Mepham Girls Basketball Steals Game from Elmont

The Lady Pirates knew they had a big game on their hands when they hosted the Elmont Lady Spartans on Tuesday afternoon, but relentless defense and timely three-point shooting lifted Mepham over Elmont by a score of 53-41 in the Conference AA-III matchup.

Junior Kristen O'Brien led the way for the Lady Pirates offensively with 21 points, including three three-pointers. Sophomore Nicole Castaldo added 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Sophomore Mary Galgano and eighth-grader Megan Anderson also had big games from Mepham. Galgano finished with 10 points, including seven key points in the final quarter, and Anderson added eight points, including a three-point play late in the fourth quarter that sealed the victory for the Lady Pirates.

"An eighth-grader stepped up and got a big basket down at the end," said Mepham head coach Jim Mulvey of Anderson's play down the stretch.

The Lady Pirates gave Elmont a ton of trouble on defense with a full-court trap and caused 13 first-half turnovers, which proved to be costly for the Lady Spartans who could not overcome a 15-point halftime deficit and lost their first game of the season in the process.

Score: Mepham 53, Elmont 41

Records: Elmont 2-1 (4-1); Mepham 3-0 (6-0)

Hero: Fresh off a career-high 27-point game against Carle Place, Kristen O'Brien had another huge game for the Lady Pirates. Her 21 points marks the fifth time in six games that O'Brien has gone over the 20-point mark.

While her three-point shooting was nearly flawless, O'Brien made her mark on the foul line, shooting 8-for-9 from the charity stripe.

"We thought we were going to get pressed a lot more like they did in the second half," Mulvey said. "We just got the ball into the right hands of O'Brien and everybody. We thought they'd play more man [coverage], but they played a zone, which we don't mind because we shoot well. "

Turning Point: The opening quarter decided the game for both teams. The Lady Pirates started a little slow and finished with just 11 points in the quarter, but held Elmont to a single point.

Mepham closed the quarter on a 11-0 run and at one point caused eight turnovers in just six minutes of play.

"The trap was definitely working and they were careless with the ball," Mulvey said after the game. "We were getting to our spots. … We wanted to trap them in our diamond and it caused a lot of turnovers, easy baskets or fouls. It kind of set the tone for the game and we just had to hang on at the end."

"Coach Mulvey taught us well," Castaldo added. "We were just able to get up, press them hard and penetrate the ball."

Quotable: "Everyone put their best effort in today," Castaldo said. "Everyone worked hard and we were able to work as a team."

Bottom Line: Mepham's defense was on display in the opening half and the team was able to build a comfortable lead going into halftime. However, the Lady Pirates may have gotten too comfortable as they saw a 21-point fourth quarter lead cut to just seven points with three minutes remaining, something Mulvey acknowledged.

"Our game plan was get out on their shooters who we knew, and a couple their kids we didn't think were good shooters, and you have to rebound and play defense.," he said. "Rebounding was hit and miss. Late in the game we let a couple get away. We were a little passive with the big lead."

In the end, the early defensive pressure and clutch free-throw shooting was more than enough to get the job done for the Lady Pirates.

"We came out cold, but still our pressure actually hurt them: a lot of turnovers, easy baskets and [we] got to the foul line," Mulvey said. "We shot 20-22 from the foul line."

Key Stat: Mepham caused 13 turnovers in the first half.

Next Game: Jan. 6, Valley Stream Central @ Mepham, 6:15 p.m.

Box Score