A battle it was.
Mattituck stepped on the court at St. Joseph’s College in the Southeast Regional on Saturday night knowing they already made school history but that didn’t mean that they bow down to Section IX’s Class B champion, Marlboro Central.
As the two teams matched up on the court, so did the crowds. Echoes of “Let’s go Mattituck” and “Let’s go Marlboro” rang in syllabic unison through the ears of everyone present with every crucial play made.
After scoring the first five points of the game, Mattituck looked to be in business. A quick shot by Mackenzie Daly was followed up by a three-ball by Liz Dwyer.
Three-pointers were the theme from there on out.
Marlboro broke out of its early shell and started sinking threes. Each player took a turn and a 9-0 run sent the Dukes cruising in the right direction.
But behind the play of Dwyer, Katie Hoeg and Corinne Reda, the Tuckers kept the game close in the first quarter.
The second quarter featured more three pointers from the Dukes as shocked Mattituck spectators looked at each other in disbelief following every swish of the net. Another 9-0 run by Marlboro brought the Dukes into halftime, leading 39-24.
It only got worse in the third quarter as the Dukes expanded their lead to 21 points. Things were crumbling for the Tuckers but even so, with the crowd behind them, Mattituck began to string together a few points at a time.
Hoeg hit two threes, Dwyer, who scored a game-high 28 points, hit a three and Reda chipped in a basket and before you knew it, the Mattituck faithful was on its feet as 21-point lead shrunk down to just nine.
But that was as close as they would get. Marlboro came out in the fourth with more unanswered threes, bringing the lead back to 21 before Mattituck cut it down again in a last ditch run.
There just wasn’t enough time to mount a comeback and Mattituck’s historic season came to an end, 74-61.
The season may have ended but what was accomplished this season will live on forever. Time to hang the banner.
