Kennedy Girls Basketball Gets Revenge on Great Neck South

The gymnasium at Great Neck South High School was very familiar to most of the Kennedy Lady Cougars – it was where their season ended last year. But on Friday night, the Lady Cougars got the best of the Great Neck South Lady Rebels and moved up in Conference AA-III with a 60-43 win.

After a slow start, the Lady Cougars heated up from the field and went on a 10-0 to start the second quarter, which set the pace for the remainder of the game.

“Once they settled down and got into the rhythm, I think everything went well from that point on,” Kennedy head coach Debra Cipolla-Minafo said after the game. “We went on a little 10-point run and after that they never came back.”

Allie Keller led the way for Kennedy with 19 points, 18 of which came in the first half. Senior Morgan Kitton had another dominant game on both sides of the ball with 12 points, eight rebounds and six blocks. Senior Carly Thea also added eight points.

The Lady Cougars have now won three straight games and have moved up to fourth place in the conference, trailing Elmont, Calhoun and Mepham for first place.

Score: Kennedy 60, Great Neck South 43

Records: Kennedy 3-3 (5-4); Great Neck South 2-4

Hero: Keller had a huge first half for the Lady Cougars. The team took more than four minutes to hit its first field goal, but it was Keller who hit it and it was Keller who turned an early 5-1 deficit into a 15-10 first-quarter lead.

“We just moved the ball well and it gave me an opportunity to shoot,” Keller said.
"It’s easy when we have people cutting to the basket and driving, the defense picks them up and it leaves me open on the side.”

“In the last couple of games I think she’s been shooting tremendous,” Cipolla-Minafo said about Keller’s recent performance. “She’s been a tremendous force handling the ball and helping on defense. She’s really been peaking for us and we’re excited about that.”

Turning Point: The Lady Cougars were cold from the field for the first four minutes and 30 seconds of the game, but after Keller’s first basket Kennedy went on a 26-6 run and opened up a huge lead.

“We started off slow, but once we settled in we started getting a couple fast breaks,” Keller said. “I had a couple of open shots and we picked it up.”

Quotable: “I think this gave us a little confidence,” Cipolla-Minafo said about the win. “This was actually a big game for us. … We’re excited about today, and a little bit about winning on this court.”

Bottom Line: Just less than a year after being eliminated from the playoffs on the same Great Neck South court, the Lady Cougars came back in and dominated Friday night’s game.

“I think we were a little nervous,” Cipolla-Minafo said. “We’ve been beat here before. We remember last year, this is where we lost our playoff game.”

Keller added: “It’s definitely a big game. We were tied with them in the conference, so this is definitely important, especially for the playoffs and a sense of pride. It’s a big rival game.”

Like the beginning of Friday’s game, Kennedy also had a rough start to their league season. The Lady Cougars started 0-3 before their current three-game winning streak. “I thought we had a rough start,” Cipolla Minafo said. “We played two very good teams to open up, Mepham and Elmont. Then Morgan [Kitton] didn’t play in the Valley Stream Central game and that hurt us a lot. Obviously she’s a very explosive, good player.

But with Kitton back on the court, Keller’s big shooting and Thea’s leadership, the Lady Cougars are headed in the right direction.

Key Stat: Kennedy had a season-high 11 players score in the game.

Who’s Next? Jan. 18, Calhoun at Kennedy, 7 p.m.

Box Score