Taylor’s 26 Points Lifts Southampton Girls Basketball To Win Over Westhampton Beach

Southampton guard Madison Taylor said if her defense puts forth a strong full-court press for 32 minutes, there’s no way the Mariners wouldn’t come out with a win. That was true Monday in her team’s 42-39 nonleague win over visiting Westhampton Beach.

“We heard all the chants about how they were so good, but I think we just kept that under ourselves and we really came out with heart,” the senior said. “We are really confident in our team. We’re a great defensive team; and that leads to our offense. It feels really good to win at home, and I think it’s been a great start to the season.”

But Taylor, who recorded a game-high 26 points, including six from three-point range, had some stiff competition in Hurricanes senior guard Olivia Rongo. Rongo (23 points, 10 rebounds, five steals) scored all 10 of Westhampton Beach’s first-quarter points, and went back and forth with Taylor from the opening tipoff. The two traded points as the Hurricanes went up 6-4 before senior Gabby Arnold knotted things on a steal-and-score. Taylor hit her first shot from beyond the arc to give the Mariners (4-1 overall) a lead they would not relinquish.

“It feels really good to see our kids work hard,” Southampton head coach Juni Wingfield said. “We knew that Olivia Rongo … she’s a monster. Monster. She is all of everything that anyone’s ever said about her. And they are a seasoned team — a bunch of seniors came back from that championship team they had, and we knew that we had to dig in.”

The grittiness from both teams showed in an 11-10 first quarter and as Taylor, who opened the second with her second three-pointer, was fouled while driving to the basket, and after securing the bucket, successfully converted a three-point play opportunity to put the Mariners out front, 18-12. Southampton led 24-21 at halftime.

“I usually don’t do so good on my free throws,” said Taylor, who finished 7-for-8 from the charity stripe. “But I like how my team and I kept our cool.”

That’s one thing her coach appreciated seeing throughout the matchup.

“I always tell the girls there is no moment in the game where you have to get down because you missed a shot or you didn’t necessarily get something right,” Wingfield said. “I’m telling them all the time that what I want them to do is never be afraid of failing. I thought they did a great job of pushing that out — just pushing it away.”

That was apparent even as Westhampton Beach closed the score to 23-21 on a Lily Berchin three-pointer to close out the second. The senior and her Hurricanes weren’t about to just roll over. She guarded Taylor across most of the second half, and even snatched the ball away on more than one occasion.

“[Madison Taylor] was a fast and great player, but I felt confident out on the court,” said Berchin, who grabbed six rebounds. “When I’m playing defense, I try my best to communicate with my teammates and get the ball back. And I felt that I could trust my team to back me up and slide to the ball if she was driving.”

Hurricanes sophomore guard Haley Waszkelewicz opened the fourth quarter with a field goal that pulled Westhampton within one, 24-23, but that was as close as her team would come the rest of the way. Southampton guard Daelyn Palmore hit a three-pointer late in the third to stretch the lead to 39-32.

“I haven’t really played like that in a long time. But it feels good,” the freshman said. “We just wanted to play our game and have fun. We work well together, and the seniors bring a ton of experience to this team.”

But Rongo also wasn’t done yet. She nailed a trifecta on the other end, and sophomore guard Jane Atkinson’s layup made it 39-37 with 1:40 left to play.

“I think we were playing like it was our first game again. We did some good things, but we also did a lot of things that we practice hard not to do,” Rongo said. “We got into a good flow for a few games and then we kind of lost it on offense. Our defense was pulling us together — we’re all working hard — but we just need to learn to calm down when we have possession. When we take our time and slow down the ball, we get good looks.”

The Hurricanes (3-3 overall, 0-1 in League IV) switched between a man-to-man and 3-2 defense, which led to a ton of steals and jump balls. The girls struggled to convert their chances into points, but senior Carli Cameron and junior Juliette Archer came down with their fair share of rebounds to give the Mariners chances at Westhampton Beach misses.

“Being that the score was so close, everyone on the court was hustling and never gave up,” Berchin said. “We were all pumped going into the game knowing Southampton was going to be tough competition. There are definitely things we need to work on, but we have strong players, and the more we work together, the better we will become.”

Westhampton Beach had one last chance, needing a three-pointer to tie with one second left on the clock. Both teams traded timeout calls, and the Hurricanes were able to set up the play on the right side, but the shot just bounced off the rim.

Taylor said coming off now three straight wins — including a 51-32 besting of Stony Brook on December 8 and 46-32 win over Wyandanch 46-32 December 6 — Southampton is ready for the next one.

The Mariners host Mattituck in a League VII matchup Thursday, December 16, at 6:15 p.m., and the Hurricanes travel to East Islip Thursday at 5:15 p.m.

“We’ve been playing together for two or three years and we’ve played through hardships like not making the playoffs and the COVID-19 shortened season, so we’re all pretty close,” Taylor said. “We all know what this season means to us — especially the seniors, being our last go-around.”

Wingfield said his team’s adage, especially during a physical game like the one on Monday, could propel the Mariners far this season.

“Our motto is: ‘Hard work has a payday,’” Wingfield said. “You had two teams full of warriors out there, but we live by that and die by that mantra.”