Long Island Girl's Hoops

LI Lawniczak 14s Go 2-1 At Silver Bullet
Jay Mumford

The freshman laden Long Island Lightning Lawniczak 14U team took a lump for playing up when they fell to NY Flite’s 16U unit, 51-35, this weekend. But they also earned a few stripes against their elders, knocking off Future Stars Edwards 16U by the same margin (54-38) and toppling Silver Bullets Riley, 58-41.

Lightning Strike Future Stars Edwards, 54-38

The New Rochelle based Future Stars did a solid job of staying with the Lightning early on. But the deciding factors were ultimately an allegiance to good defense and a lethal dose of shooting from Kelly Carey (Holy Trinity HS) to bust open what was a modest four point Lightning lead at the half.

The Future Stars came out swinging, as diminutive 5’1 PG Alyssa Pechin (Our Lady Of Mercy HS) boldly barreled through the lane with a lay up to make the game even at 9. A triple from Jess Primerano gave Future Stars their largest lead of the game, 12-9, and although the team held tough for the remainder of the half, the Lightning would soon surpass them. The Future Stars’ zone defense invited back to back treys from Carey to juice an 8-0 Lightning run that gave them a lead they would never relinquish. An extra boost of offense from Brook Spallino (Locust Valley HS),a pestering man to man defensive set and stingy ball denial made things rough for the Future Stars as far as hitting field goals and regaining the lead were concerned, but they stayed on the Lightning’s heels mainly from the charity stripe (where they shot a solid 9-12 in the half).

The Future Stars’ surmountable 27-23 halftime deficit quickly widened in the second half. The Lightning defense made way for a quick flurry of steals, and the transition buckets opened up a ten point cushion, 33-23. Jo Impellizieri’s (St. Anthony’s HS) put backs and free throws helped to keep the lead intact, but the Future Stars had one last twinkle. A three ball from Primerano cut the deficit to five points (35-30) and another from Pechin cut it to four (40-36), but that would be all they had left in the tank. More tough defense - including an emphatic block from center Sade Gibbons (LI Lutheran HS)- made way for a 14-2 Lightning run that dimmed the Future Stars’ chances with each play and closed out the game.

Kelly Carey’s game high 19 points (including four three pointers) paced LI Lightning Lawniczak 14U. Brooke Spallino and Jo Impellizieri chipped in with 8 points each. Alyssa Pechin led the Future Stars Edwards with 8 points.