Huntington Girls’ Basketball Wins on Senior Night
The Huntington girls’ basketball team celebrated the careers of three very special seniors during a pre-game ceremony before going out and toppling visiting Newfield in a Suffolk League III contest, 45-25.
Seniors Brooke Baade, Katie Reilly and Taylor Moreno were recognized by their coaches and teammates before the tipoff. The trio was lauded by head coach Mike Kaplan for their rugged play and team-oriented approach.
The Blue Devils struggled to find their groove throughout the first half, missing shots and turning the ball over. It wasn’t until midway through the third quarter that Huntington’s shots started dropping and the team was able to start pulling away from Newfield.
Reilly had 10 points, six assists and five steals and Alexandra Heuwetter added 10 points and six rebounds to lead Huntington. The victory improved the Blue Devils’ league mark to 12-1 and 14-3 overall.
Huntington won the first match-up between the two teams earlier in the season, 59-13, but Newfield proved to be a much more challenging foe on Thursday night, leading for most of the first half before the Blue Devils went ahead 20-17 by halftime.
Anna Gulizio had six points, five assists and four rebounds and Baade added five points. Emma Petrizzi and Megan Byrnes scored four points each. Torre Palmer, Tara Wilson and Katie Seccafico had two points apiece.
“When things were looking tough, Katie Reilly grouped us up and told us to get our heads in the game and pick it up and that’s when we really turned it around,” Gulizio said. “She’s a great leader.”
Huntington carried a 29-23 lead into the final eight minutes and then proceeded to go on a 16-2 run to put the game far out of reach. Despite the 20-point victory, Baade saw room for improvement. “We have been kind of off a little, so we have to clean it up,” the teenager said.
Senior Night Ceremony
The game was preceded by a ceremony honoring Huntington’s three seniors. Kaplan spoke about each of the teenagers and what they have meant to the program. Several of the seniors’ teammates spoke, too.
The parents of the seniors were called out on the court and given flowers by their respective daughter. Kaplan said Baade and Reilly have become multi-faceted players and team leaders and that Moreno’s return to the program helped a young team gain confidence and poise.
Baade and Reilly are both in their fourth year with the varsity team. Huntington has compiled a league record of 49-6 during that time and has gone 68-11 overall.
Moreno last played for Huntington as a freshman before returning to the team this winter. She made an immediate impact on both ends of the court before sustaining an injury at Smithtown West. Last year she won the Suffolk small schools long jump championship and was fifth in the triple jump.
Reilly is headed to Princeton University to play lacrosse. Moreno will attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she has been recruited to play goalie on the lacrosse team there. Baade has not finalized her college plans yet. Her top four schools are James Madison University, University of Tennessee, University of South Carolina and North Carolina State University.
Teammates of the seniors decorated the gym with balloons and made humorous posters in tribute to the careers of each of the teenagers, affixing them to the gym walls. Life-sized cutouts of each senior in uniform were placed near the court.
“We had a solid win on a special night that honored three great players for us,” Kaplan said.
Blue Devil Notes: Reilly was 8-for-8 from the foul line . . . Huntington scored 15 points from the foul line . . . Blue Devil boys’ track coach Ron Wilson watched some of the game . . . Superintendent James W. Polansky also stopped by the game . . . Baade and Heuwetter each had a three-pointer . . . Award winning photographer Darin Reed took photos of the Senior Night ceremonies and worked the entire game . . . Fifth grader Abigail Baade addressed the crowd during the Senior Night festivities telling fans that “Brooke is a great big sister.”