When the Dowling women’s basketball team tips off in San Antonio for a Division II National Championship Friday evening, Sachem and Long Island will be well represented.
Sachem North alum Nicole Caggiano, and Sachem East alum Ashley Gyscek are both juniors on Dowling’s roster. The Golden Lions will face the winner of No. 2 Ashland University and No. 5 Western Washington Friday, March 29 on CBS Sports Network at 8:00 p.m.
Caggiano has seen significant playing time in the post-season, including 17 minutes off the bench in a 76-54 win over Augustana College during the Final Four, also in San Antonio. She was 5-for-7 from the field, including 3-for-4 from three-point range. She scored a season-high 13 points.
Caggiano hit a three-point basket from the top of the key at the 8:07 mark to give Dowling its largest lead to that point 28-20. She also knocked down five straight for the Golden Lions to go up 66-43.
Joining teammates Danielle Wilson and Connie Simmons, Caggiano was one of three Dowling players in double-figure scoring in the national semifinal.
Caggiano, who graduated from Sachem North in 2010, is averaging 14.8 minutes off the bench this season. Gyscek graduated from Sachem East in 2009 and is averaging a handful of minutes.
This is Dowling’s first trip to the National Championship for women’s basketball. The Golden Lions are 30-3 this season.
Caggiano and Gyscek would be the first Sachem alums to win a national title in any sport since Sachem East alum Vito DeMola won a National Title with Dowling men’s lacrosse last season. Before that, Sachem North’s Bryan Petillo won a Division III National Championship playing lacrosse at Tufts in 2010 and Sachem North’s Marc Andreassi won a Division II National Championship playing lacrosse at C.W. Post that same year.
-Words by Chris R. Vaccaro