Lady Bruins remain undefeated

Host East Meadow went toe-to-toe with defending Nassau Class AA champion Baldwin for the first 11 minutes of last Friday’s Conference AA-II girls’ basketball game and was within a basket of the undefeated visitors early in the second quarter.

But it wasn’t long before the Lady Bruins cranked up the engine and stepped on the gas. Their defensive pressure and transition offense took control, and a 16-point run to close the first half sent them on the way to a convincing 59-24 victory.

Senior Courtney Jackson, despite battling a nasty cold, led Baldwin (8-0 in conference play, 12-0 overall) with a game-high 17 points and five steals. Senior Keira Corbin added 12 points and sophomore Janae DeGraff pulled down 12 rebounds. For East Meadow (3-5, 6-7), senior Melissa Cohen had nine points and sophomore Jennifer Gundrum had six points and 10 rebounds.

“Things are going great and everyone’s working hard,” said Jackson, who capped the second-quarter rally with a three-pointer. “We need to make sure we come out strong every game. Attitude, effort and defense is what makes us go.”

After Baldwin raced to a 14-3 lead, the Lady Jets responded with an impressive five-minute stretch sparked by Cohen and senior Emily Hoffman. Cohen, who has a strong handle at the point and can thrive in any tempo, had seven points and Hoffman added four in an 11-2 spurt.

“Baldwin is a tough matchup for anyone,” East Meadow coach Bethany LeSueur said. “They’re undefeated.”

With their lead trimmed to 16-14, the Lady Bruins unleashed their full- and half-court presses and also got hot from the outside. They picked up three points on three consecutive possessions to go up by nine and forced a timeout by LeSueur. Junior Ayanna Hudson had a three-point play, and Jackson and Corbin both hit shots from behind the arc. After the timeout, freshman Mariah Butler sank a jumper, Jackson a layup and three-pointer and it was 32-14 at halftime.

“They did a good job running their zone and shots weren’t falling for us early,” Baldwin coach Tom Catapano said. “Defense got us going.”

It marked the third straight game the Lady Bruins scored at least twice as much as their opponent. Junior Alex Hampton led a 51-25 win over Port Washington on Jan. 20 with 13 points, six steals and four rebounds, and Corbin pumped in 21 points in a 53-20 whitewash of Herricks two days earlier.

Holding off MacArthur, which visits Friday for a 7 p.m. start, for the conference title is goal No. 1, Catapano said, and there are things Baldwin can improve before the playoffs tip off. “Foul trouble has been an issue at times,” he said. “You can still play hard and aggressive and not foul, so that’s something we have to always keep in mind.”

When asked which team was the one to beat in Nassau Class AA, Catapano’s list ran deep. “Massapequa, Farmingdale, us, Mepham, and maybe one or two more,” he said. “It should be interesting.”