Westhampton Beach Girls Need One More Win To Make Playoff Appearance

Regardless of the outcome, Olivia Rongo said it’s been a ride she won’t soon forget.

The Westhampton Beach senior won a Suffolk County championship her sophomore season, which was cut short due to COVID-19, and now sits on a Hurricanes girls basketball team that, with two games left in the season, is just one win shy of a playoff appearance.

“Playing basketball for this school has been such a great experience for me,” said Rongo, who is committed to play lacrosse at James Madison University. “Winning a championship, it’s an experience not many people have.”

On Monday, Westhampton Beach (8-10 overall, 3-7 in League IV) dropped a league contest to West Babylon (10-0), 46-25. On Friday, the Hurricanes fell at Hauppauge (4-6), 45-38, after having bested the Eagles, 46-35, right before the holiday break. The team had been counting on that matchup to propel them into the postseason.

“It was a tale of two halves,” said head coach Katie Peters following the January 28 loss. “The first half we didn’t show up. We just did not show up to play, and we could never get ourselves out of that deficit we put ourselves in.”

Westhampton trailed by 10, 26-16, at the half, but stayed with Hauppauge in the first, largely due to senior Lily Berchin’s three of her game-high four three-pointers. Her back-to-back shots outside the paint and inside the four-minute mark put the Hurricanes ahead, 11-4.

“I feel comfortable shooting beyond the arc. I find myself shooting threes more, although something I do want to work on is driving to the hoop more,” said Berchin, who finished with 12 points — all from the same spot on the court. “I will shoot from everywhere, but when I hit a shot in one spot, and then again, it definitely makes me feel more confident to shoot there. The defense the other team was in and the quick movement of the ball led me to have an open opportunity to shoot.”

With just under two minutes left, a Rongo shot from three-point range helped Westhampton bounce out front, 15-8, but an Eagles bucket and long field goal at the buzzer made it a much closer contest heading into the next eight minutes. The teams tied at 16-all on a Hauppauge free-throw at 5:38, and the Eagles scored the last 10 points of the half. Westhampton closed within five in the third and fourth quarters, but it was as close as the Hurricanes would come.

“We didn’t play up to our potential in the first half, and in the second half, we just didn’t have enough time to do what we had to do,” said Rongo, who tied for a game-high 21 points, and followed it up with seven points Monday. “We were slow on defense today. It’s disappointing that we lost this game, but we’ve grown a lot, skills-wise and together. Our team has bonded a lot since the beginning of the season.”

It’s something Peters is proud of.

“I think we’ve had many successes along the way,” the coach said. “We are striving to get better every day, and we’ve been doing that. Today was just an off night for us.”

The older girls, like Rongo and Berchin, have been leaders and mentors for the younger girls, putting them in positions Peters feels confident moving forward with next season.

“The younger girls feel comfortable,” she said. “The team has grown leaps and bounds. That in itself is a positive.”

Berchin said she’s enjoyed helping her teammates in any way she can.

“I know from being an underclassman that when a senior would help me out, I would feel happy, so I hope I have the same impact on the younger kids,” the senior said. “I want them to know they can talk to me or ask me anything if they need to. It really builds friendships and trust.”

Berchin said what she’s proud of most is her team’s never-give-up mentality. Even when shots don’t fall, the Hurricanes keep shooting until the final buzzer. Berchin hopes that continues as Westhampton travels to Comsewogue February 3 for a 5:45 p.m. matchup. The Hurricanes host crosstown rival Eastport-South Manor in the final game of the regular season Tuesday, February 8, at 4 p.m.

“It was a struggle in the beginning, but they’re fast learners,” Rongo said of her younger teammates. “Regardless of what happens, I feel really special to have been a part of this program’s successes and I’m grateful for everything the basketball program has given to me.”