Commack, Hills East To Face Off For ‘AA’ Hoops Championship Game
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Left, Katie Kelly is Commack's leading scorer this season. (Photo/Fast Focus Photography/ Bob Williams)
Right, League III MVP Alexa Wallace and the Thunderbirds of Hills East are making their first ever appearance in Suffolk Class AA final. (Photo/Half Hollows Hills School District)
By Haley Pereyo
info@longislandergroup.com
This year’s Suffolk Class AA girls basketball finals is an all-Huntington area affair, with Commack and Half Hollow Hills East set to fight for the title.
The Thunderbirds of Hills East (21-2), winners of this year’s League III title, will make program history with their first ever appearance in Suffolk’s title game.
Commack, meanwhile, is no stranger to the championship game. The Cougars, who this season won their fourth straight League I title, have appeared in the county final each of the past four seasons.
The championship game is set for Tuesday, 5 p.m. at Farmingdale College (2350 Broadhollow Road). There will be a $6 admission fee.
In terms of teams they've already faced this season, both will face an unfamiliar opponent tomorrow night. However, they do understand the battles they’ll face.
Hills East varsity coach Adam Cirnigliaro said, “Our girls know many of the girls on Commack through years of playing basketball in outside leagues.”
Even the coaches know each other off the court.
Commack coach Denis Conroy said, “In addition, the coaching staffs are close and have enormous respect for each other.”
With the mutual respect among the Cougars and Thunderbirds comes a desire to play at their best. Each team has a unique approach to the upcoming game.
Commack will look to keep that defense as strong as possible. Conroy said the Cougars will look to “continue to play excellent defense, especially on their perimeter shooters.”
He continued, we want to “control the glass and run our own offense with consistency.”
The Thunderbirds will look to keep pressure on that Commack defense. Cirnigliaro and the Thunderbirds will look to “be who we’ve been all season.”
“Defensively, we want to pressure their guards without fouling, try to disrupt what they do on offense and limit them to one shot,” he said. “Offensively, we are really focused on execution.”
The individual battles will also be hard fought on both sides.
For Commack, senior guard Casey Hearns, a returning All-County player and four-year starter, will likely play a key role for the Cougars. "She has been an outstanding player all year,” Conroy said.
There's also junior Katie Kelly, who leads Commack in both scoring and assists this season, her first as a starter.
Commack seniors Gabby Bercerra, Lauren Maline and Kim Shalhoub have each gone undefeated at home and played in each of the past four AA championship games with Commack.
Meanwhile, Half Hollow Hills East is led by senior Alexa Wallace, who is averaging 20.6 points per game and was named this year's League III MVP.
Seniors Jessie Maurer, Wallace and Jessica Womble have each been nominated for All-County nods. And juniors McKayla Jones and Sophia Tawil earned All-League standing.
The winner of tomorrow night's game will the county’s small school champion -- either Hauppauge or Mattituck -- on Friday, 5 p.m. at Farmingdale College .
The ensuing Long Island championship game is slated for March 8, 7:30 p.m. at Suffolk Community College’s Brentwood campus.
