It was a great winter for the Huntington junior varsity girls’ basketball team, which compiled a 15-4 record.
Coached by district physical education teacher John Romano, the Blue Devils won the Center Moriches JV tournament and finished second in the Islip tournament.
Huntington was led by sophomore Shaneek Shand, who scored 15.6 points per game and freshman Asyria Rios, who averaged 8.7.
The roster also included eighth grader Kayleigh Bender; freshmen Abagail Baade, Kenya Baker, Rana Elfaham, Emily Gershuny, Ebony Miller and Theresa Rivera and sophomores Teddi Carnesi, Ashley Genao, Yanira Rivera Ronquillo, Regan Sansiviero and Zaria Smith.
The highlight of the season was a come-from-behind 36-35 victory over league foe Half Hollow Hills East. “We were down by 10 at the start of the fourth quarter and finally went ahead with 8.7 seconds left,” Romano said.
Huntington also claimed victories over Bay Shore (36-11), Uniondale (51-12), Glen Cove (43-25), Copiague (43-33 and 37-26), Centereach (36-26 and 39-24), Comsewogue (43-22), Bayport-Blue Point (47-41), Smithtown West (46-35 and 48-39) and Newfield (45-25 and 63-39). The Blue Devils dropped games to Islip (47-22), Our Lady of Mercy (29-28) and Northport (71-38 and 83-31).
Among the players finishing the season with a flourish was Carnesi, who scored 14 points against powerful Northport, 12 and 11 points against Smithtown West in home and away games and 10 points against both Newfield and Hills East.
Shand was in double figures in 17 games, including a season high 29 against Newfield. Rios scored 10 or more points in seven contests, including a season best 15 against Centereach.
Bender also displayed a glimpse of her potential in the sport. The eighth grader scored in 12 games, including 12 points in the final game of the season against Newfield.
With so many younger players on the team, Romano is expected to send a powerful squad onto the court against next winter.