Delli Mizrahi's threes help top seed Syosset advance to Nassau Class AA final

Top seed Syosset needed a spark if it wanted to advance to the Nassau Class AA girls basketball final for the second straight year.

That spark came late in the first half from Delli Mizrahi and Kendall Halpern in Syosset's 60-43 semifinal win over No. 4 Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK at Farmingdale State on Sunday.

Syosset advanced to play No. 2 Baldwin, the defending champ, in the Nassau Class AA final at 6 p.m. Sunday at NYCB Live's Nassau Coliseum. The game is a rematch of last season's final.

Mizrahi made a three-pointer from the corner late in the second quarter and Halpern followed with an end-to-end driving layup to extend Syosset's lead to 32-19 at halftime after its 16-point lead after one quarter had been cut to eight.

Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK (15-5), led by Nicole Mastorides and Riley Rottkamp, used an 11-3 run in the second quarter to get back in the game, but Mizrahi's three-pointer helped stop that momentum. Syosset coach Michael Ferreira said he told the team to make it a priority to get the ball to Mizrahi, one of their better outside shooters, after not finding her enough during the regular season.

The Braves (19-1) had started the game on a 7-0 run as their signature press and hectic pace forced turnovers and helped the team score in transition. 

“We’re at our best when we’re running” said Ferreira.

Syosset's stifling defense set the tone from the beginning, when it opened a double-digits lead in the first quarter. 

“We’ve had it in our [repertoire] as many years as I’ve been on varsity,” said Mizrahi, a junior. “ . . . It always gives us a jumpstart for the whole game.”

Samantha DeCapite, Lilah Grubman and Caroline Ruggiero had 12 points for Syosset, which led 46-34 after three quarters. Mizrahi put it away early in the fourth with her second three as the Braves took a 54-34 lead with 6:24 left and were never threatened.

Mastorides led the Hawks with 15 points, and Rottkamp had 12 points. 

The Hawks are a good perimeter-shooting team, something Syosset had planned for.

“Their game is shooting threes,” Ruggiero said. “We knew that and we just tried to put pressure on them and test them.”

Now the next step for Syosset is a date in the AA final, and a second chance at a crown. The Braves lost a close game to Baldwin in the final last season.

“We’ve been preparing for this since last year,” said Ferreira.