Sports
Slow Start Dooms Kennedy Girls Basketball in Season Opener Against Massapequa
The Lady Cougars fall to the Lady Chiefs 52-32 in Saturday's season opener.
The Kennedy Lady Cougars basketball team opened up its season on the road on Saturday afternoon with a tough 52-32 loss against a non-league opponent in Massapequa.
Senior Allie Keller led Kennedy with 11 points and seniors Morgan Kitton and Carly Thea contributed four points apiece. However, the Cougars are recovering from injuries early on and were forced to play shorthanded against a solid Chiefs team, which made it to the Nassau County semifinals last season.
"We are trying to get everyone healthy and get a full squad. Massapequa is just a great team," Kennedy head coach Debra Cipolla-Minafo said. "I think they are hard workers, but it was just a little tough today to open up against a team like this."
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The Chiefs dominated the game early on, throwing a heavy full court press at the Lady Cougars and outscoring them 21-0 in the first quarter. The two teams played evenly the rest of the way through as Massapequa outscored Kennedy 31-22 for the remainder of the game.
"We had a chance to run through a couple sets to see what could work well, so it was a good experience," Keller said. "We just have to use our offensive sets, get better, run through our plays and keep working hard."
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Sophomore Danielle Doherty led Massapequa with 11 points and senior Taylor Elliot added seven points and seven rebounds.
"We controlled the tempo of the game, but as far as our goal of controlling the boards and loose balls regardless of whom we play, we accomplished that," Massapequa head coach Sharon Roessler said. "Everyone did a good job and contributed to the game."
Sophomore Morgan Roessler added six points along with solid defense on Kennedy's Keller.
"We came out in the full court and were able to lead quickly and control," Roessler said. "We need to practice our zone more, but overall our defensive pressure created easy points."
Kennedy will match up against Lawrence in its home opener in a non-league game on Monday, Dec. 13 at 6 p.m.
