Seaford eyes consistency, playoffs

Consistency has been the central characteristic Seaford girls’ basketball has been chasing through its erratic start to the 2021-22 campaign.

The Vikings have shown the ability to hang with any other roster, and the degree to which they lock in and live up to the high level they’ve demonstrated will determine how far they go.

“We’ve had a lot of ups and downs, so consistency has not really been our thing,” Seaford head coach Stephanie Bartkus stated. “We started off pretty strong and then we had our first worst game against Plainedge.”

Seaford did get off to a 3-1 start, but the 52-22 loss to Plainedge signaled the beginning of inconsistent play for the next half dozen games. However, the girls did not let that subpar stretch define them and have made the necessary adjustments to prevent another slide.

“I think the coolest thing I’ve seen from the girls is we played Plainedge again and the first time we got completely crushed and the second time we played them was very close, as we lost 48-44,” Bartkus stated. “It says a lot about what these girls have been doing in the past month. It’s been a huge change, and it’s all because of how hard they work.”

Senior Parker Surace has been the leading scorer for the Vikings as she averages 10 points per game, and the team relies on her and her sister Brooke for senior leadership. Senior Jamie Horodecki averages six points on the interior, but her main contribution is on the boards, as she averages double digit rebounds. Bartkus said of Horodecki: “I always tell her that when she’s getting a minimum of 12 rebounds for us that is turning into points.”

Juniors Daniella Stek and Danielle McHugh have been key role players. Perhaps the most exciting element for the Vikings moving forward is how they are not dependent on one single player to shoulder the bulk of the production.

“Every game we have someone different who can be our high scorer.” Bartkus said.

Currently the Vikings have an 8-7 record and a 4-3 conference record, which has them in fourth place in A5. While the top three finishers in the conference solidify playoff spots, there also are playoff spots granted to teams with at least a .500 conference record. So, the team essentially controls its own destiny regarding its playoff prospects.

Luckily for the Vikings, most of their future schedule contains matchups with teams they’ve already faced, so they will have time to adjust and make proper changes like they did in their rematch against Plainedge. Bartkus believes that changes in defensive philosophy could shift some of the former losses into future victories.

“We have a changed a little bit in how we’ve played our defense, and I think that’ll be a key factor when we play these teams again.” Bartkus said.

The Vikings will look to continue their playoff push when they get their rematch against Wantagh at home this Tuesday after press time.