COUNTY CHAMPS CANTWELL’S 28 AND 4TH QUARTER COMBACK LIFT VIKINGS OVER COLD SPRING HARBOR
March 1, 2014 -- On Saturday afternoon, the top seeded North Shore women’s varsity basketball team defeated the sixth seeded Cold Spring Harbor Seahawks 57-51 to win the Nassau County Class A championship.
Although the Vikings started strong, leading the Seahawks by 3 at the end of the first quarter, inspired play by Cold Spring Harbor and missed shots by North Shore resulted in a 5 point deficit by half time.
In the third, the situation looked more daunting for the Vikings when the Seahawks extended their lead to seven. But by the end of the quarter, North Shore had narrowed the gap to four.
In the final 8 minutes, the tide turned in the Vikings favor when junior forward Alexandra Cantwell hit a three pointer, and then shortly thereafter a steal by North Shore led to a Gabrielle Zaffiro lay-up and the Vikings pulled ahead for the first time since early in the second period, eventually building an 8 point edge with only four minutes left to play.
The persistent Cold Spring Harbor team however quickly shaved 5 points from that lead and had a couple of opportunities to come within one, but a strong Viking defense and timely shooting once again gave the team a small cushion.
Cantwell was dominant in the Vikings win, scoring 28 points and making key free throws at the end as the Seahawks fouled to gain possession of the ball.
In addition to Cantwell’s 28, Ashleigh Sheerin scored 10, Caroline Robertson 8, Samantha Capobianco 6, Gabrielle Zaffiro 4, and Meghan Brennan 1.
The Vikings had advanced to the county title game after defeating Levittown Division 86-46 in a semi-final contest last weekend, and Glen Cove and Westbury in earlier rounds. The Vikings finished the regular season 18–2, and are 72-9 over the past four years.
The Vikings will play for the Long Island Class A title against Harborfields this coming Friday at 5 pm at SUNY Farmingdale.