Sports
Hewlett Hoop Girls Come Up Short Against Jericho, 49-43
Costly turnovers and a bad second quarter doom the Bulldogs in an otherwise strong effort.
The Hewlett girls varsity basketball team lost 49–42 to Jericho at a Monday night home game.
Despite a slew of poorly timed turnovers and a flat second quarter, the Bulldogs managed to hang in late, nearly erasing a 36–19 deficit as they outscored Jericho 29–25 in the second half.
Amanda Levenberg (19 points) and Renee Kivicet (13 points) made the difference for Jericho. When the two forwards exited the game with 2:36 left in the third quarter, Hewlett went on a 13-2 tear against Jericho's second unit.
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Baskets by Gabby Casanova, Val DiNapoli and two from Daphne Superville, including a three point play, brought the Bulldogs within six to end the third quarter 38–32, and it looked as though Hewlett might make a comeback.
When Levenberg and Kivicet returned, the two teams traded baskets the rest of the way. Hewlett's scoring leader Samantha DiSalvo (15 points) scored on a layup on a give and go from Superville with 3:57 to play. DiSalvo was fouled on the play and hit the free throw to bring Hewlett within four at 47–43, but they would not get any closer.
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"I was very proud of our team," Levenberg said. "Even when they got close we kept hustling."
For Kivicet, in a game where turnovers and sloppy transition play was prevalent, winning loose balls was the key.
"I think our biggest asset was winning the 50/50 balls," Kivicet said. "We did a good job on those."
Hewlett head coach Tommy Johnson said he recognized that being outscored 12–2 in the second quarter was ultimately his team's undoing.
"If you look at the other quarters, we were right there with them," Johnson said. "We have to stop the passes that lead directly to layups. We gave up at least 10 points on turnovers. That made all the difference. We have to cut down on that."
Despite the sloppiness, Johnson took a lot of positives away from the game and encouraged his team to do the same.
"Every girl that stepped on the court gave everything they could possibly give," he said. "But we have a lot of work to do."
Hewlett's Allie Venditti was confident that if the Bulldogs can fix their turnover problems, better days lie ahead.
"We outscored them in the second half," Venditti said. "It was our turnovers that ruined us."
