Lady Mustangs Edge Out Seaford 37-36 in Overtime

The women of Mineola’s varsity basketball squad put their hearts on the line during Friday night’s match up against the Lady Vikings of . Being one of the top teams in the Conference A-4 league, Mineola plays against many of Long Island’s smaller schools, since conference/league size is dependant upon school size. The Lady Mustangs played a hard match against Seaford, and in the end, their superior efforts proved victorious as the game moved to double overtime.

Heroes: Kerri Medlock. The seasoned junior scored a total of 14 points during the game, comprising almost half of Mineola’s total score of 37. Scoring four free throws and five 2 point shots, Medlock lead the Lady Mustangs offensively, continually commanding control of the ball. Heather Gessner and Samantha Venus also scored a strong 5 points, each scoring single two and 3 pointers.

Turning Point: Being tied by the end of the first half (18-18), Mineola could not manage to dominate the women of Seaford, who continued to tie up the score. By the end of the second half, the score was again tied at 32. Moving into double overtime, Mineola finally managed to break away and take the lead, scoring five points to Seaford’s four. Medlock scored the winning shot with 16 seconds left in double overtime. Her quick moves led the team to victory, ending the match, 37-36.  

The Quote: “I’m proud of the girls for all their efforts,  and we need to keep working hard if we want to win more games like this one,” head coach Denise Zunno said. 

Bottom Line: Though Seaford’s strong defensive skills kept Mineola largely at bay, stronger offensive plays were the only difference between victory and defeat during the match. During each quarter of the game, neither team truly dominated. With Mineola down at the end of the first quarter, the Lady Mustangs regrouped to tie the score by halftime. At the end of the third it was Seaford who came back to tie the game. Ultimately, the Lady Mustangs worked up every ounce of effort they could and by the end of double overtime, proved dominant. The Lady Mustangs, though victorious here, will need to ramp up their defensive efforts if they want to have an easier time gaining victory over other teams in their conference.