Busso rebounds, carries Southold to win
Southold's Nicole Busso (11) puts in the rebound against Shelter Island's Melissa Ames (13) in the first half. (Feb. 21, 2012) Credit: Joseph D. Sullivan
Nicole Busso was happy to be a part of Southold's first county championship since 2005 on Monday night, but it did bother her that she scored just one point. She said her confidence level was down going into Tuesday night's game against Shelter Island.
Busso quickly made Monday's performance a distant memory. The junior forward tied her season high with 16 points to help Southold defeat Shelter Island, 48-35, in the Suffolk Class CD girls basketball qualifier at St. Joseph's College.
Southold (15-5) will play the winner of Southampton-Hampton Bays in the BCD championship game at 2 p.m. Saturday at St. Joseph's College.
"It got to me a little bit," Busso said of Monday's game. "It was my lowest-scoring game of the season. We're a team and we won, so I couldn't let it impact us. The team got me pumped on the bus. You can't think about it in a game like this and let it get to you."
Busso scored eight points in a 27-13 first half. Shelter Island (12-5) cut it to 32-20 after three quarters and Busso scored to open the fourth quarter. When Shelter Island appeared to be on another run after standout Kelsey McGayhey (13 points) hit a three-pointer with 3:24 left to cut the deficit to 40-28. Busso quickly answered with a jumper to make it 44-28.
"Nicole has got a lot better," Southold coach Katie Hennes said. "She was real clutch for us. I had a talk with her on the bus. She was upset after scoring one point. I told her she needed to do the intangibles and for her, it's defense and getting her team involved. The scoring would come."
Lauren Ficurilli scored 12 points and Melissa Rogers eight points for the First Settlers. It was the fifth time the teams met this season. The teams played two league games and also faced each other in two different tournaments. Southold won four times. "We know how they play and they know how we play," Ficurilli said. "We needed to come out strong and we did. Busso played amazing. She was great on the boards. She couldn't play any better."
