Lindenhurst Girls Basketball Undefeated & All Alone Atop League II

It took the 2011-12 exactly 32 minutes to erase 25 years of hoop frustration Friday night.

A showdown of teams turned into a rout, as the (5-0, 8-1 overall), playing at home against a team they hadn’t beaten in a quarter of a century, went on a scoring rampage and beat the Lady Tigers (4-1) by a lopsided 60-26 score.

It was the fifth 60-plus for the Lady Bulldogs this season, and the lowest number of points they've allowed since the first game of the season when they beat West Babylon 53-20.

“The girls were aware we hadn’t beaten them since 1987 - and we wanted to end it here today,” said Coach Greg Flynn.

“We wanted to prove we could beat them," said (19 points). “We were a little nervous at first, but I think we had a stronger . Once we got our offense rolling and we worked harder on defense, it got to them.”

“After the first few minutes, we played harder,” said Senior , who scored 14 points on the day. “We decided to just go for it - we want this to be our year.”

The game started out tight, with neither scoring before the 5:45 mark. That’s when Shannon Crehan nailed the first of her four treys.

The Lady Tigers kept it close for most of the rest of the first half, and even led briefly - but a bomb from Ames to close out the first half, and a second half opener from Val Oyakhilome, put a little distance between the at 22-16.

As the game developed, Northport was increasingly frustrated by scoring spree, and a harrying defense that included 10 steals (Crehan, four) and 10 blocks (Ames, five, Crehan, four). Naomi Oyakhilome was a force on the boards, pulling in 13 on the afternoon. Val Oyakhilome (seven) and Crehan (four) weren’t far behind.

But it was the offense that turned a close contest into a rout, as a three-point rampage by Crehan (four treys), and Ames and Val Oyakhilome (three each), turned a showdown into a runaway win.

With guards Nicole Intrieri and Stephanie Ingenito distributing the ball effectively, and numerous teammates proving themselves capable of draining the net from a distance, Northport showed the white flag with four minutes remaining, swapping out their entire starting squad.

“We have the talent to go far if we play our top game,” said Val Oyakhilome afterward. “We have to take it step by step.”

“ hasn’t won the league championship since 1987, but this may be the best team we’ve ever had,” said Coach Flynn. “I felt confident going into this game, but I didn't expect to beat Northport like this. Year after year, they're the cream of the crop in Suffolk County basketball. But now we feel like it’s our year.”

                     Q1    Q2    Q3    Q4    FINAL
Lindenhurst    11     14    22    13     60
Northport        9        7     3      7     26

Next up for are ; one at Connetquot on January 17 at 6 p.m., one on January 20 at Half Hollow Hills East at 4 p.m. and one on January 24 at Walt Whitman (South Gym) at 6 p.m. The next time the team plays at home is January 27 when it takes on West Islip at 6 p.m.