Sports

Cold Third Quarter Puts Clippers Out of Reach

Southold girls' basketball team drops outbracket game to Stony Brook School.

A game tied at halftime could have been anyone's to run away with, but Southold scored just one point in the third quarter and couldn't make up the difference in a 40-21 loss to The Stony Brook School on Saturday in a Suffolk Class C girls' basketball semifinal game.

"That's been our problem all year," Clippers coach Dennis Reilly said. "The third quarter. It's been a nemesis for us."

Southold (7-11, 6-6) played Stony Brook to a 15-15 tie at halftime, bolstered by 10 points from senior Sarah Smith in what was otherwise a cold-shooting first half for both teams. But the difference in the second half, as Stony Brook's Jessica Winston focused all her defensive energy on Smith – who didn't score again in the game – was that the Bears' offense warmed up.

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Southold's only point in the third came on a freethrow from sophomore Nicole Busso with about three minutes left. Stony Brook's 11-1 run in that quarter, followed by a 14-5 final rally, put a Southold win out of reach. The win sends Stony Brook, the League VIII champs and the No. 1 seed in the Suffolk Class C tournament, to play No. 2 Pierson/Bridgehampton in the Suffolk Class C final on Tuesday.

"We knew they had a phenomenal shooter, Sarah Smith," Stony Brook senior Brannon Burke said. "Our goal was to make sure she got the ball as little as possible."

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In the first quarter, Busso and Smith sank shots that gave Southold an early 4-0 lead. The Clippers' defense didn't give up a single field goal in the first, but Stony Brook (13-5, 11-1) caught up with freethrows by the end of the quarter.

Smith nailed a pair of three-pointers in the final two minutes of the first half that tied the score at 15. The outcome was far from certain at that point, but Reilly saw his team tiring.

"We played a tough first half and got a little winded," he said. "It's tough to play both sides of the ball like that."

It didn't help that Southold was missing two key players. Sophomore Melissa Rogers was sick, and sophomore Sydney Campbell was out with an ankle injury sustained two weeks ago during practice. With those two in the lineup the last time they played Stony Brook – a 49-41 win for Stony Brook on Feb. 14 – it was a different kind of game.

Smith is the team's lone graduating senior starter, and while Reilly knows she will be missed next year, he is encouraged by the fact that such a young team did so well this season. At one point in Saturday's game, all five Clippers on the court were sophomores.

"Losing [Smith] is going to hurt, but you try and look at the positives of the year," Reilly said. "We're looking forward to returning a lot of players with experience."

Box Score


1 2 3 4 Final Southold 4 11 1 5 21 Stony Brook School 4 11 11 14 40

Key Stats

Southold (7-11, 6-6) Stony Brook (13-5, 11-1) Sarah Smith: 10 points Brannon Burke: 20 points, 7 rebounds Nicole Busso: 3 points, 7 rebounds, 4 blocks Ariano Odom: 10 points, 9 rebounds Lauren Ficurilli: 2 points, 8 rebounds Keara Vancol: 20 rebounds


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