H-ton Girls' JV Basketball Wins
10 Games
The Huntington High School girls' JV basketball team proved to be a gritty group that found a way to win, even when the Blue Devils were underdogs.
The 11-player squad was coached by Ray Jimenez and captained by sophomores Amy Schmelter and Hayley Petrizzi. Huntington finished with a 10-6 mark overall, 7-6 in league play.
Schmelter led the Blue Devils in scoring while Petrizzi emerged as a team leader and Huntington's "hardest worker," according to Jimenez. Eighth grader Emma Petrizzi was another standout, displaying fine skills and plenty of potential.
The Blue Devils lost close games to Copiague (45-39 and 44-38), West Babylon (51-48 and 40-37) and Deer Park (28-24).
Huntington featured a well-balanced attack. Savannah Richardson hustled up and down the floor and showed the most energy of any player on the team. Maliyah Davis displayed her talents as a natural athlete. Ripley Mars' pure toughness was hard for opponents to match as the freshman crashed the boards for countless rebounds.
Samantha Conte had the best shooting percentage on the team. Tara Wilson "got really good at dribbling, passing and scoring," Jimenez said. Anna Gulizio was constantly improving and her leadership benefitted the team in many ways. Seventh grader Sydney Vanden Valentyn worked hard on her outside shooting and the efforts paid increasing dividends as the year progressed
Madison Colwin was injured for much of the season, "but was always a team player," Jimenez said.
The Blue Devils had so many talented young players that the stage seems set for the high school girls' basketball program to be on solid footing for years to come.