Oyakhilome helps Lindenhurst take title

Naomi Oyakhilome doesn't expect to score much and she's fine with that. The Lindenhurst senior's main role is to rebound and she enjoys it so much that she'd rather get 20 rebounds than score.

Oyakhilome had only two double-digit scoring games all season going into Tuesday night, but was consistently open and scored a career-high 15 points with 10 rebounds to lead Lindenhurst to a 51-38 road win against Northport Tuesday night in Suffolk League II basketball. The win gave Lindenhurst its first league title since 1987.

Colleen Ames scored 17 points and Valerie Oyakhilome had 12 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and five steals for Lindenhurst (15-1, 12-0).

"It was all my team," Naomi Oyakhilome said. "They gave me the ball when I was open. I just want to contribute to the team."

With Lindenhurst leading 26-24 in the second quarter, Naomi scored off a pass from Sammy Martinez (seven assists) and hit a three-pointer off the glass with 11 seconds left in the half to make it 31-24.

"They were daring me to take the shot," Naomi Oyakhilome said. "They gave me a lot of space. I was glad it went in."

Said Lindenhurst coach Greg Flynn: "Northport did a tremendous job on defending our first and second options. She reacted off the defense and was open. She made some big momentum shots for us."

SEE PHOTOSLindenhurst 51, Northport 38

Naomi opened the third quarter with a baseline layup and later scored on a jumper to make it 35-26 with 5:16 left in the quarter. Ames helped keep the lead with three three-pointers the rest of the way.

Northport (10-5, 9-3), led by Kristin Cleary's 13 points, could get no closer than seven points in the second half.

"A lot of us have been together since seventh grade," Ames said. "We all got better together. First day of practice this season, we said, 'No. 1 goal is league championship.' In ninth grade, it was hard to think this. We weren't a good team. To come from that to this is a great feeling."