Seahawks Upset Seaford, Advance To Hoops Semifinals

By Janee Law
jlaw@longislandergroup.com

Cold Spring Harbor used “excellent team defense” and a bunch of “fast break opportunities” to fuel its Wednesday afternoon win, a 48-40 upset of Seaford in Nassau’s Class A quarterfinals.

The fifth-seeded Seahawks trailed early, falling behind the fourth-seeded Blue Jays by two points come the end of the first quarter. That quickly changed in the second, though, with senior forward Sam Beroza sinking an early shot to even the score.

The Seahawks ultimately took a 24-17 lead into halftime. They never looked back.

“The team played excellent team defense that led to a lot of fast break opportunities for us,” coach Rory Malone said.

He added that senior captain Katherine Buonfiglio came up big with two three-pointers that opened up the lead in the second quarter.

He also cited Beroza, and junior captains Sophia Taglich and Nikki Mormile, who sank big free throws down the stretch.

Another junior captain, Caroline DeBellis led Cold Spring Harbor’s offensive push with 17 points. Meanwhile, Mormile scored 10 points, Buonfiglio scored nine, Beroza scored six and both Taglich and senior center Chloe Seccafico scored three.

With the win, the Seahawks have advanced to Nassau’s Class A semifinal round, where they’re set to face top-seeded Elmont on Saturday, 3 p.m. at SUNY Old Westbury.

The Seahawks also defeated 12th-seeded Bellmore JFK in the opening round of the playoffs last Friday. DeBellis led all scorers in that effort with 24 points.

However, Malone again attributed the win to Cold Spring Harbor’s stout defensive play.

“When we start playing well on the defensive end that leads to a good offense for us,” Malone said. “When we’re not panicking and playing with composure, we play our best.”