On this day 12 years ago, the girls’ basketball team won its first Suffolk County Championship in seven years with a 44-40 win over Port Jeff. Here is the recap of the game from Erik Boland of Newsday.

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Dunleavy’s Three-Point Play Highlights Comeback

Kristyn Dunleavy made the first free throw, and with her team trailing by one, a tie score seemed a good bet.

But something didn’t quite feel right as the junior released the second toss.

“I knew it was short,” said Dunleavy, a 71 percent free throw shooter. “I just tried to get after it as fast I could.”

So almost as soon as the ball came off the front of the rim, there was Dunleavy positioned to seize the rebound. Her follow shot kissed off the glass as she drew contact, and the resulting three-point play gave Stony Brook a two-point lead with 30.2 seconds left.

No. 1 Stony Brook held on for a 48-44 victory over No. 2 Port Jefferson in the Suffolk Class C girls’ basketball final Friday at Whitman. Stony Brook (16-4) will play the winner of Sunday’s Nassau Class C championship between Friends Academy and East Rockaway March 7 in the Long Island championship game.

The three-point play by Dunleavy, who led all scorers with 24 points, gave Stony Brook a 44-42 lead. On the ensuing Port Jefferson possession, eighth-grader Sadie Singer came up with a steal and was fouled. She hit both free throws to make it 46-42 with 21.9 seconds left.

“It was kind of like, ‘Oh my goodness, I better make these,'” Singer said. “My team was counting on me. When it [each free throw] left my hand, it was like ‘Yesss, it’s going in.'”

As important as Dunleavy’s points were, her 11 rebounds helped Stony Brook–whose tallest player is the 5-9 Dunleavy–outrebound much bigger Port Jefferson, 36-35.

Port Jefferson (12-9), which starts three players taller than 5-10, took a 41-34 lead with 4:04 left on Morena Zilic’s three-point play. But Stony Brook pulled to 41-39 on a three-pointer by Kaitlyn Siederman, who had 13 points, and to 41-40 on Joanna Bilodeau’s free throw with 2:57 left. Zilic’s free throw made it 42-40 with 2:12 left, setting up Dunleavy’s key play.

“I think we came out a little satisfied with that lead and we kind of eased up defensively,” Port Jefferson coach Mike Riley said. “But I take my hat off to the Stony Brook club.”

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Here is the recap of the game from The Village Times.

Stony Brook School Wins Class C Title

The Stony Brook School Bears girls’ basketball team edged out Port Jefferson last Friday, February 24 with a 48-44 win, earning the Section XI Class C championship title.

After facing a 41-34 deficit with four minutes remaining in the game, Stony Brook closed in on a 14-3 run, fueled by Kristyn Dunleavy’s eight points in the final two minutes. Dunleavy, a junior from East Setauket, led Suffolk County in scoring this winter with a 24.1 scoring average. This game proved no different as she finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds against the Royals. Her rebound and offensive putback off a missed free throw with 30.2 seconds remaining proved to be the pivotal play in the game as Stony Brook turned a 41-42 deficit into a 44-42 lead.

An ensuing steal and two pressure-packed free throws by eighth-grader Sadie Singer, of Stony Brook, with 21.9 seconds remaining gave the Bears a 46-42 lead en route to the final margin of 48-44.

Junior Kaitlyn Siederman added 13 points, including a three-point field goal with 2:57 left in the game to cut the Port Jefferson lead to 41-39. She also added eight rebounds in the contest as Stony Brook out-rebounded the taller Port Jefferson squad by a total of 36-35. Senior captain Jasmine Liverpool, junior Joanna Bilodeau, and sophomore Christina Calisi, were also significant contributors in the rebounding department and helped Stony Brook to its win.

“The rebounding edge was extremely significant against this team,” said Stony Brook coach Keith Singer. “Port Jefferson is an excellent rebounding team, and taking care of this aspect of the game was our primary objective. It is a testament to the focus and heart of our group that they were able to win the battle of the boards during the game. I’m very proud of their effort in this area.”

The win gained Stony Brook its first Class C Championship since 1999. The Bears face tremendous challenges ahead as they prepare for Wyandanch, the Suffolk Class B winner, and East Rockaway, ranked third in New York State in Class C. However, as Singer stated after the game, when discussing the difficult nature of the win, “Hey, we have Kristyn Dunleavy.”

That, and a tremendous defensive effort thus far in the playoffs have the Stony Brook Bears playing into March.

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