Baldwin girls basketball breezes into Nassau Class AA final behind Monique Echols’ 22 points

The Baldwin girls basketball program has become synonymous with championships. With 12 county titles since 2010, the Bruins have one of the winningest programs of any sport on Long Island. But last year didn’t end the way Baldwin was used to, with a loss in the county final, and the Bruins haven’t forgotten that feeling.

Baldwin isn’t taking anything for granted, though. And after a 76-31 victory for the top-seeded Bruins over No. 4 MacArthur in the Nassau Class AA semifinals at Farmingdale State College on Monday night, Baldwin is one win away from returning to the top of the county.

“We’ve been working really hard, especially to try to make a comeback from last year,” senior guard Monique Echols said. “We’re very grateful to be back in that same position and now we just need to get the win.”

Echols had 22 points, including 15 on five three-pointers in the third quarter, to lead Baldwin on Monday. Payton Dulin and Alyssa Polonia added 13 points each as the Bruins often used their pressure defense to force turnovers near midcourt and create fast-break points.

“Our focus is playing hard, coming in and playing with great energy and I think it relaxes the kids,” coach Tom Catapano said. “It’s not all about making shots and things like that. Let’s just play extremely hard, bring our defense, our attitude, our effort and the rest will follow.”

Baldwin (19-1) will plays the winner of No. 3 East Meadow versus No. 2 Garden City at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Farmingdale State College in the Nassau Class AA final. Caitlin Kilian and Gabrielle Nicolini had 10 points each for MacArthur (17-5).

Baldwin opened the second quarter on a 20-2 run over 5:27 and outscored MacArthur 25-6 in the period to take a 40-11 lead at halftime. The Bruins led 66-24 entering the fourth quarter.

“We really picked up on the defensive end and then our offense started to come and everything started to flow,” Echols said. “Our defense helps us get a lot of easy buckets, pick up the momentum and helps us score a lot more.”

Baldwin’s only loss this season came to Long Island Lutheran, one of the top teams in the nation. On Saturday, the Bruins look to add another title.

“This is about us,” Catapano said. “This is about Baldwin and just being the best version of ourselves. That’s the goal. We have a lot back from last year, a lot of great seniors, so we’re just taking it one day at a time and trying to go as hard as we can every day at practice. We are grateful for the opportunity to be together.”