Mount Sinai girls basketball team spurred by Mia Betancourt to comeback victory in Suffolk Class A final

Mia Betancourt implored her teammates to stay confident despite a halftime deficit. “It’s only seven points,” she said. “It’s only seven points.”

The Mount Sinai junior guard knew the Mustangs could rally in the second half, and she was determined to lead the charge.

Betancourt scored 18 of her 26 points after halftime as second-seeded Mount Sinai beat No. 4 Islip, 47-40, in the Suffolk Class A girls basketball final at Farmingdale State College on Sunday afternoon.

“I just knew I had to do something different,” said Betancourt, who scored the first six points of the second half, making three baskets in the first two minutes. “Shots weren’t falling, coaches told me to keep going to the hoop, and I did. It was a great feeling to get everyone’s spirits up, everyone in the stands up and keep us pushing forward to the win.”

Betancourt, who went 5-for-5 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, led the Mustangs to their first county title since 2019. She scored 11 of her team’s 13 third-quarter points as the Mustangs cut their 26-19 halftime deficit to 35-32, and they put together a 15-3 run in the game’s final 6:35.

“She’s insane,” senior forward Kyla Orlando said. “I will never understand how she does it, but she’s just literally insane.”

Mount Sinai (19-3) will play the Wantagh-Lynbrook winner at 8 p.m. Saturday at Farmingdale State in the Long Island Class A championship/Southeast Regional final. Islip finished 14-9.

“[Championships] are not easy to come by,” coach Jeff Koutsantanou said. “This year we had a core back with a goal, and it wasn’t even just making the playoffs. It was winning the championship, so I commend them for that.”

The Mustangs never led until Alexa Cergol hit a three-pointer off an assist from Betancourt with 3:33 left to break a tie at 37.

“I knew I could shoot, and when it went in, it just lifted everyone,” Cergol said. “We just knew we were going to get this win.”

Cergol had a better than front-row seat the last time the Mustangs won a county title. She was a water girl on the bench as her sister, Brooke, played a key role for the championship team.

“It was crazy. I remember they were so excited and I just saw how fun it looked,” Cergol recalled. “I really wanted to get this win.’’

Mount Sinai is one win away from the first Long Island crown in program history.

“We’re not done yet. We want to win the whole thing,” Orlando said. “We’ve talked about wanting to win this so much and leaving a legacy here.”