Ryan Currier's hoop, block lift Kings Park girls basketball to first Long Island Class A title
Madison Schultz #5 of Kings Park, second from left, hugs Ryan Currier #24 as teammates celebrate their 32-30 win over Cold Spring Harbor in the Class A girls basketball Long Island Championship at Farmingdale State College on Sunday, March 10, 2024. Credit: James Escher
Ryan Currier had been neutralized for most of the Long Island Class A girls basketball championship/Southeast Regional final. But she took over the game when it mattered most.
With 26.8 seconds left and Kings Park trailing by one point, Currier received a perfect pass from Melanie New in the paint and floated in the go-ahead bucket.
“I’m so grateful for that pass and the fact that it went in,” Currier said. “We needed that in those last crucial seconds.”
On Cold Spring Harbor’s ensuing possession, Currier collected a block and drew a foul.
Her free throw with 18 seconds left was the final point of Kings Park’s 32-30 win over Cold Spring Harbor Sunday at Farmingdale State. It’s Kings Park’s first Long Island girls basketball title in school history.
Kings Park advances to the state semifinals, where it will face Walter Panas (Section IV) at 2:15 p.m. on Friday at Hudson Valley Community College.
Currier scored seven of her 15 points in the fourth quarter. The 6-2 center played on the perimeter in the first half in an attempt to draw Cold Spring Harbor’s center, Cleo Dallaris, out of the paint. Currier and the Kings Park offense struggled to find the bottom of the net and went into halftime down 17-11.
“We reminded them that we played as poorly as we possibly could and we were only down by six,” Kings Park coach Tom Edmundson said. “We got back to what we normally run on offense in the second half and we had some more success.”
Defense was the key to a big third quarter for Kings Park (19-5), with the team constantly forcing turnovers and Currier protecting the paint. Gianna Zawol was essential in Kings Park’s comeback, as she scored seven points during a 9-0 run. She totaled 12 points.
“We have five great starters and great players that come in off the bench. Even if one person is getting shut down, there’s always someone else you can count on,” Currier said. “Gianna has become a constant in our offense with her fast breaks and layups. She stepped up when we needed it most.”
Olivia Mulada led Cold Spring Harbor (20-4) with nine points. With 33.6 seconds left, Mulada finished a tough layup high off the glass over Currier to give the Seahawks a 30-29 lead.
Then Currier called game.
“I’m beyond happy and I’m so proud of all of us,” Zawol said. “As soon as the buzzer went off, I started bawling my eyes out because we worked so hard to get to this moment and we knew we could pull it off.”
