Finley-7 Girls' BB Finishes at .500
It was a good solid year. The J. Taylor Finley Middle School seventh grade girls' basketball team closed out its season with a 5-5 mark under head coach Rick Agnello.
The 17-player squad was captained by Sarah Agrillo, Katie Seccafico and Amber Stieve. "We overcame a lot of injuries to key players," Agnello said. "We started four different players at point guard throughout the season. However, the girls continued to work hard and finished with a successful season."
Agrillo played forward, grabbing plenty of rebounds and showing good shooting skills. Seccafico, a shooting guard, was one of Finley's best defenders and Agnello typically assigned her to cover the opposing team's best player. Stieve played point guard and she was a tough defender who was also a good ball handler and fine shooter.
The Falcons also received strong performances from Nicole Abbondandelo, Katie Reilly, Afroditi Mountanos and Niamh Condon. Abbondandelo played point guard. "She could lean and go left or right on the dribble and was a good defender, too" Agnello said. Reilly was a very good passer, top rebounder and an "outstanding 'help' defender," the coach said.
Mountanos played center, crashing the boards for countless rebounds and finishing well around the basket. Condon was a shooting guard who also displayed good defensive skills.
Finley-7 won the Section XI Sportsmanship Award for its device (the name given to middle school "leagues"). Coaches rate opposing teams following each game and the results are compiled by Section XI, which presents an award following the season.
"This was a great group of girls," Agnello said. "They enjoyed playing the game and got better throughout the season."
Falcon Facts: Finley's victories came against Dawnwood-7 (32-13 and 31-8), Bay Shore-7 (32-24), Selden-7 (30-14) and Candlewood-7 (22-15) . . . The Falcons dropped contests to Nesaquake-7 (36-32), Lindenhurst-7 (34-22), West Hollow-7 (29-23) and Commack-7 (56-14 and 52-12). . . Finley won its first four games of the season before dropping the next five straight. The team won its last game of the year to finish at .500.