Forster's 21 Points Pace Blue Devils
Heather Forster turned in what could very well be the best game of her still-young career, scoring 21 points, grabbing 17 rebounds and blocking six shots to propel the Huntington girls' basketball team past visiting Copiague, 40-31 before a crowd of about 200.
Forster loomed large on both ends of the court as Huntington methodically built a large lead en route to what can only be considered a satisfying victory. The Blue Devils entered the game following a series of tough losses and were thought to be underdogs against a fast Copiague squad.
"This was a huge win for our team," said Mike Kaplan, Huntington's head coach. "It was definitely a confidence booster because Copiague is highly ranked in Suffolk. We knew that we'd have to keep them under 40 points in order to win this game. We did it by playing solid defense for 32 minutes. We shut them down, only allowing them one point in the third quarter."
Huntington led 15-11 after the first eight minutes of play and was ahead 24-16 at halftime. The Blue Devils then went on a 9-1 run in the third quarter to grab an imposing 33-17 advantage. But, the game was not over by a long stretch.
The Eagles pulled it together between periods and scored 10 straight fourth quarter points to close to within six at 33-27. Huntington then recovered and finished on a high note. Raynisha Witherspoon contributed nine points and nine assists to the Blue Devil cause. Katie Nugent added five points.
"Offensively our girls are getting more comfortable going to the basket," Kaplan said. "We played as a unit. The girls are starting to understand each other's strengths on the court, which is allowing us to play better as a team."
The two teams played a frenetic final four minutes of basketball with both squads committing costly turnovers. Huntington hung tough, with Kaplan calling a series of time-outs to plan strategy.
"We had a great two weeks of practice, so I knew the girls were going to come out playing well," Kaplan said. "They were very hungry for this win. Our returning varsity players really stepped up to the challenge and lead the team."
Blue Devil Free Throws: Tara Byrnes scored four points for Huntington . . . Laurelle Byrne-Cody contributed one point . . . A larger than expected crowd was in the bleachers for the game's tip-off . . . Huntington School Board member Richard McGrath caught the end of the JV game (which preceded the evening's main event) and watched the varsity during its warm-ups.