Brentwood Outlasts Blue Devils in Playoff Game, 60-44

A very talented Brentwood girls’ basketball team proved too much for Huntington to handle as the Blue Devils fell in the Suffolk Class AAA semifinals at Comsewogue, 60-44.

Huntington was able to go toe-to-toe early, but faltered as Brentwood’s superior shooting and rebounding took over the game. But the Blue Devil players, coaches and fans never lost hope, playing hard and cheering loudly until the final buzzer.

Brentwood jumped out to an early first quarter lead, grabbing a 14-8 advantage. But it was the second quarter that really proved to be the fatal drag on Huntington’s hopes as the Blue Devils were outscored by 15-5 to trail 29-13 at halftime.

The disadvantage proved too much to make up against a Brentwood team that went 12-0 in Suffolk League I and is 20-2 overall. Huntington came out on fire in the third quarter and put up its finest shooting of the night, outscoring Brentwood, 19-16.

Fighting to close the gap in the final eight minutes proved to be a heroic, but ultimately futile effort. Brentwood finished up with a 15-12 run.

The Blue Devil faithful gave their heroes a loud ovation in recognition of a great season. Huntington finished with a 9-3 mark in league play and 16-6 overall in Perry Marinelli’s first season as varsity head coach. Marinelli and his staff of Meg Marinelli, Alyssa Adomaites and Leah Morawski got the most out of their roster and captured Section XI’s attention.

Sabrina Boyle led Huntington with 16 points in her final game in a Blue Devil uniform. The senior averaged 11.3 points this winter and dropped 24 three points.

Ava McDonald made things happen all over the court as she always does, bringing the ball up the court and breaking the press, passing the ball around, drawing fouls and diving after loose balls. The sophomore had 12 points in the game.

Grace Gordon played another solid game, scoring six points, pulling down rebounds in a crowd and forcing turnovers. Lauren Donaghy was tightly guarded and limited to just five points despite averaging 15.2 this winter as a senior and nailed 51 three-point baskets.

Madyn Kalb shook off muscle tightness and contributed four points. Jolie Weinschreider scored a point from the foul line.

“Last night’s game wasn’t the outcome we wanted, but leaving the court knowing everyone on this team gave everything they had is something I’m incredibly proud of,” McDonald said. “Our coaches have been amazing all season and the belief and dedication they’ve shown us played a huge role in getting us this far. This team has been working since the summer and making it to the Final Four is a reflection to all that hard work paying off. We’ve set a new standard for this program and proven we are one of the top teams in Suffolk County. This team started something special and this is just the beginning.”