PLAYOFFS: Lonergan, McNally Spark Comeback Win Over Sewanhaka, 41-30

After giving up a 17-0 run that spanned nearly  ten minutes, it looked as if No. 3 South Side’s incredible one-loss season was doomed to come to an abrupt and shocking end at the hands of Sewanhaka on Tuesday night, who had already lost to the Lady Cyclones .

When all hope appeared lost for South Side, senior captain Megan Lonergan singlehandedly put the team on her back, driving them to a 22-0 run of their own in the final 9:50 of the game to beat Sewanhaka, 41-30, and advance to the next round of the Class A playoffs.

Lonergan had nine of her 13 rebounds in the third quarter and finished with 16.  Fellow senior captain Brianna McNally opened up the inside for Lonergan with long-range jumpers, including a key three-pointer from the left corner to open the fourth quarter. Coach Katie Dunn gave her co-captains all the credit for the comeback win.

“Megan Lonergan singlehandedly took that game over for us after things got away from us in the second quarter,” she said of her star, who converted two three-point plays in the third, igniting the capacity crowd. “And Brianna McNally came alive in the second half. She opened up the inside by being a threat from outside.”

South Side jumped out to an early 13-6 first quarter lead before the wheels came unhinged in the second. Lady Indians guard Celine Jolicoeur scored on several drives and jumpers inside the paint, sparking a Sewanhaka run. 

It wasn’t until South Side tightened up its defense and put its best defenders — Lauren Lopresti, McNally and Juliana Hadjiyane — on Jolicoeur, forcing the Lady Indians leading scorer to her off-hand and quelling the run.

Sewanhaka coach Alex Soupios said he was upset with the outcome, but energized by his team's effort.

“We’re a young team, and all but three of our players will be coming back, I think we’ve made our mark in at least Nassau, we’re not a pushover any longer,” he said. “Basketball is a game of runs, we had ours, and then I was just waiting for theirs to come, and it did.”

Soupios threw different defensive looks to confuse the normally potent Lady Cyclones offense. After handling the adversity well in the first quarter, South Side struggled to break the different presses and pressures Sewanhaka implemented.

“I thought we were well prepared for it, but we didn’t take care of the ball and put the ball on the floor too much,” Dunn said. “We were finally able to break through their press when we started passing the ball and looking down the court.”

South Side will face Garden City on March 1 in the third round of the playoffs in the same gym – Freeport – that they were thwarted by the Lady Trojans during the Freeport Holiday tournament earlier in the season. The second-seeded Lady Trojans, who easily won its opening match-up  against Valley Stream, will prove to be a great test for South Side.

“It’s going to be a tough game, definitely, they beat us earlier in the season, at Freeport,” Dunn said. “We’re going to have to control Barbara Sullivan and try to control their shooters from the outside.”