Girls’ basketball looked to make a return to the county championships this year after a devastating loss last year to the Baldwin Bruins. The Chiefs dominated in the regular season, going undefeated in conference play while only suffering one defeat against non-conference Kellenberg. The Chiefs easily advanced with the County Championship in sight once again.
After easy conference playoff wins, a rematch of the 2014 county championships unfolded against the Baldwin Bruins. Baldwin also went undefeated this year, but the Chiefs felt confident in their ability to redeem themselves from last year’s defeat.
Massapequa started out with a 16-7 lead after the first quarter and led by halftime more than 10 points. By the third quarter, the Chiefs began losing some momentum, but a victory looked promising.
By the fourth quarter, the lead began to slip from the Chiefs, as Baldwin gained momentum while the Chiefs lost some steam.
“We got a little tired and they went on a run and got momentum,” senior Lauren Boix said.
Along with exhaustion from the game came foul trouble for the Chiefs, who lost Boix along with senior Carmelo Gampero and junior Bianca Furci from fouling out, starting as early as six minutes left in regulation. Baldwin gained the lead with 2:49 left with a lay-up by the Bruins’ Aziah Hudson and kept the lead, limiting the Chiefs to only six points in the final quarter.
“I would honestly say we won three quarters of the game and we should have won the game,” senior Boix said.
With that loss came the loss of many of the Chiefs’ major players, including seniors Meghan McCabe, Lauren Boix, Carmela Gampero, Olivia Batista, and Amanda Crowley. Another successful season is likely in the future so one can expect great things from next year’s girls’ basketball team.