Kennedy Girls Basketball Comes Up Short Against Elmont in League Opener

The Kennedy Lady Cougars basketball team had its first Conference AA-III matchup of the season on Saturday against the Elmont Spartans, but fell by a score of 48-35 at Kennedy.

Seniors Morgan Kitton and Carly Thea led the Lady Cougars (2-2) with 10 points each, but were overmatched by a pair of Lady Spartans (3-0), Alexandra Clark and Bria Fisher, who finished with 14 points each.  

The two teams played close for the majority of the first half, but Elmont created some space before halftime, jumping out to a 19-12 lead. Elmont continued their offensive surge early in the third quarter, using a 9-4 run to extend the lead to 28-16.  

Senior Allie Keller, the Cougars’ offensive leader, found herself in foul trouble early in the second half, creating a tough situation for the home team. However, that didn’t stop Kennedy as they battled back to cut the lead to 31-27 early in the fourth quarter following a breakaway lay up by Thea.  

The four-point gap would be the closest the Cougars would get to Elmont as Keller, Thea and junior Heather Hulkower all fouled out in a three-minute span down the stretch. Kitton and the Cougars failed to stop the Spartans with their press as Elmont executed their free throws to run away with the game and remain undefeated on the season.  

Heroes: Thea kept her team in the game with Keller sitting on the bench in foul trouble, but only so much could be done against the talented Elmont squad. Clark and Fisher were solid for the Spartans with a combined 28 points, along with picking apart the Cougars pressure to help their team come out on top.  

Turning Point: Despite Kennedy being down by as many as 12 points, they looked as if they would complete their comeback in the fourth quarter. When Keller had to exit the game with her fifth foul, it seemed as if the wind had been taken out of their sails, as Elmont outscored Kennedy 17-10 in the final quarter.  

Quotable: “I think with a team like Elmont, you're not going to get so many chances, and when you’re shooting 50 percent from the line, you’re not going to win the game," Kennedy head coach Debra Cipolla-Minafo said. “They fouled us a lot and we got to the line, but just didn’t finish.”  

Bottom Line: After coming off of consecutive wins against Lawrence and Island Trees, Kennedy seemed to have found their flow, but failure to knock down their free throws really hindered them on Saturday against Elmont. In total, Kennedy was forced to sit four players who fouled out.

Key Stat: Elmont held the advantage in free throws made, 16-9, over Kennedy, but in a game that featured a slew of foul calls, Kennedy must find their touch from the stripe to compete in their league.  

Who’s Next: Mepham @ Kennedy, Dec. 21, 7:15 p.m.

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