Playing in the Section XI Small School Championship, the Class B qualifier Mattituck was in action against the Class A qualifier Islip at Suffolk Community College Brentwood campus on Wednesday night.
Islip was as tall as advertised. Meghan Oberg and Sanne van Poelgeest were giants among children on the floor. It was only a matter time before they would get going.
Until halftime, it was Mattituck’s game. Their full court pressure was causing havoc for the Buccaneers who seemed out of their element early on and the Tuckers were their usual selves causing turnovers over and over while capitalizing on the other end. Mattituck went into halftime leading, 29-24.
Islip hadn’t even taken a lead to that point.
That all changed in the third quarter and beyond as the Buccaneers started to dominate the inside of the paint, getting rebounds and layups. The two bigs inside for Islip had a good arm’s length over any Tucker on the floor making it nearly impossible to rebound let alone score in the paint.
Once Islip got going, it was like trying to stop a freight train. They ended up taking home the Small School Championship, 64-46.
Katie Hoeg and Liz Dwyer did what they could to keep the game close but when you’re not rebounding defensive boards, it takes a toll on your chances of winning. Hoeg scored 16 and Dwyer added 15.
Though Mattituck lost, it does not end the season. The Small School Championship is basically a bragging rights tournament that bridges the gap between the Suffolk County and Long Island championships.
The Tuckers will take on Carle Place in the Class B Long Island final on March 1 at 5 p.m. The game will be played at St. Joseph’s College in Patchogue and there will be a $7 admission.
SoutholdLOCAL photos by George Faella
