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Sports

Sayville Girls Hoops Tripped Up By Kings Park

Pressure defense fuels huge run early by Lady Kingsmen.

If having to adapt to the opposition’s gym wasn’t enough of a task for a young squad, the Sayville girls basketball team had to brace for the all-out frenzy that awaited at Kings Park Thursday night. The Lady Kingsmen, long and lean and quick, were coming at the Golden Flashes full-throttle with its vaunted full-court trap defense.

Sayville had early success against it but it was unable to sustain that momentum. Kings Park, last year’s Suffolk County Class A runner-up, used a 17-0 first-quarter run to take the steam out of the visitors, eventually going on to win comfortably, 60-39.

The sides were even in the latter two quarters, but it was the first two that felled the Golden Flashes (3-6, 0-4 League V). It wasn’t for a lack of effort though.

“[Kings Park] is a top five team in the county,” Sayville head coach said. “We’re still learning. The girls didn’t give up. There’s a difference between losing and getting beat. They played hard, they didn’t get beat, but still, we need to improve.”

It was a special night as well because the Lady Kingsmen hosted their inaugural Coaches vs. Cancer game, an event Sayville has put on the last three seasons. According to KP head coach Tom Edmundsen, the game raised approximately $1,200. That figure, which didn’t yet include T-shirt sales, surpassed the team’s $1,000 goal.

“It’s a good thing to get involved in community service,” Edmundsen said. “Cancer affects everybody, and it’s affected everyone on our team in some way.”

Early on, the Golden Flashes looked poised to stay within striking distance of the host Lady Kingsmen throughout. On its first possession, Sayville worked the shot clock, twice corralling offensive rebounds and kicking the ball out. To top it off, Julia DePompeo, the coach’s daughter, made the hard work pay off, scoring underneath for the night’s first tally. KP buried two free throws on the other end, but Emily Goczan responded by sinking a short jumper after the Sayville guards had solved the hosts’ full-court trap.

However, combination of the Lady Kingsmen press, as well as not being able to convert baskets when beating the press, eventually doomed Sayville. After Goczan’s bucket, Kings Park scored the next 17 points to grab a 19-4 lead with under a minute remaining in the quarter.

“We wanted to limit their offensive possessions, but we rushed our shots and turned the ball over,” DePompeo said. “We didn’t stick to our gameplan, but we’re an inexperienced team and you live and learn.”

Sayville, which dropped a heartbreaking 32-28 decision to Eastport-South Manor, also battled foul trouble as DePompeo, Kelsey Clair and Amy Dean picked up two fouls in the early going. The Lady Kingsmen called off the press but still managed to expand their lead to 20 by halftime and as high as 25 in the third quarter.

Still, the Golden Flashes were able to play about even (25-24) with the Lady Kingsmen in the second half, even with much of KP’s starting lineup still in the game. DePompeo lauded the team’s effort overall, but he spoke highly of underclassmen such as Dean (team-high 9 points, 7 for 10 FTs), Mattie Hoon (6) and Goczan (5).

“As far as I’m concerned, this is the toughest league in the county, top to bottom,” DePompeo said. “We are what I thought we’d be, but we’ll keep improving.”

Sayville will look to end its five-game skid on Tuesday when it hosts Miller Place (4 p.m.), with Rocky Point due in Thursday (4 p.m.).

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