Paige Selhorn scores 14 points for Carle Place, but Frogs fall to Putnam Valley in Class B Southeast Regional final
Carle Places's Paige Selhorn takes a shot on the basket in the New York State Class B Southeast Regional girls basketball final against Putnam Valley in Yorktown Heights, N.Y., on Saturday. Credit: Allyse Pulliam
YORKTOWN — It’s a girls basketball program that can proudly claim ownership of eight Long Island championships. But Carle Place had always tripped over the regional step after the first seven titles, and never made it to the state final four.
This time, it looked like it was going to be different. The Frogs were up 12 points in the second quarter and 10 early in the third.
But junior forward Jona Kabashi scored nine of her 19 points in the fourth quarter and grabbed 16 rebounds overall, and Section I champ Putnam Valley rallied to claim a 44-36 victory in the Class B Southeast Regional final Saturday at Yorktown High School.
“This will make it 0-8 in the regional,” coach Conor Reardon said. “It’s the same unfortunate sad feeling. I’m saying goodbye to four wonderful seniors. … I’m saying goodbye to the best girl who’s ever come through the program.”
That would be Caitlin Leary. The Mercy-bound guard scored 12 points in her finale for the 16-7 Frogs, second to teammate Paige Selhorn’s 14.
“I’m definitely sad,” Leary said. “It’s always this game.
“I was hoping my last ride we’d finally get up to that state final four. It’s unfortunate. But I love this team.”
Putnam Valley (18-7) will play in the semifinals Friday at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy. The Tigers were hungry to get back after falling in the title game last year.
“They've had the experience of playing in games like this,” coach Harrison Deegan said, “and they wanted just another chance to go get a state championship.”
They took a 34-27 lead after going on an 8-0 run to start the fourth. Kabashi scored two baskets after cleaning up on the offensive glass.
“Kabashi, I’ve got to give her a lot of credit,” Leary said. “She was killing us on the boards.”
The Frogs hung in behind Selhorn, who scored all seven in a 7-2 burst. They trailed, 36-34, with 3:19 on the clock.
Kabashi countered with a three-point play and Leah Harman followed with a layup — 41-34 Putnam Valley, 1:17 left.
Carle Place couldn’t get it under five. The Frogs had led, 23-13, in the third. And then it turned. The Tigers went on a 12-2 run to tie it at 25-all.
“Any time you’re in this game in March playing basketball, it’s always a beautiful thing,” Reardon said. “It’s just — it stings. It really stings.
“But when you look back at this a couple of months from now, I think they’re going to look back and realize that they did something special. They were able to put Carle Place back on the map after last year not having such a strong season. So it was a tremendous season, a successful season.”