The Port WashingtonVikings couldn’t hold off the Herricks Highlanders’ second-half comeback as they dropped their Section 8 AA-II league game 30-24 at on Friday night. The Vikings jumped out to a 16-10 lead after the first half, scoring eight points in each of the first two quarter. However, Herricks held Port Washington to just eight points total in the entire second half while scoring 20 points themselves on the way to a road victory.
Vikings freshman starting forward Nicole Alechman led the team in scoring with eight points and co-captain Hayley Kerr chipped in seven points off the bench. For Herricks, sophomore guard Alison Ricchiuti led the Lady Highlanders with 13 points.
“The shots weren’t falling for us,” Port Washington head coach Dennis Trottier said following the game. “We were still getting the looks and we were still getting to the basket (in the second half), but a few calls didn’t go our way and a few baskets didn’t go our way. But I’m still proud of our effort.”
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Herricks took their first lead of the game 4:44 into the third quarter and while Port Washington would tie the game again in the fourth quarter, the Highlanders never trailed after that point.
“We just relaxed,” Herricks head coach G. Davis Lavey said when asked what was the difference in his team was from the first half to the second half. “We have a good rivalry with Port Washington, we’ve played four really close games in a row and I think (early on) the girls were trying to squeeze the air out of the ball a little too much. There was nothing said at halftime that changed what we were doing, the main thing was just relaxing and that was the difference for us in the second half.”
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Despite a poor offensive showing in the final 16 minutes of the game, Port Washington did hold the third place Highlanders to just 30 points. The Vikings held Herricks to their second lowest offensive output of the season.
“We only gave up 30 points tonight and if you only give up 30 points to a varsity program, you will probably win the game,” Trottier said. “Our girls played their hearts out defensively, but offensively we have some things we need work on. We’ll have to bounce back and maybe go back to the basics.”
Port Washington fell to 1-7 in league play and 4-9 overall, while Herricks improved to 5-2 in AA-II action and 10-2 overall.
Hero: Despite being keyed-in on defensively, Herricks’ Alison Ricchiuti scored big baskets for the Highlanders. She scored seven of her team’s nine points in the third quarter and the would-be game-winning basket in the fourth quarter.
Turning Point: With the game tied at 22-22 in the fourth quarter, Herricks rattled off six quick points to put the game out of the reach for Port Washington.
Quotable: “We got to the basket (tonight), we had shots but they just didn’t fall,” Port Washington head coach Dennis Trottier said. “They pressured us a little more in the second half and we turned the ball over more then what we should have. That third quarter was a tough one, we turned the ball over about five or six times.”
Bottom Line: Port Washington took advantage of breaks and turnovers in the first half, but couldn’t covert those chances in the second half.
Key Stat: Herricks bested Port Washington’s total output of eight second-half points in each the third and fourth quarters of the game with nine and 11 points, respectively.
Who’s Next: Port Washington at East Meadow on Feb. 4; Herricks vs. Hicksville on Feb. 4
Box Score:
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
Final
Herricks
3
7
9
11
30
Port Washington
8
