BASKETBALL
Blue Devil Magic Fails At
Empire State Games
When your team loses by 40 points
or more, the only thing you can do is shrug it off and put it behind
you. That’s exactly what four Huntington High School girls’
basketball players did when their Long Island regional team was
crushed by powerful squads from the Hudson Valley and Western regions
in the Empire State Games at Westchester Community College.
Casey Scully, Kerry Hicks, Julie Forster and Maria Marascia earned
spots on the roster, giving the Long Island squad a decidedly Blue
Devil flavor. Unfortunately, the team had limited practice opportunities
and it showed as they never were able to gain any rhythm or consistency,
going long stretches without scoring in their first game against
Hudson Valley. Down 34-20 at the half, Long Island ended up losing
77-37 with the “Huntington four” scoring a combined
10 points, led by Scully’s five.
Among the crowd filling the stands was Blue Devil basketball coach
Brad Reminick. “It was pretty amazing seeing all four girls
on the court at once today,” Reminick said. “I wish
the result was a bit better but to have all four of them playing
together representing Long Island, I was pretty proud! It was
tough to watch because I wanted to coach them the whole time.
On the other hand, it was cool to see them play from a different
perspective.”
A mere 24 hours after the opening round blowout, Hicks exploded
for 20 points, including a pair of three-pointers and 6-for-10 shooting
from the foul line but it wasn’t enough as Long Island dropped
a 51-39 verdict to the Adirondack regional team. All four Huntington
players scored, including Marascia, who also connected on a three-pointer.
The four Blue Devils were instrumental in Huntington’s march
to the Suffolk finals last winter when the team featured an extremely
fast paced offense that was dependent on exceptional conditioning
and the ability to score from anywhere on the court. That style
of play requires daily hard practices, which wasn’t possible
for the Empire State Games team.
In the third round, Long Island found itself down at halftime, 51-16
en route to an 87-40 loss. Hicks led the local contingent with eight
points and Scully added seven more.
Outside the arena, Scully said summer play can’t be compared
to the regular season.
“It’s a lot different,” she said. The intensity
isn’t the same and neither is anything else.
But, every time a player steps on the court they improve, so the
Empire State Games gave the Blue Devils an opportunity to take their
game to a new level.
Scully will return to high school in the fall as a senior and the
other three players will be juniors. Huntington is coming off its
best season ever and appears to have a bright future as a program.
“I think the next couple of years are going to be very special
for all of us,” Reminick said.
-Contributed by Jim Hoops
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