Samantha Schneider's 26 lead Syosset girls to Long Island Class AAA crown

Samantha Schneider did everything in her power to get Syosset to the position of winning a Long Island championship. It was up to her teammates to do the rest.

Schneider, a standout junior guard for Syosset, recorded her fifth and final foul with a little more than two minutes left in the contest. She had nine of her game-high 26 points over the first six minutes of the final period and even though she couldn’t be on the court for the final minutes, she never lost faith that her team would finish the job.

“It was tough but I trusted my teammates,” Schneider said. “Kate (Nelmes) was able to control the ball and we knocked down clutch foul shots when it mattered most. It (stunk) but I was there to root for my team the whole time.”

Syosset led by eight points when Schneider fouled out and held on to defeat Brentwood, 54-46, in the girls basketball Long Island Class AAA championship/Southeast Regional Final at Farmingdale State College on Saturday night.

“Sam makes an incredible impact on the team but we all stepped up to the plate,” Nelmes said. “When she went out, I told her once the final buzzer rang she was going to be on the court to celebrate with us.”

Syosset (21-3) plays Liverpool at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday at Hudson Valley Community College in the state Class AAA semifinals after winning its first Long Island title in program history. Brentwood finished at 21-3 after winning its first county title in program history.

Syosset trailed 33-29 entering the fourth quarter but Nelmes and Jaylah McKay made two baskets in the first 36 seconds to tie the score at 33. After a Jada Hood basket for Brentwood, Syosset went on a 15-5 run over four minutes to take a 48-40 lead with 2:22 left. Schneider scored nine of Syosset’s 15 points during that run, including converting multiple steals into baskets.

“I was like, ‘We’re not going home today,’” Schneider said. “I took (being down) and said, ‘We are not going home,’ so I had to do something to switch that.”

Jaylah McKay had 10 points and Nelmes and Ivy Matthews each had eight points for Syosset. Janessa Love had 10 points for Brentwood. Hood finished with eight points, including scoring her 1,000th varsity point.

Brentwood led 10-9 after the first quarter but Syosset outscored Brentwood, 12-7, in the second period to take a 21-17 lead at halftime.

Brentwood scored the first six points of the second half to take a 23-21 lead following two made free throws by Angela Williams. After a third quarter featuring three ties and three lead changes, Brentwood led 33-29 entering the final period.

“You know when you get to this stage of the season you’re not going to run teams out of the gym, but our philosophy doesn’t change,” coach Michael Ferreira said. “We want to wear teams down, hopefully get them fatigued and then make the most of it down the stretch and our girls certainly did.”

Nelmes, who made two key foul shots with 23.4 seconds left to give Syosset a 53-46 lead, said the team was motivated by making history all season.

“It feels incredible because we know all the work we put in every single day, seven days a week,” Nelmes said. “This just shows that it paid off and it’s not for nothing.”

Syosset advances to its first state semifinal in program history.

“This is special,” Ferreira said. “This is special for us and for them, such a great group of girls. I’m just really excited we get to spend another week together.”