Late Rally Lifts Lady Vikings

Port Washington trailed visiting Long Beach for much of Thursday's Conference AA-III girls basketball game before staging a furious fourth-quarter rally that resulted in a 45-39 victory.

Senior Emma Horowitz was instrumental on offense during the late-game surge, scoring eight of her team-high 13 points in the final quarter, and the defensive work of freshman Ali Seltzer throughout the second half was as much a determining factor in the game's outcome. Long Beach's All-County senior guard Natasia Hurd hit for 26 points, but only five of those came after halftime with Seltzer in her hip pocket.

"Hurd is the most skilled player in the conference in my opinion," Lady Vikings coach Dennis Trottier said. "We went to a box-and-one in the second half and doubled her whenever she touched the ball. Ali did a great job. We probably should have switched the defense sooner, but lucky for us it wasn't too late."

To go along with her clutch defense, Seltzer chipped in four points and five rebounds. "She's one of our youngest players and full of energy," Trottier said. "Good things happen when she's on the court."

Horowitz pulled down 13 rebounds to match her point total in posting her fourth double-double of the season. Emily Rosenthal added 12 points, Hayley Kerr had eight, Christina Leonard went 5-for-6 from the foul line and Ariana Spagna sank a three-pointer.

Long Beach, which was riding a three-game winning streak against conference foes, raced out to a 17-7 lead after the opening quarter and enjoyed a seven-point advantage at the break. The margin was back up to double figures at 34-24 entering the fourth. "For a young team to be down that much with a quarter to go and pull it out says a lot," Trottier said. "We knew it was going to be a tough game."

Port Washington (4-2 in conference play, 6-5 overall) outscored the Lady Marines (3-3 in conference play, 3-7 overall) 16-5 from the foul line and forced 24 turnovers.

Next up for Trottier's team is a visit from Herricks (6-1 in conference play, 8-2 overall) on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. The Lady Highlanders took the first meeting on Dec. 15, 32-29, in overtime.

"Against Herricks we have to protect the ball, defend and rebound," Trottier said. "The biggest thing is keeping them off the boards. If we can do that, I like our chances."