South Side Cruises Past Sewanhaka, 46-28

The Lady Cyclones continued its string of dominant defensive and rebounding performances on Friday night against Sewanhaka, coasting to an easy 46-28 victory and extending its unbeaten streak to six games.

The Lady Cylones (6-0) jumped out to a 20-4 lead in the second quarter, out-rebounding the Indians 42-15 and allowing only three baskets in the first half.

South Side coach Katie Dunn said she was impressed by her team's execution of the 1-3-1 zone which held the Indians without a field goal for the game's first 13 minutes.

“We ran a 1-3-1 zone that worked really well today,” she said. “Going into the second half of the season, we are looking to try new things and start integrating new tactics that hopefully will be effective come the playoffs. I’m pumped. I think this could be the start of something. This is how we should always play.”

The Lady Cyclones capitalized on a poor shooting day for Sewanhaka — 1 of 18 from three-point land — who had no interior answer for South Side's Christina Merrifield and Megan Lonergan. The two senior forwards each grabbed ten boards in the win. Merrifield converted several of her offensive rebounds into easy baskets, and finished with a game-high 14 points. The Lady Cyclones also hit all ten of their free throws for the first time this season.

“Tina really stood out in the first half,” Dunn said of Merrifield's play. “She had a great game grabbing second shots and capitalizing. She showed a lot of patience on the block.”

Despite the wealth of positive stats for South Side, the Lady Cyclones continued a negative trend of not finishing teams after taking large leads. After racing to a 24-10 halftime advantage, the Lady Cyclones played a sloppy third quarter, committing six of its 22 turnovers while allowing the Indians to double its point total.

“We let up a bit in the third quarter, we didn’t move the ball as well as we have been, so it was good that we came out the right way and played well early,” Dunn said. “It’s slightly concerning, we get comfortable with a lead, we need to keep the other team on their toes.”

The Lady Cyclones hope to build on the momentum its created as they take on Bethpage at home on Friday. With each passing game, South Side looks increasingly fluid and confident, a trend Dunn said she hopes will continue in the second half of the season.

“The girls look like they are getting more comfortable with each other every day,” she said. “They know where each other will be and they keep moving the ball better the more they play. Hopefully that keeps up for us.”