Kasey Wagner keys defensive effort that sends Whitman to Suffolk AA final
Whitman's Kasey Wagner (4) gets by Ward Melville's Kyra Gianelli (10) in the third quarter during the Suffolk Class AA semifinal between Whitman and Ward Melville on Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2023. Credit: Bob Sorensen
It’s hard to tell what the score is when watching Kasey Wagner.
The Whitman senior chased after a loose ball like the game depended on it. Unable to keep the ball inbounds, Wagner ran full speed into the scorer’s table, knocking it back a foot.
Her team was leading by 31 points in the fourth quarter.
“I don’t really look at the score when I’m playing,” Wagner said. “That’s just how I play defense. I don’t want to give anything to the other team.”
Wagner helped lead a stingy defense and scored 13 points in No. 2 Whitman’s 63-38 win over No. 3 Ward Melville in a Suffolk Class AA girls basketball semifinal Wednesday at Longwood High School.
Whitman scored the game’s first 10 points, but Ward Melville (16-5) found its stride at the start of the second quarter. Held to only two points in the first quarter, Julia Greek scored four points in the first two minutes of the second to help cut Ward Melville’s deficit to five points.
After a timeout, Whitman switched to a half-court zone press to stifle Ward Melville’s offense. Whitman forced turnover after turnover during a 13-0 run after the timeout.
“We’ve used the press throughout the season, but I was a little worried because they shoot so many threes that they would break the traps and have open shots,” coach Daniel Trebour said. “I didn’t want to start with it, but we had it in our back pocket.”
Whitman advances to its first county final since Trebour became head coach in 1999. Winners of 11 straight games, the Wildcats will be playing for their first county title against No. 1 Northport at 2:30 p.m. at Stony Brook University.
“We just have to stay confident the whole game and give ourselves a chance,” sophomore Brianna Verga said.
Verga led Whitman (19-3) with 17 points, as she was constantly fed creative, pinpoint passes by Iris Hoffman. Usually Whitman’s top scorer, Hoffman took over a playmaking role.
With five seconds left in the first half, Hoffman hurled a baseball-style pass from one foul line to the other, where Kathleen O’Mara put in a layup to give Whitman a 41-20 lead.
Hoffman finished with 11 points. Kyra Gianelli led Ward Melville with 12 points.
“If teams are keying in on me, my teammates are going to be open,” Hoffman said. “I like to get them the ball in transition and I know they’ll score.”
