Walt Whitman HS Wins 1st LI Girls Basketball Championship

SOUTH HUNTINGTON, NY — Walt Whitman High School’s girls basketball team won its first Long Island Championship.

The team's 38-29 victory over Syosset in the regional final at Farmingdale State on Sunday gave the team a 21-3 record and a trip upstate this Saturday to play in the New York State Championships, the South Huntington School District announced.

The win comes just a year after the Wildcats claimed their first ever Suffolk County title.

At the AAA Regional Championship game, Iris Hoffman hit three three-pointers, finishing with 11 points. Kallie Eichner hit two three-pointers, one with just 2-and-a-half minutes remaining, to help seal the win. Brianna Verga and Kathleen O'Mara scored 7 points each while Jaz Julien, Paige Hiller, and Madison Richter's defense kept Syosset to their lowest point total of the season.

Coach Dan Trebour, who has been coaching for 25 years, loves the competitive part of working with his team to achieve a goal, and said these girls are competitive.

"I often say you're only as good as your seniors," Trebour said in a news release. "And when your seniors are hardworking, unselfish kids, how can the team not be hardworking and unselfish? So I think that's our success right there. There’s no ego. They believe in themselves together as a team."

The South Huntington School District will be giving the Wildcats a rousing sendoff with a parade at Walt Whitman High School on Friday at 9:45 a.m. before they get on the bus and head upstate.

Hoffman, who is a senior and co-captain, said the team has chemistry.

"We've had chemistry over the years and stuff, but we've all grown up so much together and now that we're seniors, we know all the kids under us and it's finally all come together and we've been able to be successful," she said.

The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Girls Basketball Championships are being held Thursday through Sunday at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, New York.

Whitman will take on Our Lady of Lourdes in the Class AAA Semi-Final at 10:45 a.m. Saturday morning. The finals are slated for Sunday.

The team is practicing after school all this week before they leave for Troy on Friday morning, the district wrote. They’ll be watching films and running drills. Trebour wants his players to be well rested but also prepared.

"We might keep it physically a little bit lighter just so that we're ready to go and hopefully there for two games," Trebour said. "But I think our style of play, once we get up there, we're going to have to really try and play fast and aggressive."

Both Trebour and the players say the school pride and community turnout for the games have been essential to their success this season.

"We obviously thank them so much because we wouldn’t be able to win half the games we do without them," Hoffman said. "They're a huge asset to the game. We love seeing all of them out there."

Tickets are required for the semifinal and finals games. To purchase semifinal tickets, click here. For the finals, visit here. Tickets are $11.50 each.

Those who cannot make it to the game can watch it live on NFHSNetwork, though a paid subscription is required.