West Babylon beats Port Jefferson in Suffolk girls basketball small schools final
West Babylon guard Jade Dockery drives the baseline for two points during the Suffolk small school girls basketball final against Port Jefferson Wednesday at Kings Park. Credit: George A Faella
Adding to the tall task of securing their second title in less than a week, the West Babylon girls basketball team entered Wednesday night facing another daunting challenge.
Without Lacey Downey and her elite scoring ability, as well as the strong presence of forward Brianna Winkler, the Eagles undoubtedly needed one of their best overall performances of the season.
And they rose to the challenge.
Jade Dockery led the way with 12 points and Rebecca Vitale added eight points as West Babylon defeated Port Jefferson, 47-26, in the Suffolk small schools final at Kings Park High School.
"We just had to step up and play even better defense than usual," Dockery said. "We did it for them."
Avery Vergano and Samantha Maucere also had seven points apiece in the win.
West Babylon (20-3) advances to the Suffolk overall final on Monday at Longwood High School at 4:30. The Eagles will face the winner of Saturday’s Longwood/Northport Suffolk large schools final.
"I’m just so proud of our program," said Emma Bloshmi, who recorded seven points. "Obviously, missing two key players in Lacey and Brianna, we were nervous coming into today. But we knew how prepared we were, and it just shows how well-built our program is. Everyone stepped up and we were able to pull through."
Due to their involvement in an altercation with East Islip late in West Babylon’s previous contest – the Suffolk Class A final on Feb. 26 – Downey and Winkler were forced to sit out.
But despite losing the county’s fifth-leading scorer at 20.4 points per game, as well as Winkler’s added production at the forward position at 8.7 points per game, the Eagles got off to a blazing start and never looked back.
West Babylon took a 14-0 lead following Dockery’s layup with 2:36 left in the opening quarter. The Eagles entered the second ahead 14-2 and closed out the half with a 7-0 run, capped off by Avery Vergano’s three from the left corner to give West Babylon a 26-7 halftime lead.
The Eagles continued to lock up on the defensive end in the third and entered the fourth ahead 36-16. They led by no fewer than 18 in the fourth on their way to the victory, as Port Jefferson fell to 17-3.
"To have an All-Long Island kid and an all-county kid sitting at home watching the game and still win is a testament to our program and the culture that’s here," West Babylon coach Ron Langella said. "Being 48-7 over the last three years, we don’t come into the gym thinking we’re going to lose. The kids stepped up, wanted to do it for the ones that weren’t here, and they did it."
