuhr also showed her growth as a player, making a pass then hustling down the court to get set up. 

Unfortunately, a hallmark of the game was the chippiness of some of the Pierson players. Basketball is physical, and a few times players tumbled to the ground on a contested ball. The Island athletes often extended a hand to help the opponent up. Each time it was rebuffed. 

Although it was hard to hear what is being said on the court between players, at one point the Pierson coach called out her players, saying, “Play basketball!”  

Sportsmanship is a key tenet of scholastic sports, so it was a shame that quality was not exhibited. 

The Islanders hustled until the end. In the last 25 seconds, Kuhr put up a shot to score 2 points, and while Sobejana’s last second 3-point attempt didn’t fall for points, it showed that the team is willing to fight until the very end. 

The final score was 37-9, Whalers.

The team will end their season with their last two games at home on Feb. 2 against Bridgehampton and Feb. 6 against East Hampton. Both begin at 4:30 p.m. Break that cabin fever and come out for the game!