Call them the comeback kids. The Sachem East girls basketball team found itself trailing by as much as 10 points again in a playoff game, this time against top-seeded North Babylon in a county final.
Again the Arrows rallied behind the efforts of senior leaders Katie Doherty and Kat Everson, who put Sachem East on an 18-3 run in second half, and an eventual 55-46 win in the Suffolk County Class AA Championship at SUNY Farmingdale Monday night.
“We’ve done it before,” Doherty said. “The past couple of games we’ve gone through th
at and that experience played into this experience. Going into the game you have nothing to lose, we just tried to have fun and that’s exactly what we did.”
Doherty, who had 30 points and 15 rebounds, and Everson, who had 15 points and 10 rebounds, combined for 45 of the team’s total 55 points.
This is Sachem East’s second straight county championship and third since 2010.
No. 3 Sachem East (16-6) will play either Baldwin or Massapequa in the Class AA Long Island championship on March 7 at Farmingdale. The Arrows also play Friday at Whitman against Harborfields in the overall Suffolk County Championship, pinning the counties top large school against the top small school.
Sachem East’s noticeable change in scoring opportunities and drives was given an exclamation with 1:15 left in the third quarter when Doherty hit a three-point basket to push the Arrows ahead, 34-33. The gym erupted and Sachem seemed to be in control for the rest of the contest.
“At the beginning of the season, I couldn’t picture myself being a county champion,” Everson told Newsday after the game, “but I knew that if we stayed together and kept fighting, we could pull it off. And here we are.”
Heading into the game Sachem had to keep North Babylon’s (20-2) highly-effective offensive trio of Division I prospects in check. Makeda Nicholas, who recorded a team-high 25 points and 20 rebounds, along with Lauren Williams and Brianna Jones, combined for all of the Bulldogs’ points. This game marked the fourth time in five years that Sachem East beat North Babylon in the post-season.
“This group has just progressed all year long,” Sachem East coach Matt Brisson said. “The kids never quit. They were in great shape and in the end our conditioning really helped us.
“If we’re within range of single digits, with four minutes or less, I like our chances. I can’t even tell you how much fun this is. They rallied and got it done. They were outstanding.”
-Words by Chris R. Vaccaro