Dawson Leads Lady Whalers Basketball On Her Home Court

In her final game on her home court, senior Nia Dawson led a dominant Pierson/Bridgehampton girls basketball team to a 60-14 win over Smithtown Christian on January 3 at the Bridgehampton School.

Dawson, who finished with 15 points, six assists and five rebounds, is a Bridgehampton School student; the Lady Whalers, which includes students from both Bridgehampton and Pierson high schools, typically play their home games at Pierson and will for the rest of the season.

Teammate Lily Kot handed a bouquet of flowers to Dawson on behalf of the team, congratulating her on a successful career.

“It’s very exciting—it’s indescribable,” Dawson said.

As for her performance, she said it was just “all right.”

“I really wanted to help my team out,” she added.

Katie Kneeland and Isabel Peters each put up 13 points and grabbed five rebounds in the victory for the Lady Whalers.

Pierson head coach Kevin Barron said Dawson has achieved quite a bit while playing varsity. She’s won numerous MVP titles in tournaments, is a two-time All-League player and was also named All-Conference last season, all while being team captain the past two years.

“Nia has been such a large part of this program for a number of years,” he said. “She deserved this night.”

Barron noted that she also helped lead Pierson/Bridgehampton to a Suffolk County title last season, and a trip to the Regional Finals the year before. He said Dawson is drawing interest from a number of colleges, including SUNY New Paltz, SUNY Geneseo, SUNY Potsdam, Buffalo State, the New York Institute of Technology, and Long Island University at C.W. Post.

Later in the week, the Lady Whalers improved to 6-1 in League VII (10-1 overall) with a 50-36 victory at Stony Brook on Thursday, January 5. Dawson was again among the top scorers with 19 points, adding 10 rebounds and six assists. Kot scored 17 points to go with six rebounds and three assists.

Pierson was slated to host Port Jefferson on Tuesday and is scheduled to host Mattituck on Thursday, January 12, at 6:15 p.m. The Lady Tuckers are the only team to hand the Lady Whalers a loss this season, and if Pierson would like to win at least a share of the league title, it needs to defeat Mattituck.

The Pierson boys basketball team was off last week and began league play this week with a game at Southold on Wednesday. The Whalers will host Stony Brook on Friday at 6:15 p.m.

Bridgehampton Boys

The Killer Bees defeated Babylon, 78-67, at home on Friday. J.P. Harding scored 25 points, while Elijah Jackson had 21 points. The victory pushed Bridgehampton to 5-4 overall.

The Bees opened their League VIII schedule this week with a home game on Tuesday against Shelter Island. They are slated to play at Southold on Friday at 5 p.m.