Asyria Rios concentrates at the free throw line. (Darin Reed photo.)

Blue Devils Topple Smithtown East to Improve to 14-0

Asyria Rios concentrates at the free throw line. (Darin Reed photo.)

January 24, 2022

Not even playing its scheduled home games on the road at neutral sites can stop the Huntington High School girls’ basketball team, which at 14-0 is a juggernaut.

The Blue Devils glided past Smithtown East in a game played at Elwood-John H. Glenn last Saturday, 71-33. Huntington jumped out to a 24-7 first quarter lead and extended the advantage to an overwhelming 39-13 by halftime.

With Louis D. Giani Gymnasium unavailable due to flooding that resulted in the floor needing to be replaced, Huntington is playing its remaining home games on the road. It already played one at Harborfields and has two more scheduled at the Greenlawn school.

Elwood-John H. Glenn and its athletic director, David Shanahan couldn’t have been more gracious hosts and the Blue Devils quickly settled into their new surroundings during pre-game warmups.

Senior Emily Plachta turned in her biggest game of the year with 31 points, 16 rebounds, five assists and four steals to lead the Blue Devils. Senior Junie Nosile had 12 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots.

The game saw 12 Huntington players score. Lauren Donaghy had seven points and Katie Browne, Makaylah Frazier and Asyria Rios all scored four points each. Teddi Carnesi, Regan Sansiviero and Shaneek Shands had two points each. Kayleigh Bender, Gianni Forte and Reese Rinaldi all scored a point from the free throw line.

The Blue Devils outscored Smithtown East in the second half, 32-20. Huntington scored 17 points from the free throw line, including nine by Plachta.

Huntington is ranked No. 2 in Suffolk Class AA by the New York State Sportswriters Association.