Sports
New Hyde Park Girls Basketball Rallies in Second Half, Beats Wantagh, 50-47
After trailing early in the game, New Hyde Park stormed back to defeat Wantagh.
The defeated Wantagh on the road in an A1 conference game Tuesday evening by a score of 50-47.
After trailing in the first half 31-27, New Hyde Park utilized an 11-2 run in the third quarter to help fuel the comeback victory.
Heroes: New Hyde Park Senior Ciara McCullagh dominated the paint from the opening whistle and poured in a game-high 26 points. The center altered shots, rebounded and most importantly, got to the charity stripe 15 times as Wantagh had no answer for the dominant center. McCullagh scored 13 points in each half to lead the way over Wantagh.
Find out what's happening in New Hyde Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Wantagh forward Paula Schmidt led the offensive surge for the Warriors as the senior weaved in and out of the New Hyde Park defense to the tune of 19 points. Schmidt’s defense forced several key turnovers while her playmaking ability kept Wantagh in the game after a stumbling out of the gate in the second half.
Turning point: Trailing 31-27 at half, New Hyde Park had a huge third quarter by outscoring Wantagh, 11-2 in the quarter. New Hyde Park was able to force turnovers and get to the free throw line by feeding the ball into McCullagh and forcing contact.
Find out what's happening in New Hyde Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Quotable: “You can’t teach size,” said New Hyde Park Head Coach Hugh Flaherty of his star player, Ciara McCullagh. Flaherty added that the team did a much better job of controlling the game while pointing towards the decrease in turnovers as a key to the victory over Wantagh.
“We missed some shots in the third quarter,” said Wantagh Head Coach Stan Bujacich. “It’s tough to win a game when you only score two points in the quarter. Our focus is now on our next game Thursday and going into the playoffs.”
Bottom Line: New Hyde Park faced a tough opponent in Wantagh but was able to get McCullagh good looks at the basket while limiting their turnovers in the win.
Key stats: Free throws. New Hyde Park got to the line 25 times while converting 14 of those attempts. Ciara McCullagh alone had more free throws made (10) than Wantagh had attempted (9).
Who’s next? New Hyde Park plays Jericho, Friday at 4:30 p.m. @ home.
Team ...................... 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... 4 ... F
New Hyde Park ..... 13 .. 14 .. 11 .. 12 .. 50
Wantagh ............... 10 .. 21 .. 2 .. 14 .. 47
