Hills East Girls Basketball Downed By Northport

Head coach Yvan Garcia knew it was going to be a challenge. The young Hills East girls basketball team, which starts a freshman and two sophomores, couldn't handle the defending League II champion Northport Tigers Tuesday, losing 62-25.

The Thunderbirds (0-3), kept it close early before allowing the Tigers (3-0) to break open the game with a 17-point run to end the first quarter. Down big at halftime, the Thunderbirds didn't quit and played much tighter in the second half, staying within five. The deficit was too much to overcome, however, as they dropped their third game of the season.

The Hero: Ally Albright led the T-Birds in scoring for the second straight game and scored 10 of their 25 points off five field goals Tuesday. Ashley Walker added six points, which included her team's only three-point shot of the game.

Turning Point: After keeping it close early, the Tigers turned a 4-2 lead into a 21-2 lead with a 17-point run in the first quarter and finished the half up 37-5. Northport star Chrystal Pope had nine of her 15 points in the first quarter to create a deficit too large for the Thunderbirds to overcome despite a much better second half.

The Quote: "Going in we knew it was going to be a tough game," Garcia said. "We knew height was going to be an issue so we worked on boxing out and controlling the guards.

"We just didn't see any intensity in the first half; they just kind of had a defeated look on them and they were unprepared for that level of play. At halftime we preached intensity, we wanted to see them play a better half but also a more aggressive half and in the third quarter they showed that."

Bottom Line: The youth of Hills East was just no match for an experienced and bigger Northport team, which returned nine players from its 2009-10 undefeated league champion team. Coach Garcia was happy with his girls' intensity in the second half, and hopes to build on that and see his team play with more confidence the rest of the season.

"We're looking to see the intensity from the beginning of the game and see confidence in our shots and confidence in ourselves as a team," he said. "I haven't seen that spark yet and I'm hoping [next game] they'll bring that level of intensity and confidence that we know they can play with.

"We're a young team and I think that kind of plays into the lack of confidence. This is all new to them and it is still preseason for the most part so when we come out we're looking to see that confidence and intensity that we've been lacking the first couple of contests."

Who's Next: The T-Birds travel east to take on Hampton Bays on Thursday, Dec. 23, at 7 p.m. Then it's on to face cross-town rival Hills West on Tuesday, Dec. 28, at 6 p.m.