High School Girls Basketball

BY LAURA ALBANESE

North Babylon junior Eugeneia McPherson sat out against today's game against Calhoun despite hopes that her injured eye would recover enough for her to play.

"That eye is still very sore and we figured better safe than sorry," said North Babylon coach Mike Petre. Petre said that he hoped McPherson would be healthy for the next game.

McPherson took an elbow to the eye in a game last week and missed Saturday's losing effort against Sachem East. Without its star, North Babylon fell to Calhoun 56-49, despite entering the fourth quarter with a seven point lead. Calhoun's Megan Vasquez led the late run, scoring 11 of her 24 points in the fourth. North Babylon drew close within three with about a minute left to play, but Jasmine Fuller sealed the victory with two free-throws with 40 seconds remaining.

Petre added that, despite being disappointed with the loss, he was happy with his team this year. "If we can play that well without Eugeneia," he said, it was a good sign of things to come.

Also of note: Sophomore Bria Hartley continues to tear it up for North Babylon. She led all scorers with 29 points.

BY ADAM RONIS

North Babylon junior Eugeneia McPherson is day-to-day after taking an elbow to her left eye last Thursday. X-rays revealed no fracture, but the eye is still swollen. She will probably play in North Babylon's next game against Calhoun on Thursday. They will see how her eye is that day and then determine if she will be able to play.

BY ADAM RONIS

Wyandanch has won three of the last four Suffolk Class B titles and is the favorite this season. So far, Wyandanch has been very impressive.

And that might be an understatement. Wyandanch has won by an average of 23.8 points in its 5-0 start. Its closest margin of victory is 18 points.

It's not as if Wyandanch is playing a cream puff schedule either. Wyandanch has played two Class AA schools, two Class A schools and a B school.

Jessica Little loves to shoot from three-point range and she set a program record with seven three-pointers in the first game of the season. Kim Weathers, Charneice McCullough and Aniya Webb have also played very well.

BY ADAM RONIS

If you don't notice some of the Nassau coaches this season, it's not your eye sight going bad. The coaches may have more gray hair, bags under the eyes and started the aging process early and rapidly.

That's what happens when you have to coach stressful games each night. Expect that to be the norm this season with ability-based grouping.

It will be rare to empty the bench or coast to victory in the fourth quarter. The vocal cords of coaches will get extra mileage, too.

Several coaches told me about Roosevelt as a team to watch out for. Roosevelt was seeded 10th in the ABC grouping, but would have likely been higher had the seedings been done prior to the season; they were done before the summer.

Roosevelt won its first two games and I felt good about touting it as a sleeper. Then I see Roosevelt lost to Roslyn, a young and talented team that could be dangerous, 49-27 and scored just 11 second-half points! Then I started to think I was getting bad information.

But it turned out to be an off night because Roosevelt defeated Wantagh, seeded third, 49-39, in the final of the Wantagh Club Booster Tournament yesterday. It wasn't a league game, but the teams will play a league game this season.

Expect that type of scenario this season. A team may look real good on one night, and then average the next game. Every game will be a challenge and there will be no coasting. It's basically playing a playoff schedule the entire the season.

BY ADAM RONIS

Eugeneia McPherson added another impressive performance to her resume on Thursday against Smithtown East. The North Babylon junior guard scored 20 of her 28 points with one eye in the second half in a 67-42 win.

McPherson took an elbow to her left eye near the end of the first quarter, sat the second quarter and returned for the second half, but couldn't see out of the eye. McPherson didn't play against Sachem East yesterday in a loss. McPherson wanted to play, but coach Mike Petre decided to sit her.

McPherson had x-rays and a CAT scan on the eye and she should know the results tomorrow. North Babylon trailed by three with 1:44 left in the game.

"To be that close without Eugeneia is a good edge for us mentally," Petre said.

North Babylon plays Calhoun on Thursday. Check back for an update on her status tomorrow.

BY DARREN SANDS

Dinner probably tasted a little better for Mattituck's Stephenie Pisacano at the Pisacano household last night.

She scored 13 points to lead the Tuckers in a 37-21 victory over Southampton. Her brother, Richard scored 14 for Mattituck against Southampton -- but the boys lost by 30 points, and fell to Southampton, 79-49. Both teams were playing in their first league game of the season.

No word on which sibling beats who in game of H-O-R-S-E in this basketball family. But it's safe to say that Richard has the first "H" of the young season. We'll stay tuned to their season's narrative, and keep score on the blog.

BY ADAM RONIS

Unless you see the scars on both knees, Wetshampton coach Mike Polan said you would have no idea senior 6-2 center Kelly Cavallo had ACL tears in each of her knees the past two seasons. Judging by her peformance through the first seven games, we won't argue.

Cavallo had a career-high 35 points and added 15 rebounds and four blocked shots in a 47-35 win over Mt. Sinai tonight. Cavallo had all of the team's points in a 17-5 fourth quarter. She went 8-for-12 from the free-throw line in the quarter.

"For us to be successful this year, she has to put the team on her back," Polan said.

She certainly did tonight. Cavallo will attend St. Joseph's (Pa.) next year, but Polan believes the injuries gave her a stigma of being injury prone and scared off some schools. Cavallo is averaging 23.4 points. If Cavallo stays healthy, Westhampton should make a deep run in Suffolk Class A.

BY ADAM RONIS

There have been some good non-league matchups so far this month. Another one happens on Saturday when Sachem East plays at North Babylon at 2 p.m. Both these teams are among the favorites to win Suffolk Class AA.

And both teams have played very impressive non-league schedules. North Babylon opened the season with two losses, falling to JFK (Bronx), one of the top PSAL teams, and Bergtraum (Manhattan), one of the top teams in the country for several years. Then North Babylon (3-2) beat Glenn, edged Holy Trinity in overtime, and defeated Ward Melville.

North Babylon, the defending champion, lost Chanel Chisolm (Vanderbilt), but the tandem of junior Eugeneia McPherson and sophomore Bria Hartley have been very good.

Some people think Sachem East is the best team in Suffolk Class AA right now. Sachem East is led by sophomore Kristen Doherty, who's receiving interest from top Division I schools, and sisters Ashley and Nicole Caggiano. Doherty is a very savvy player. If you watch her play, you'll think she's a senior.

Sachem East (2-2) went 20-2 last season and fell behind Commack by 17 points at the half in a semifinal. SE rallied, but came up short. Sachem East has beat Calhoun and Holy Trinity, and lost to Molloy (Queens) and Hicksville by one point in overtime.

This should be a great game and a possible preview of a postseason game.

BY ADAM RONIS

From 1999-2006, either Massapequa or Elmont won the Nassau Class AA championship. Hicksville ended that streak last season, winning the championship as the sixth seed. Hicksville returns almost everybody, led by Michelle Kurowski, and is the favorite to win it again.

So far, and it is still very early, it appears Massapequa and Elmont have taken steps back. Elmont lost six of its top seven players and lost to Calhoun, 46-26, tonight. Massapequa lost to Syosset, 61-53. These teams aren't on the same level they have been for the past several years.

It looks like Hicksville, Calhoun, Syosset and Herricks may be the top Class AA teams. Again, it is early and you can never count out those programs that have such a great track record.

BY ADAM RONIS

Eugeneia McPherson already displayed the ability to come through in the big games. The North Babylon junior guard had 29 points in the L.I. Class AA championship and 35 points in the county final against Commack last season. That came when Chanel Chisolm was the primary option on offense.

The offense was designed to go through her, but with Chisolm receiving double teams, McPherson led the team in scoring. Chisolm is now at Vanderbilt, which means McPherson will draw the attention of the opponent. So far, it hasn't flustered her one bit.

"She still finds a way to score," North Babylon coach Mike Petre said. "She can score in a multitude of ways."

McPherson had 30 points against JFK (Bronx), one of the top teams in the PSAL, 22 against Bergtraum (Manhattan), one of the top teams in the country, and 24 against Glenn. She hit a pull-up jumper from 17 feet with 2.1 seconds left in overtime to win it for North Babylon in the Hoops To Remember Tournament at Herricks on Saturday. McPherson, who had 23 points and five steals, hit two free throws with 20 seconds left in regulation to tie the score at 56.

McPherson, who has received interest from many Big East schools, had 35 points, 13 rebounds, 10 steals, four assists, and three blocks in a 74-51 win over Ward Melville tonight.

"Right now, she's the best player on Long Island," Petre said. "People looked at her as just a scorer. That short changed her. She can do everything. She realizes she's the primary option and has raised her level of play."

BY ADAM RONIS

Sammy Prahalis feels there's something missing from her high school resume. One of the last things she wants to accomplish is winning a Suffolk Class AA championship, which she has yet to do in her first five seasons.

The Ohio-State bound Prahalis was close to getting it done last season. The number 3:59 will forever be etched in her mind. That's the time when she fouled out against North Babylon in the championship game as Commack relinquished a 17-point halftime lead in a 71-67 loss.

"It slipped out of our hands," Prahalis said. "Winning is the most important thing. We're a young team, but every girl has improved a lot since our first scrimmage."

Commack is one of the top contenders to win the county title. Commack lost four players from last season's team that played key roles. So far, Commack is 3-1 with victories over Massapequa, Curtis (Staten Island), and St. Peter's (Staten Island) and a loss to Molloy (Queens).

Prahalis has scored 25, 27, 35, and 32 points. There's no doubt Commack will rely heavily on Prahalis, but ultimately its success will come down to how quick the players around her learn to work with her.

CLASS ABC GIRLS BASKETBALL ALIGNMENT
2007-2008 Season

Conference 1

1. Floral Park
2. Malverne (B)
3. Wantagh
4. Manhasset
5. Garden City

Conference 2

6. Roslyn
7. South Side
8. Division
9. Island Trees
10. Roosevelt

Conference 3

11. New Hyde Park
12. Lynbrook
13. North Shore
14. Westbury
15. Wheatley

Conference 4

16. Locust Valley
17. Hewlett
18. Jericho
19. Sewanhaka
20. Valley Stream South

Conference 5

21. Seaford
22. East Rockaway (C)
23. Friends Academy (C)
24. Plainedge
25. Bethpage
26. Clarke
27. Oyster Bay (B)

Conference 6

28. Lawrence
29. Carle Place (B)
30. Great Neck North
31. Mineola
32. Valley Stream North
33. West Hempstead
34. Cold Spring Harbor (B)
35. Glen Cove

Game Schedules:

Conferences 1 and 2 will play everyone in their conference 2x and crossover 1x for a total of 13 games.

Conferences 3 and 4 will play everyone in their conference 2x and crossover 1x for a total of 13 games.

Conference 5 will play everyone in their conference 2x for a total of 12 games.
Conference 6 will play everyone in their conference 2x for a total of 14 games.

Conference Champions: will be determined by the games played within that particular conference. Ties will be broken to determine seed in the playoffs. Note: A conference champion could be seeded below a team in their conference if the overall records are different.

Playoff Qualification and Seeding: Playoff seeding is determined by overall record where crossover games are played.

12 Class A teams qualify, 4 Class B teams qualify and both Class C teams qualify.

Class A Qualifiers:
All the Class A teams in Conferences 1 and 2 will automatically qualify. The seeding for the playoffs will be bases on best overall record.
The top 3 Class A teams in Conference 3 with the best overall record will qualify. (3 out of 5)
The top A finisher in Conference 4 with the best overall record will qualify. (2 out of 5).
An A team can qualify from Conference 5 if they have an 80% winning record, which is record of 10-2 or better, AND win their conference.
An A team can qualify from Conference 6 if they have a 90% winning record, which is a record of 13-1 or better, AND win the conference.
If there is no qualifier then the next spots will be given to Conference 3 and then to Conference 4 Class A schools to fill out the bracket.
Ties will be broken for seeding purposes but will remain for recognition.

No team will be seeded above a team in a higher conference regardless of record.

The B Qualifiers:

Four Class B teams will qualify for the playoffs. Due to where the B schools fell in the ability grouping the first 3 seeds are set. #1 Malverne #2 Wheatley #3 Locust Valley.The 4th seed will come from the Conference 6 Class B team with the best record. Ties will be broken.

The C Qualifiers:

The 2 Class C teams are East Rockaway and Friends Academy. They both go into the finals of the county championship. Their seed will be determined by the best record.

CLASS AA ALIGNMENT
2007-2008 Season

Conference 1

1. Hicksville
2. Elmont
3. Calhoun
4. Massapequa
5. Syosset

Conference 2

6. Herricks
7. Farmingdale
8. Uniondale
9. MacArthur
10. Plainview JFK

All 10 teams from Conference 1 and 2 will automatically qualify for the playoffs.

Conferences 1 and 2 will play everyone in their conference 2x and crossover 1x for a total of 13 games.

Conference 3

11. Freeport
12. Oceanside
13. Hempstead
14. Baldwin
15. Valley Stream Central
16. Great Neck South

Conference 4

17. Long Beach
18. Port Washington
19. Bellmore JFK
20. Mepham
21. Carey
22. East Meadow

Conferences 3 and 4 will play everyone in their conference 2x and crossover with the top or bottom half of the other conference 1x for a total of 13 games.

The Conference 3 winner will qualify.
The Conference 4 winner needs to qualify with an 80% total winning record.

No lower conference will be seeded above a higher conference.

The season will end on Feb. 12 with the playoffs beginning Feb. 15.

BY ADAM RONIS

I'm all for competitive basketball. Who wants to see Knicks-Celtics? Unless, of course, you have some members of those teams on you fantasy team. (Unfortunately, the only Celtic I have is Rajon Rando. Just get steals and feed Kevin Garnett!!!). Or you like to see destruction. Anyway, no one likes to see 64-22 girls basketball games either.

Nassau is trying to eliminate those lopsided scores in all sports and has gone to ability-based grouping. It's an interesting concept that will provide great games just about every night this season in girls basketball. The problem I have is with the setup.

Lets try and simplify it. Basically, teams are seeded before the season. So in the AA, the top five teams are in the same division and seeds 6-10 are in the same division. The teams play division opponents twice and crossover to the other division for one game. All these 10 teams are guaranteed playoff spots. That's right, it doesn't matter what happens in the regular season, these team are in.

So what's the point of the regular season? Start the playoffs today. There has to be a better way to institute ability-based grouping. Here's a hypothetical situation (Don't get mad Syosset. You are just an example!). Syosset is seeded fifth. It potentially could go 0-13. Regardless, Syosset can't be seeded worse than five in the postseason. Is anyone outraged this? Shouldn't you have to earn a postseason berth? Doesn't hard work account for anything? It's like giving a student an A before the semester begins based on their previous semester's track record. (I wouldn't be opposed to that if I was back in school.)

Then there's subjectivity when determining the seeds. It's based on the success of the team over the past few seasons. This year's seeds were done before the summer. Things have changed since that time. For example, Elmont lost Ariel Edwards, who transferred to Christ the King. That could have potentially changed its seed. If you go by population, like most states do, there's nothing to quarrel over. What if a team loses two top players to injuries? Say that team can't be seeded worse than five. Obviously, that team is vastly different. That's why you can't have this system.

The rule is a team can't be seeded above another team in a higher conference. So a team in Class AA Conference 2 can't be seeded ahead of a team in Conference 1. The No.1-5 teams will all get the top seeds based on how they finish the season.

This one really emphasizes the point of how ludicrous this system is. In Class B, Wheatley already knows its seed and who it will play in the first round of the playoffs. No joke. Wheatley is the two seed and will play No. 3 Locust Valley in the semifinals.

Class A, B, and C are seeded together. Malverne, a B school, is the second seed in this group and will play only A schools during its league schedule. Three teams in Class B are vying for the final spot and four seed.

Again, I am going to love seeing Massapequa-Elmont twice and Hicksville-Calhoun twice. But the way it is set up with guaranteed playoff spots and seeds is not ideal. The other side will say how can you penalize a team for playing in a tough division. There could be a real good team that has a poor record because of its arduous schedule that is way better than a team seeded below them. That's true, but the regular season has to mean something.

We'll see what happens and how it plays out this season, but I think the system needs tweaking. What do you think?

Marcus Henry began working for Newsday’s city edition in April 2003. He’s been a part of the Newsday high school/local college sports desk since then, covering both Long Island and New York City high schools. He has also covered the WNBA’s New York Liberty the past two seasons. Prior to coming to Newsday he spent four years working for PA SportsTicker, a real time sports newswire service. Marcus has also freelanced for the New York Amsterdam News, College and Pro Football Weekly, and the National Sports Weekly. In addition to his work on the local desk, Marcus is also a huge boxing fan. He has covered several fights for Newsday, including the Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather fight and the recent Miguel Cotto-Shane Mosley battle.

Darren Sands was born in Manhasset, but moved to Boston at age 10. And yes, he is a Red Sox/Patriots/Celtics fan. Sands, 23, has been with Newsday since March 2007. He attended Hofstra where he worked for the student newspaper, the Hofstra Chronicle. Sands moved back to Boston where he wrote for the Boston Globe's City Weekly section, and served a brief stint as a weekend news assistant on the city desk. When Sands isn't writing, reading, or hopelessly trying to lower his handicap, he catches up with friends and family, and plays tennis with the good folks at the tennis courts on 151st and Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard. He resides in Harlem and, thanks to his girlfriend, is an adopted member of the Hokie Nation.

Joseph Staszewski is a 23-year-old graduate of St. Francis Prep High School. He graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from St. John's University. While at St. John's, Staszewski held the position of sports editor and managing editor during his four years working at The Torch, the school's award-winning student newspaper. The Middle Village resident has also freelanced for the Queens Ledger, TimesLedger and Long Island Herald newspapers. Starting his second year at Newsday, Staszewski is a die-hard Mets and Jets fan, and a former high school basketball player and assistant coach.

Marc Jimenez was born and raised in the Bronx, graduated from SUNY Purchase in 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Literature and decided to try his hand at sportswriting in the fall of 2005. He covered high school and college sports for the Riverdale Press for six months and was a contributor to MLB.com for 18 months before joining Newsday in September 2007. Marc’s favorite sports moment was when the Yankees clinched the 1996 World Series.

Adam Ronis covers mostly high school and college sports, and some professional sports. He has worked at Newsday for six years covering Long Island and city high schools. He also worked at the Boca Raton News. Ronis, 29, is a fantasy sports guru and holds numerous championships in baseball, football, and basketball. He is a fan of the Mets, Dallas Cowboys, and Rangers. Ronis is a softball nut, playing on several teams. He is from Flushing and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Media Studies and a minor in Journalism from Queens College.

Chris Mascaro, 23, joined Newsday as a sportswriter in November 2007. He graduated from Cornell University in 2006, where he worked for The Cornell Daily Sun. He served as sports editor of The Sun as a junior. He also covered Cornell's football team, as well as its nationally-ranked men's hockey and men's lacrosse teams. He wrote a bi-weekly column titled "He May Be Tall," which hit on national topics in addition to Cornell-related material. After graduation, he worked as a sportswriter for The Southampton Press, covering numerous varsity teams on the East End, the Moriches, and William Floyd.

Alex Labidou joined Newsday as a sportswriter in October 2007. Labidou, 24, is a graduate of Pace University with a B.A. in English. After graduating, he joined the National Basketball Association where he was an editorial assistant handling web editing and covering various NBA events. He is a New York City native. Labidou has also been a production intern at ABC News Magazines (Primetime and 20&20) and a contributor to VIBE, HoopsHype and the upcoming SET magazine. He is an avid Knicks, Yankees and Jets fan.

Roderick Boone is a native Long Islander. He graduated from Uniondale High School in 1993 and received his degree in mass communications from Auburn University Montgomery. He began his career as a correspondent at the Montgomery Advertiser before spending time at the Elmira Star-Gazette, Poughkeepsie Journal, and The Journal News. He's covered a wide variety of sports in his career, ranging from high schools to the pros. But his true love lies with basketball.

Gregg Sarra, 46, has worked at Newsday for the past 21 years. He has won numerous sportswriting awards and been cited by various officials and coaches associations for his reporting. He was voted the New York High School Sportswriter of the Year in 2002, 2003 and 2005. He is a member of the Dowling College athletic Hall of Fame, the Men's Senior Baseball Hall of Fame and the Long Island Flag Football Hall of Fame for his many successes on a national level on the diamond and the gridiron.

Kimberley A. Martin spent the past year working as a local sports reporter at The Record (Hackensack, N.J.), covering everything from high school fencing to The New York City marathon to New York Jets practice. She received her B.A. from Wesleyan University in 2003 and her master's from Syracuse University in 2006. Prior to grad school, she worked at an investment management firm in Midtown Manhattan. Kimberley is also a native New Yorker and a huge Yankees fan.

Laura Albanese, 21, started at Newsday as a news intern in June 2007 and joined the high school sports desk in November. She graduated summa cum laude from Brooklyn College, where she served as the Brooklyn College Kingsman’s editor-in-chief and earned her B.A. in journalism. She’s also written for the Daily News and freelanced for a number of Long Island community weeklies. A Brooklyn native, she grew up a baseball junkie in a soccer family and remains a loyal fan of both the New York Mets and Seria A soccer.