How do you put the sting of a painful loss behind you? If you’re the St. Anthony’s girls basketball team, you play suffocating defense.
The Friars saw their 36-game league winning streak snapped by St. Mary’s Friday, the second-longest in Nassau-Suffolk CHSAA history.
Coach Ken Parham’s team started a fresh streak Tuesday night at home against Our Lady of Mercy Academy. St. Anthony’s forced seven turnovers in the opening quarter and then held OLMA scoreless in the second. The result was an overwhelming 35-3 lead at the half.
“Whenever you lose a game you come out the next with a sense of urgency,” Parham said. “I think at the beginning of the game you saw that.”
With the bench on the court for 24 minutes, St. Anthony’s cruised to a 59-35 win over OLMA in South Huntington.
For third-year OLMA Coach John Kiffel, every game is an opportunity to improve. “It’s a young team," Kiffel said. "We’re the only team with everyone coming back. That fills you with promise. If we work hard, better things are coming.”
The Mustangs opened the third quarter with a 10-0 run and sank six three-pointers in the second half, pushing back against the league's heavyweight.
Sophomore Samantha Lynch poured in nine of her team-high 11 points after intermission and Marilyn Lehmuller hit a pair of threes.
“This game typifies our season," Kiffel said. "We have not been able to put a whole game together. But St. Anthony’s is a really good team. So long as we play with passion, I’m happy with the effort.”
St. Anthony’s (9-4 overall, 5-1 CHSAA) suffered through a poor shooting night as St. Mary’s pulled away in the fourth quarter to score an upset. That's how one streak ended.
Four nights later, there were no doubts against OLMA (5-10, 1-5).
St. Anthony’s, the two-time defending league champ, hits the road to face Sacred Heart Academy Friday at 5:45 p.m.
Nassau-Suffolk CHSAA Girls Basketball
Teams 1 2 3 4 F Our Lady of Mercy Academy 3 0 17 15 35 St. Anthony's 13 22 9 15 59Scoring -- OLMA: Brady 2-0-5, Lehmuller 3-1-9, Lynch 5-0-11, Wildes 1-0-3, Brown 2-0-4, Rios 1-0-3. Totals: 14-1-35. SA: Taylor 4-0-8, Parham 2-0-5, Musgrove 2-0-4, Impellizeri 3-0-6, Goode 5-2-13, Torres 5-0-10, Jones-Pack 1-0-2, Murphy 3-0-7, Vogt 2-0-4. Totals: 27-2-59. Three-pointers -- OLMA: 6 (Lehmuller 2, Lynch, Wildes, Brady, Rios); SA: 3 (Parham, Murphy, Goode).
