"Drought Is Over:" Lady Eagles Win First Round Of Playoffs

Hauppauge Lady Eagles had clinched their first playoff win in 14 years Monday against Lindenhurst with 4.5 seconds to spare. 

Hauppauge girls basketball beat higher seeded No. 7  Lindenhurst Bulldogs in the first round of the Suffolk County Class AA playoffs 42-41 to win their first playoff game in 14 years. 

"It's been 14 years. The drought is over," said head coach Jamie Edson. 

Victory nearly evaded the Lady Eagles once again, as Hauppauge was down by 12 points, 37-25, with 2 minutes and 28 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Hauppauge had taken an early 6-0 lead in the first quarter and remained in the game trailing 17-20 at half time. It seemed as if momentum has swung in favor of Lindenhurst, who had two back-to-back three-pointers. 

Edson called a time out in a last attempt to pull Hauppauge's offense together to go all out after the win. 

" One thing about this group is regardless of the score and the time situation, they don't throw it in until the game is over,"he said. 

 Two three-pointers in the finals minutes were capped by Lauren Descalzo as she made a layup with 4.5 seconds left off a pass from Lindsay Alfano, who had stripped the ball from the Bulldogs offense. 

A shock reaction went through the court, as soon as the buzzer rang, family and friends rushed the court to celebrate the Lady Eagles' win. 

Sophomore Julie Williams lead the teams offense with two three-pointers for a total of 18 points, scoring 8 of those points in the fourth quarter.  Descalzo scored 8 points and lead with 8 rebounds and 6 assists. Lindsay Alfano and Stephanie Peragallo scored 7 points each. 

"Lauren Descalzo only had 8 points. But she did a lot of little things in terms of rebounds and pushing the ball down the court – things you don’t  in the stats that really helped the team," Edson said. 

Hauppauge advances into the second round where they will face tough competition from No. 2 seeded North Babylon, who has a 19-0 record, on Thursday. Hauppauge's coach said the team will practice hard the next two days, fine tuning skills. 

"Right now look, we think we can play with anyone. We are certainly not going to back down from North Babylon," Edson said. 

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