The East Hampton girls varsity basketball team won its first game of the season at home on Dec. 19 — a 38-34 come-from-behind victory over Mattituck — improving to 1-2 over all and 1-0 in League VII. Mattituck fell to 0-9.
“I’m just happy they played together,” East Hampton’s head coach, Krista Brooks, said. “They finally came together and worked hard and came out on top.”
Bonac was down 21-15 at the half, but had started gaining momentum in the second quarter.
“They took their momentum and they went with it,” Brooks said. “They put it together. Things went their way. They stayed with it. They knew they could do it and they finally came out on top.”
East Hampton only managed to outscore Mattituck in the fourth quarter, 15-5, thanks to an explosion from Kaili Moore, who scored 11 of the 15, but that was enough for the win. And it was a hard-fought victory at that.
While Mattituck has yet to win a game, the team has one of the best shooters in League VII, Claire McKenzie. She averages 18.1 points per game and leads the league in free throws with 55. McKenzie, who rarely misses, hit just one of two foul shots with only two minutes left in the game. Bonac followed the missed shot with a 2-pointer to put East Hampton ahead 38-32. They would hang on to win 38-34.
McKenzie and Moore stole the show, scoring 23 points and 22 points on the night. Rounding out the scoring for East Hampton — Ana McCormack had three baskets and a free throw for 7 points. Gizel Espinal hit two field goals for 4 points. Cali Jordan hit a basket and a free throw for 3 points. Lai’la Sanders had one basket for 2 points. The only 3-pointers of the game came from Mattituck. McKenzie had one in the first quarter, while Kristine Walter hit a 3 in the second.
If there were any lessons to learn from the game or strengths to review, Coach Brooks said they’d have to wait. “We’re going to let them enjoy this,” she said, before leaving the court to celebrate with her team.
