Donasja Scott powers Harborfields to first Suffolk small-school title
Harborfields' Donasja Scott moves to shoot from under the basket against Hampton Bays in the Suffolk small schools girls basketball championship at Farmingdale State College on Monday, Feb. 24, 2014. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
When Donasja Scott converts an easy bucket, she smiles.
When she pulls down a rebound, she smiles.
When she misses a shot, she smiles.
When she commits a turnover, she smiles.
When she . . . well, you get the point. Her nickname is "Smiles" for a reason.
"I always smile because I'm happy to be on the court," Scott said. "Anything that happens, I think about the bright side of things and stay positive."
There was no reason for her to stop smiling last night. Scott scored 20 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to help Harborfields capture its first Suffolk small school championship with a 59-34 win over Hampton Bays at Farmingdale State College.
Christiana deBorja's three-pointer with eight seconds remaining in the first half capped an 11-0 run that gave Harborfields a 31-16 lead. The Tornadoes went ahead 33-19 when Toni Deren dribbled behind her back and made a scoop pass to Helena Ottaviano (11 points), who converted the layup. Ottaviano followed with a corner three-pointer to increase the lead to 15.
"We wanted to make school history," she said. "That was our motivation."
Twelve players scored for the Tornadoes. Deren had seven assists, many off no-look passes.
Haley Wood had 10 points and Alex Maitland-Ward added seven for Hampton Bays (19-3), which opened a 7-0 lead. But Scott scored eight points in the first quarter as the Tornadoes took a 14-12 lead.
Harborfields (20-0) will play Sachem East in the Suffolk championship game at 5 p.m. Friday at Whitman. "We did something that nobody at our school has ever done," Scott said. "I'm really happy to be a part of it."
When she makes school history, she smiles.
