Change is part of the game in high school girls basketball. Players come and go. Roles are altered. Adjustments are made.
And so it is for Katie Hoeg.
Mattituck’s senior point guard has different players surrounding her this season, and it has been quite a change for her. READ
One had to wonder if neither Mattituck or Babylon wanted to win Tuesday night’s Suffolk County League VII girls basketball game. After one team would turn the ball over, the other team threw it right back. It went on like that a number of times in an extended turnover fest, 50 in all.
Then, after playing “you take it, no you take it,” Mattituck finally took it. READ
It was anything but an example of offensive artistry. The shooting, for the most part, wasn’t much to look at. Points were hard to come by — really hard.
Yet, the non-league season-opener between the West Islip and Mattituck high school girls basketball teams was intriguing, dramatic and exciting, nonetheless.
For all of the shooting misfires, baskets by each side in the final two seconds brought a wild ending to last Wednesday night’s game at Mattituck High School. With overtime looking like a virtual certainty, Alexandra Gagliardi scored on a close-range shot at the buzzer off a long inbounds pass to lift West Islip to a 19-17 triumph.
And, yes, that score is correct. READ
Trust the process. Trust Mackenzie Hoeg.
That’s what Mattituck coach Steve Van Dood tells his basketball players when referring to Hoeg, the team’s All-County senior point guard. READ
Despite not returning a single starter this season, the Mattituck High School girls basketball team didn’t hit many bumps in the road this season. But then, on Wednesday, the Tuckers ran into a wall.
The fourth straight meeting between Mattituck and Carle Place in a Long Island Class B final didn’t go the Tuckers’ way. It wasn’t even close. READ
Playing time was sparse last season for Rachel Janis as a junior. The Mattituck High School girls basketball team was rich in experience, with six seniors, including all five starters, so it wasn’t easy getting onto the court.
“I did not get much playing time at all,” she said. “It was a little hard. Usually I would get like two to three minutes in games where we up by maybe like 40 points.”
Chalk this one up in the What a Difference a Year Makes Department. READ
The question was, was there a question? Was there a question as to whether or not Mackenzie Hoeg would play Wednesday?
Actually, there was.
Hoeg had rolled her left ankle in the Mattituck High School girls basketball team’s previous game five days earlier. “I went up for a rebound and landed on it wrong, but I’m all better now,” said the 5-9 junior point guard. READ
Reckless abandon.
Those were the words Mattituck High School girls basketball coach Steve Van Dood chose to describe Jaden Thompson’s playing style.
“She throws herself on the floor,” he said. “She’s got that toughness.” READ
The similarity was sickening to Steve Van Dood.
Once again, the Mattituck High School girls basketball team played Pierson/Bridgehampton/Shelter Island. Once again, Pierson prevailed, 38-32, Thursday night. And, once again, dismal shooting by Mattituck enabled the Whalers to sink the Tuckers. READ
The Mattituck High School girls basketball players have a way of getting pumped up for games. They huddle up and chant.
“It’s called, ‘Sink Your Teeth, Draw Blood,’ ” senior forward Julie Seifert said. “It’s a little aggressive, but we all chant it.”
Not that the Tuckers really needed added motivation Thursday night in their final regular-season game. A share of the Suffolk County League VI championship was at stake — not to mention a chance for a bite of revenge in their biggest game of the season to this point. READ