Kennedy up to a dozen wins

In its first season under head coach Mallory Palmieri-Freely, Kennedy went 5-7 in Nassau Conference A-I girls’ basketball and came within a victory of qualifying for the Class A playoffs.

A move to A-II this winter didn’t provide any relief in terms of the schedule, but the Lady Cougars, with four key returnees and a pair of talented freshmen, have been navigating the road just fine. They’re 12-2 overall, including 6-2 in A-II, with a playoff spot in the bank with four games remaining.

“We’ve discussed our goal of making the playoffs since Day One,” said Palmieri-Freely, who became instantly excited about the team’s potential after the opening scrimmage against Long Beach in November. “It’s exciting to be in the playoffs,” she added. “Now we’re more focused on getting a better seed.”

For the second time after a loss, the Lady Cougars responded with back-to-back wins beating Roslyn and Hewlett following a 59-46 defeat at Plainedge on Jan. 16.

Kennedy battled back from a 12-point deficit after one quarter to lead early in the third but couldn’t hold off Plainedge down the stretch.

“We knew they were a comparable team to us,” Palmieri-Freely said. “They have a lot more size and for some reason we tried driving to the basket instead of relying on our outside shooting.”

Center Katie McSweeney was the difference-maker for the Lady Red Devils, who’ve lost only to frontrunning Sewanhaka in conference play. As part of her game-high 22-point performance, McSweeney scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter after the teams ended the third deadlocked at 40. Point guard Lauren Krystall had 17 points and forward Ashley Linsday added 13 for Plainedge, which led 21-9 after eight minutes.

“They’re defense inside was very strong,” Palmieri-Freely said.

Krystall sank a pair of treys, and McSweeney and Lindsay also had six points in the first quarter to spring the Lady Red Devils to the double-digit lead. Kennedy chipped away in the second behind senior Rose Mehani (team-high 14 points) and freshman Cameron Montalbano (11) and trailed 27-21 at intermission.

Mehani scored the first two baskets of the second half, and seniors Rachel Katz and Jessie Estrin sandwiched hoops around one by Linsday to knot the game at 29. Montalbano gave the Lady Cougars their first lead, 32-31, with a long trey, and baskets by freshman Rachel Nossen and senior Carly Wills late in the quarter made it 40-40 heading into the fourth.

“Everyone’s been contributing,” said Palmeiri-Freely, whose team won eight in a row to start the season including hard-fought victories over neighborhood rivals Calhoun and Mepham. 

“Rose is our go-to shooter and stepping up as the point guard,” she said of Mehani, who averages 13 points. “She takes the sport very serious and when we’re in a bind, she’s our saving grace.”

Estrin, who missed last season with an injury, is averaging nearly eight points per game and leading the team in rebounds along with Katz, who’s scoring around 10 points per game, as is Montalbano.