Two teams with very different paths will compete for the same goal.
Mattituck girls sprinted from start to finish and nobody stood in the way to break their stride. Aside from Port Jefferson, who eked a one-point victory over the Tuckers in early Janurary, no other team has even gotten remotely close to beating the top-seeded squad, boasting a 14-1 division record in League VII and 16-1 record overall.
The Tuckers have been nothing short of brilliant during their dominant run. Led by sophomore sensation Liz Dwyer who’s scored over 18 points a game, Mattituck can also lean on many other players. Katie Hoeg, who will attend the University of North Carolina on a lacrosse scholarship, has upped her play to an elite level over the year. She averages a smidge under 14 points a game. Both Hoeg and Dwyer have the capability of taking over the game at any point. Dwyer has routinely scored over 20 points a game.
They have complimentary players up and down the bench as well. Surrounding Dwyer and Hoeg on the starting floor are Corinne Reda, Jane DiGregorio and Mackenzie Daly but head coach Steve Van Dood has no problem bringing players off the bench because they’re just as capable as anyone else. It’s a luxury many coaches would love to have.
To no surprise, Mattituck was awarded the No. 1 seed in the Suffolk County B bracket and will face off against No. 4 Babylon at home on Saturday. Tip off will be at 2 p.m and there’ll be a $4 admission. The Tuckers have blown out Babylon both games during the regular season.
Mattituck boys had a much different road to the playoffs. At one point, they seemed to be falling out of contention before catching fire late in the season. They won one and and they lost one. It was that way throughout the season. Their record was 5-5 in League VII with just two games remaining against Center Moriches and McGann-Mercy.
They had lost to the Monarchs before and the last game against Center Moriches was a close one. The Tuckers ended up winning both games to secure a 7-5 league record with a record of 11-7 overall.
Senior Joe Tardif leads the team in scoring with 16.4 points per game but three other players also average double digits in Ryan Mowdy (12.1), Parker Tuthill (11.5) and Jon Dwyer (11.0). Tuthill most recently dropped a career-high 41 points in the last game of the season against McGann-Mercy.
Their efforts awarded them a No. 4 seed and home game on Thursday against No. 5 Center Moriches. The game will start at 4 p.m and there’ll be a $4 admission.
