Freeport victorious at Coliseum

The Freeport girls’ basketball team had the opportunity to take their talents to a big stage last Sunday afternoon as the Lady Devils hosted conference-rival Uniondale at the Nassau Coliseum.

Playing in the house where basketball legend Julius Erving donned the red, white, and blue of the ABA’s New York Nets, Freeport got a game-high 20 points from sophomore forward Taylor Abraham, and 17 from junior guard Deavion Peterson as the Lady Devils shook off a slow start and rolled to a 53-35 win. 

With the win, Freeport improved to 9-7 overall (6-3 in Nassau Conference AA-I.) Junior captain Abimbola Babatunde led Uniondale with 10 points. 

With Abraham dominating on the offensive glass and converting on numerous put backs, the Lady Devils started to pull away toward the end of the opening half and had a seemingly comfortable 27-15 lead at the break.

The Knights came out flying and scored two quick buckets on layups by Babatunde and sophomore guard Kapri Bradshaw, but the momentum was short-lived. Freeport picked up its defensive intensity and held Uniondale without a field goal for nearly five minutes. A 16-4 run to close out the third quarter gave the Lady Devils an insurmountable 43-23 lead. 

Peterson felt that things turned around when the team picked up the pace. “At Freeport, it’s all about defense,” Peterson said. “We start a little slow, get warmed up, and then pick up our intensity on defense. We force turnovers, attack the basket, and get to the line.” 

In the blink of an eye during the third quarter run, Peterson and her backcourt partner, senior point guard Bianca Benjamin, wowed the crowd. First, Peterson dribbled and juked through the entire defense, and just as the final line of defense pursued her, she dished the ball to Benjamin for an easy layup.

Seconds later, Benjamin returned the favor. She disrupted the inbounds pass, got on the floor for the loose ball, and passed the ball to a wide-open Peterson for an uncontested bunny. Benjamin, who wreaked havoc on the defensive end, finished with 10 points. 

Abraham, who leads the team with an average of 15 points per game, had eight offensive rebounds. She felt that getting it done in the paint opened things up for her perimeter game. 

“When my shots aren’t falling early on, I try to be a presence on the boards for easy put backs, easy points,” Abraham said. “Once I get into the flow, I feel more comfortable shooting from the outside. I’m working on attacking the basket from the high post and other areas of the perimeter. I want to be a threat from all over the court.”

The Lady Devils did a nice job of following the team’s blueprint, which is take it strong to the basket and get to the foul line. The starting five was 11 for 16 from the line.

The team is back in action when it travels to Syosset this Saturday at noon.