Thursday, March 27, 2025
Trailing Lynbrook by a point in the waning moments of Monday night’s Nassau Class A girls’ basketball championship game, Wantagh’s designed play off a timeout resulted in a good look but no basket.
But in one fell swoop, sophomore Kayla Mannix not only saved the ball from landing out of bounds but found senior Riley Forthofer open in the paint. Forthofer banked in a layup with 7.7 seconds remaining to give Wantagh a thrilling 44-43 victory over top-seeded Lynbrook at Farmingdale State College.
“I’m just in shock right now I honestly can’t believe this,” said Forthofer, who hit two free throws with 46.5 seconds left to bring the Warriors within one. “Kayla was in the right spot at the right time and got that rebound,” she added. “She’s an insane player and made an insane play.”
Senior Juliana Cerasi had 12 points and freshmen Isabelle Ferraro (10) and Makayla McNeil combined for 19 as second-seeded Wantagh (21-2) avenged a pair of regular-season defeats to the Owls and captured their first county title since the 2005-06 campaign.
“Unbelievable,” Wantagh head coach Stan Bujacich said. “This was a tall task. It feels great because of who we beat. They beat us twice during the season and have an outstanding team.
“It was a tremendous effort by our girls,” he added. “A lot of them have won championships in lacrosse and soccer. They’re just winners.”
The Warriors, who beat Lynbrook in the semifinals last season before falling to Cold Spring Harbor in the finals, advanced to face Mt. Sinai for the Long Island Class A championship this Saturday at 8 p.m. at Farmingdale State.
“I knew I had to get that rebound with time running out,” Mannix said. “Thank God I stayed inbounds and Riley was open under the basket and made a beautiful layup.”
The Owls (20-3), who were seeking their first county title in 47 years, got a game-high 18 points from senior Sophia Dwyer and 13 from senior Brooke Mazzei.
“This one hurts,” Lynbrook head coach Koren Pena said. “This isn’t the ending I envisioned for this group of seniors. They are just a tremendous group of young ladies whom I admire and respect deeply.”
Lynbrook had topped Wantagh, 57-53, Jan. 28, and 58-37 Dec. 17. “The second time we played was much closer and tonight was just back-and-forth the whole game,” Bujacich said.
The championship battle featured 10 deadlocks, the last of which came with 2:03 remaining after a pair of Mannix free throws. Dwyer scored the next three points, including a midcourt steal and layup, to put Lynbrook ahead 43-40 with about a minute left in regulation.
“Lynbrook is the only team to beat us all season,” Mannix said. “They always give us a tough time. It’s always a great matchup.”
