There were so many exciting moments during the Huntington High School junior varsity girls’ basketball team’s recently completed season that players will remember them long into the off-season. The Blue Devils compiled a 9-9 record under first year head coach Katie Reilly, who thrived in the role of sideline mentor.
Captained by Neurdia Osias and Zaida Correal, the 12 player team was filled with colorful personalities and strong-willed individuals. Getting the team to play together as a unit posed a challenge for Reilly, who used practices as fun, learning experiences.
The coach came to each session with a plan of what she wanted to teach and accomplish and gradually got her team to buy into a philosophy that produced many more wins than some thought possible
Osias, Correal, Aylana Powell, Kaylee Smalling, Theresa Rivera and Jenna Italiano led the team. Osias scored a team high 119 points, just one more than Powell, who recorded 118.
“Neurdia Osias had a great year all-around,” Reilly said. “She was the team’s leading scorer and worked extremely hard rebounding offensively and defensively. She was a major component of the success of our defense and had some gorgeous blocks in the final games. Aylana Powell was the unsung hero of many games. She consistently put up points and came up with huge rebounds time and time again. She was a vital part of our team’s success this year.”
Smalling and Rivera, who both played guard for the Huntington JV, combined to score 160 points, which each turning in several spectacular performances.
“Kaylee Smalling really stepped up defensively for us,” Reilly said. “She had two or three steals a game, which contributed many times to a swing in momentum. She also discovered her outside shot. It was really exciting to see her hit some three pointers throughout the season. There’s no other word for Theresa Rivera other than clutch. She pulled us out of scoring droughts multiple times throughout the season and hit the game-winner in the Centereach game, which was thrilling.”
Italiano, a talented freshman and Correal, a skilled sophomore, also both excelled at their guard positions, scoring a combined 87 points and hustling up and down the court.
“Zaida Correal was our starting point guard this year,” Reilly said. “She has amazing ball handling skills and it was fun to watch her start to really use those moves in the games. She was a great positive energy source for our team. Jenna Italiano really made huge improvements over the winter break when we had five days of practice in a row. Ever since then, she has shown that she is a very versatile basketball player who can shoot or drive to the basket.”
The coach pegged a 39-38 win over Centereach in the last home game of the year as the season highlight. “They beat us the first time by 25 points and so the girls really prepared and gave it all they had to win,” Reilly said. “The enthusiastic home crowd helped us. Another huge feat came when we beat North Babylon after trailing by 12 points. It showed that the girls have heart and grit and was just another great game of many this season.”
Reilly earned every dollar of her coaching stipend. “When we played our first scrimmage at Cold Spring Harbor, we realized that we had a lot of work to do,” she said. “The girls really worked hard at improving their ball handling and shooting over the course of the year and that hard work definitely shined through for anyone who came to see a game. The girls played spectacular defense all year. The type of defense they played involved a trap, so everyone really needed to be tuned in in order to get the steal. It was a beautiful sight when they executed it perfectly. It was an awesome year all around.”
Osias and Powell will both be juniors next year and are expected to vie for spots on the varsity roster. Forward Gabriela Rodriguez-Moreira will be a senior and she, too, will be looking to play on the varsity.
Correal, Marley Joseph, Jessica Maixner and Yuliana Perla-Hernandez will also be in the mix for a promotion. Smalling, Italiano, Sophie Carlson and Anne Tyrrell are currently all freshmen and some or all of them might return to the JV to make it a powerhouse in 2022/23.