Oceanside clinches playoff spot

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After a handful of seasons of knocking on the Nassau Class AA girls’ basketball playoff door, Oceanside kicked it down last winter and eliminated Herricks in the first round before losing a hard-fought quarterfinal to Elmont.

It was the Lady Sailors’ first playoff appearance in a decade, and now they’re going back after last Friday’s lopsided 52-16 win over Hempstead guaranteed them at least a .500 record against Conference AA-I rivals. Senior Risa Zucker matched the Lady Tigers’ output with 16 points, eighth-grader Jamie Behar had 11, and seniors Cassie Cesario and Sami Bloecker added eight apiece.

“We’re excited,” Oceanside head coach Jason Manning said. “There’s a different vibe in the gym when you’re unsure when the season is going to end. There’s been a steady progression the past three years. I think the girls felt like we were going to make the playoffs all along.”

The Lady Sailors (6-3 in AA-I, 12-4 overall) beat Hempstead 68-46 the first time around and took control of the rematch early. They scored 20 first-quarter points and led 33-8 at halftime. It was their second straight win following a three-game slide mired by injuries to Zucker, Behar and junior Sabrina Seeger.

“We’ve competed well against everyone except Massapequa,” Manning said. “Clinching a spot with three games left is a nice achievement. Now we have a shot at second place, which would be huge. That would give us a shot at the No. 4 seed and a bye in the first round.”

One of the biggest accomplishments for Oceanside in its return to AA-I after spending last season in AA-II — so far — is a series sweep of Freeport, a perennial playoff team. “We’ve played some really close games with Freeport in previous years,” Manning noted. “This is the first time in quite a while we’ve swept. We’ve been getting really strong guard play.”

Behar, who suffered a mild shoulder injury in the second half of a non-league loss to Mepham on Jan. 16 after an 18-point effort, returned to action Jan. 22 and poured in a game-high 19 points to help the Lady Sailors to a 57-45 win over the visiting Red Devils. Bloecker, who the coach said “does a little bit of everything,” added 10 points, and Zucker, recently recovered from a knee/thigh bruise, scored seven of her nine points from the foul line. 

The win ended a three-game slide that began with a 26-point setback to first-place Massapequa on Jan. 14. Seeger sprained an ankle in the first quarter and spent two weeks in a walking boot before beginning some light drills last week. “Playing without Sabrina hurts our size and depth,” Manning said. “I’m optimistic we can get her back before the playoffs, or at the very latest to start the playoffs.”

Oceanside’s final regular-season home game is this Friday at 6:15 p.m. against Uniondale. The Lady Sailors captured the first meeting, 50-49 in overtime, on Jan. 11 on Seeger’s 10-foot jumper with a minute remaining.