Wantagh Girls Basketball Drops Playoff Heartbreaker

The ninth-seeded Wantagh girls basketball team fell behind early, then nearly made a dramatic comeback only to fall short to host Mineola 34-33 in the opening round of the Nassau County Class A playoffs.

The eighth-seeded Lady Mustangs got eight points and 12 rebounds from senior captain Kalie Medlock. The Lady Warriors were led by junior Tara Basile’s 11 points and senior Paula Schmidt’s nine rebounds. 

Krystie Kern's lay up off a terrific feed from Julie Falotico with 2:25 to play gave Mineola a 34-29 lead. The Lady Mustangs, who improved to 15-3, advanced to the quarterfinal round where they will take on top-seeded Division (17-1) on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Division High School. Wantagh finished the season at 10-8.

Mineola head coach Denise Zunno was proud of her girls. “With my team, you never know what you’re going to get from quarter to quarter,” Zunno said. “We have our ups and downs. We can be up 10 points, but then things can turn quickly. We won this game with heart and hustle down the stretch. Both teams were on the floor for loose balls and going hard for rebounds. I’m really proud of the way we hung on.” 

Early on, it looked like Mineola was on its way to an easy victory. With junior Kerri Medlock and Kern leading the way, the Mustangs ran out to a 13-2 lead after one quarter. If things weren’t bad enough for the Warriors, senior guard April Iannetta picked up her second foul midway through the opening quarter. 

Neither team could get much going on the offensive end in the second quarter. Kalie Medlock was a force on the boards in the quarter and scored all four of Mineola’s points. After being held without a field goal for nearly nine minutes, junior Brenna Smith got the Warriors off the schneid with a short jumper. Mineola held a 17-8 lead at the break. 

Mineola’s Heather Gessner did a little bit of everything in the opening moments of the second half. The senior forward grabbed a rebound, blocked a pair of shots, and then hit a long three from the corner to give the Mustangs a 20-10 lead. 

The Warriors went to a full court press with 2:10 to go in the third quarter and turned the game around. With six points from Iannetta and a clutch three by Basile, Wantagh closed the deficit to 26-20 as the teams took the floor for the final quarter. 

The fourth quarter personified intense, post-season basketball. Eighth-grader Alexandra Parlato (eight points, nine rebounds) hit back-to-back baskets to cut the lead to one with 1:02 on the clock, but the Mustangs locked down on defense and didn’t give Wantagh a good look in the final minute. 

Zunno was impressed with Wantagh, which has just two seniors on the roster. “Kudos to Wantagh for coming back,” Zunno said. “They’re tenacious on defense and were all over us. On offense, they move the ball around well, and in the second half they were hitting their shots. As usual, they’re a very good team.” 

Wantagh coach Stan Bujacich declined to comment after the game.