Season Preview: East Meadow Girls Basketball

The East Meadow girls basketball team fell just short of a playoff berth in 2010 despite a wealth of talent filling up roster spots.

With many of the same girls back, the Lady Jets are confident of their chances to return back to the postseason.

East Meadow closed out last season with a 7-10 record with a 4-8 mark in Conference AA-II. Playing out of the same league in 2011, the girls must contend with Baldwin, one of the top teams in Nassau County, along with the rest of a talented field. 

“We have some tough games, but it is good because we have nothing to lose,” Bethany Le Sueur, East Meadow third-year head coach, said. “We are trying to build a good program here.”

The key player in which the Lady Jets must find a way to replace is Melissa Cohen, who earned All-County honors as a junior and All-Conference as a senior. Current seniors and third-year varsity players Jenna Dragoon and Meghan Cleary will look to lead the offense this year out of the backcourt

“We just have to execute and not turn the ball over and get some offensive rebounds and box out,” Cleary said. “We just need to do the easy things right and we will do well against those good teams.”

Jen Gundrum, a junior, will provide what Coach Le Sueur hopes is a pressure defense on the inside as well as a solid option for points on the other end of the court. Mixed in with the top scorers will be senior Christina Gogh, along with sophomores Nicole Moniello and Marrol Cajoles.

“If Jen [Gundrum] could average a double-double, and she is totally capable of doing it, that would be great,” Le Sueur said. “Jenna [Dragoon] and Meghan [Cleary] are our two seniors guards who we rely on for leadership and some scoring.”

Aside from Baldwin, East Meadow will match up with MacArthur, Hicksville, Calhoun, Valley Stream Central, Port Washington and Plainview JFK in league play. The team defeated each Port Washington and Plainview JFK twice last season.

Last Thursday, the Lady Jets defeated district rival Clarke in the season opener at home by a 57-33 final with the help of an 18-3 fourth quarter. Dragoon led the way with a career-high 18 points, with Cleary scoring 13 points and Gundrum adding 11 points and nine rebounds in the win.

East Meadow will have an extended break until its next game. The girls will host their first league game against Port Washington on Dec. 16 at 7 p.m.