Kennedy Cougars Clip Hawks' Wings

They say patience is a virtue, and that was certainly the case last night when the Kennedy girls basketball team defeated the visiting Lady Hawks of Plainview, 40-25.

"We started out a little slow," Coach Debra Cipolala-Minafo said. "We were forcing ours and we were not controlling the tempo of the game."

The Cougars definitely looked a bit off out of the gate. In fact, it took almost three minutes for Kennedy to score its first point.

Both teams were doing a solid job on the defensive side of the ball with continuous pressure. This led to turnovers and few buckets from either team. The score after one period, 7-6 in favor of Kennedy. 

"We need to work on our shooting percentage," Cipolla-Minafo said. "We might have shot about 20 percent for the night.

The Cougars were energized in the early going of the second quarter when Morgan Kitton slid in between two Plainview players to execute a lay-up.  The energy was contagious, and other Kennedy players began to catch fire, and before you could blink an eye, it was 13-6 Kennedy.

Allie Keller was instrumental on defense, and she even had a nice block which prevented the Hawks from inching closer.

"We played very good defense tonight," Keller said. "We need to keep working hard and I am sure that we will continue to execute."

That's exactly what the Cougars did. Their stifling defense frustrated Plainview, and their offense was red hot.

Toward the end of the first half, Taylor Kruter decided it was time to take over, and her presence down low is what put the game out of reach quickly. She continued to penetrate to the hole and draw fouls, and the points continued to tally.

"I need to remember sometimes that I am not going to shoot 100 percent," Kruter said. "I need to keep my chin up and continue to play my hardest. If I do that, results will definitely follow."

The Cougars continued to control the flow of the game to the half, and the score was 23-9 Kennedy at the break. The Cougars held Plainview to just three points in the second quarter.

Talk about a relentless attack.

Before long, the score was getting out of hand, and with that, Cipolla-Minafo started giving some bench players an extended look.

"It was nice to get a good look at some of the girls who don't normally get the chance to play," Cipolla-Minafo said. "I think it's great when everyone contributes."

After the subs came in, Plainview started to close the gap a bit. Chelsea Kinstler hit a three pointer that would trim the Kennedy lead to 14. Plainview would get as close as 12, but Keller played the role of captain clutch as she nailed a big three pointer that extended Kennedy's lead back to 15.

As the game moved to the fourth, Kennedy continued to control the pace of the game. Kennedy increased its lead to 17 when junior Brittany Venezia drilled a jumper. Venezia was one of several players who impressed the coach while seeing limited action on Tuesday.

Plainview continued to play hard, and they got as close as 15 in the fourth quarter, but they could not get over the hump. It seemed like every time they would make a big shot, someone on Kennedy would have the perfect answer. After Plainview converted a three point play, Stefany Roney answered right back for the Cougars,  hitting a tray that would end up being the dagger.

Kruter led the way for Kennedy with 14 points, 10 of when came in the first half. Kitton contributed seven points, but she explained that her importance lies in other areas of the game.

"My rebounding is a big asset," Kitton said. "As long as we keep on working hard, we should continue to see results."

Plainview Coach Frank Buck was impressed with the Cougars on Tuesday.

"Bellmore JFK is one of the better teams in the conference," Buck said. "I was proud of the way we played tonight. They just have a really good group of players over there.

Although she was happy with the win, Cipolla-Minafo certainly sees ways her team could play better.

"We played alright," she said. "When they slowed the tempo down, we were able to execute more successfully. We need to work on our shot selection, and we need to be more patient."

The Cougars improve to 4-1-1 on the season with the victory, and the Hawks drop to 0-3 in conference play.

Kennedy will next be in action when it clashes with South on January 5.