Wantagh girls basketball team scores 22 straight points in fourth quarter to reach state Class A final

TROY — Trailing by 15 points entering the fourth quarter, Wantagh exited its huddle knowing this likely would be the team’s final eight minutes together. But one steal after another, one fast-break basket after another, one defensive rebound after another, and the feeling changed.

Wantagh started to believe. And if you’ve followed the Wantagh girls basketball team this postseason, you’d know that giving this team belief is a dangerous thing.

Wantagh — which trailed by 18 points in the third quarter — scored the first 22 points of the fourth quarter and exited with an improbable 58-51 win over Albany Academy in a state Class A semifinal at Hudson Valley Community College on Friday.

“We didn’t really think we had it, but we kept wishing and we just wanted it more,” said sophomore Kayla Mannix, who scored 20 of her 32 points in the fourth quarter. “We had no pressure on us and they kept messing up. They got inside their own heads and we used that opportunity to keep going and we just never gave up.”

After trailing 44-29, Wantagh went on the 22-0 run in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter and outscored Albany Academy 29-7 in the period.

“We never give up in any game, so we kept calm,” Mannix said. “We don’t yell at each other, we have good attitudes and we just keep pushing no matter what. We always just want to play and have fun, so even if we didn’t win, we were going to go out trying.”

Mannix’s three-pointer brought Wantagh within 44-41 with 6:03 left. Sabrina Asadurian followed with a layup off an assist from Juliana Cerasi a minute later. Mannix hit another three-pointer on the next possession to give Wantagh a 46-44 lead with 3:45 left.

“Once we got the lead, I knew we were going to win the game,” coach Stan Bujacich said. “I just knew it. There’s just something about this team. Their winning from previous seasons, and this whole season was like this. I’m crying. I’m so happy.”

Wantagh (22-2), which also trailed in the fourth quarter of its county semifinal and final wins, will seek the first state title in program history when it plays Ardsley at 7:45 p.m. on Saturday in the state Class A final.

Mannix hit a layup and four three-pointers and went 6-for-6 at the foul line in the fourth quarter. She had 12 rebounds, five steals and four blocks.

“Even on the court and playing with her, we were saying, ‘This is crazy,’ and I’m just so proud of her,’ Cerasi said. “She’s putting it all out there and she’s doing it for the team, not for herself, and she’s making a name for herself.”

Albany Academy (21-5) led 38-20 before Mannix’s basket with 4:45 left in the third quarter began the comeback.

“We were chipping away little by little, and you want to believe that you are winning right away,” Cerasi said. “But once we got those shots and got it closer, we felt we had this.”

“They just know how to win,” Bujacich said. “They are just winners. That’s all I can say. Case closed.”

Bujacich called Friday “the most amazing game I’ve been involved with” in 32 years as Wantagh’s head coach.

Mannix said she wasn’t confident about the team’s chances after three quarters.

“They were kind of feeling [confident] and they thought they had it,” she said. “But they don’t know our team. And they don’t know how hard we’ve worked for this.”