Newsday's Long Island All-Decade girls basketball players: The 2000s
Bria Hartley of North Babylon, Samantha Prahalis of Commack and Michelle Kurowski of Hicksville.
The first decade of the 2000s continued to highlight the growth in the girls game.
The players that ushered in the decade included St. John the Baptist’s Danielle Wilson, who was one of Long Island’s premier shot blockers. She was an All-Big 12 first-team selection at Baylor. And there was Commack’s Samantha Prahalis, drawing comparisons to Sachem’s Nicole Kaczmarski as a pure scorer and playmaker in high school. She didn’t stop there. Prahalis earned the Big Ten Player of the Year for Ohio State in 2012 and played for the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA. North Babylon’s Bria Hartley was the state Gatorade Player of the Year twice and went on to play for two-time national champion Connecticut and in the WNBA, including with the Liberty.
The selection committee consisted of two longtime sportswriters, Gregg Sarra and Mike Candel. Sarra has covered high schools for 40 years. Candel covered high school and college sports from 1976 until his retirement in 2002.
Kristen Doherty of Sachem East. Credit: Pat Orr
Kristen Doherty, Sachem East
Doherty scored 2,227 points in a six-year varsity career. The three-time All-Long Island selection averaged 27 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 5.6 steals as a senior. She was a four-time all-county selection and earned Parade All-America fourth-team honors in 2010. Doherty played four years at Boston College, averaging 12.3 points as a junior and 12.9 points as a senior. She is one of only 12 players in Boston College history with at least 1,000 career points and 600 rebounds.
Suzie Fregosi, Massapequa
One of the best in a long line of outstanding players at Massapequa. A five-year varsity player who was named to the All-Nassau team three times, the All-State team three times and the All-Long Island team twice. She was Nassau’s Player of the year in 2006 and 2007. Fregosi accepted a scholarship to play at Iona of the MAAC and had a solid career for the Gaels. She was named to the All-MAAC basketball team and All-MAAC academic team.
Bria Hartley with the Liberty in 2017. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Bria Hartley, North Babylon
The New York Gatorade Player of the Year in both 2009 and 2010, a three-time All-Long Island selection and McDonald’s All-American. She scored 1,978 points and averaged 30 points, 8.3 rebounds, 7.4 assists, 5.9 steals and 5.0 blocks as a senior. Hartley won national title at UConn in 2013 and 2014. Named to the AP All-America second team in 2014 and earned WBCA All-America honors in 2012 and 2014. She was selected seventh overall by the Seattle Storm in the 2014 WNBA Draft and played in 207 games across nine seasons, including three with the Liberty.
Christine Huber, St. John the Baptist
A North Babylon native and three-time All-Long Island selection. She averaged 14.9 points, 15.1 rebounds, 3.7 blocks and 3.7 steals as a senior. She earned NSCHSAA all-league honors in four seasons. Helped lead St. John the Baptist to CHSAA titles in 2007 and 2008. She played her freshman year at Rutgers before playing three seasons at Northeastern.
Lisa Karcic of New Hyde Park. Credit: Richard Slattery
Lisa Karcic, New Hyde Park
A 6-1 forward/center who was the best player in school history. She scored a school-record 1,894 career points. She was named to the All-Long Island team three times. She was a two-time Nassau Player of the Year and MVP in the state tournament, leading New Hyde Park to the state title in 2003. An exceptional shooter, she twice led Villanova in made three-pointers . She earned a spot on the Croatian National Team for the 2012 Olympics. She played pro ball in Finland, Iceland and Spain.
Michelle Kurowski, Hicksville
She is the best player in school history and one of the best to ever play in Nassau County. Scored 2,581 career points, making her the third-leading scorer all time in Nassau history. She was a two-time All-State selection, a two-time All-Long Island selection and a five-time All-Nassau honoree. She led Hicksville to back-to-back Class A championships and earned MVP in the tournament. She played at University of Maryland Baltimore County and had a solid career. She scored 1,690 career points, placing her second on UMBC’s all-time list. She was twice named to the America East All-Conference team.
Lisa Macchia, Island Trees
Outstanding 6-4 center who scored 2,047 points and grabbed 1,562 rebounds in a superb five-year varsity career. Her senior year was magical, averaging 27 points and 19 rebounds while leading Island Trees to the Nassau Class B championship. She was twice named All-State and All-Long Island, was a four-time All-County selection and was the Nassau Player of the Year in 2001. Although she was hampered by knee injuries at Boston College, she had a solid four-year career for the Eagles.
Samantha Prahalis, Commack
Prahalis scored 2,372 points over a six-year varsity career. She earned All-Long Island honors three times, was a McDonald’s All-American, and went on to play at Ohio State. She was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2009. She averaged 19.8 pointsas a senior and was named the 2012 Big Ten Player of the Year and an AP first-team All-American. Scored 2,010 career points at Ohio State. She ranks second all-time in Big Ten history with 901 assists. Selected sixth overall by the Phoenix Mercury in the 2012 WNBA Draft and played 41 games across three seasons.
Danielle Wilson, St. John the Baptist
A Bay Shore native and two-time All-Long Island pick. She averaged 29.1 points, 20.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 3.7 steals and 5.5 blocks as a senior and was named a McDonald’s All-American before playing three seasons at Baylor. She was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman team in 2007 and was All-Big 12 first-team selection in 2009. She averaged 15.1 points, 9.6 rebounds and 3.1 blocks during the 2008-09 season. Ranks third all-time in Baylor history with 249 blocks.
Kia Wright of Copiague. Credit: Richard Slattery
Kia Wright, Copiague
A four-time All-Long Island selection. She finished her high school career with 2,148 points. Led Copiague to its first Suffolk and Long Island titles in Class A in 2002. During a four-year career at St. John’s, she averaged 14 points and scored 1,536 career points. She was a four-time All-Big East selection, earning first-team honors in 2006 and second-team honors in 2005, 2007 and 2008.
COACHES OF THE DECADE
Shari Roessler, Massapequa
Roessler was named Nassau Coach of the Year in 2000 and 2005. She led Massapequa to Nassau and Long Island Class A titles in 2000, finishing with an 18-6 record and losing in the state final. She also led Massapequa to Nassau and Long Island Class AA titles five years later, upsetting Elmont in the county final and beating then-22-1 Northport in the Long Island championship. Massapequa also won county titles in 2002, 2003 and 2006, when it also won a Long Island crown.
Shari Roessler of Massapequa and Mike Petre of East Islip/North Babylon.
Mike Petre, East Islip/North Babylon
Petre earned Suffolk Coach of the Year honors at East Islip in 2001 and at North Babylon in 2007 and 2008. He led East Islip to its first Suffolk and Long Island Class A titles in 2001, also bringing it to a state final appearance. He guided North Babylon to Suffolk and Long Island Class AA titles in both 2007 and 2008, his first two years with the program. Those were the Bulldogs’ first county and Long Island championships in program history.
