Wantagh girls’ dream season ends in state Class A final

TROY — The Wantagh girls basketball team had a playoff run pulled straight from a television show.

Nearly every game of Wantagh’s postseason went to the final horn. An overtime victory after trailing by four points with 40 seconds left in a county semifinal. A winning shot with less than eight seconds left that started with an offensive rebound in the county final. A 22-point scoring run to overcome a 15-point deficit entering the fourth quarter in a state semifinal.

Those are scenes in a drama series, not something you’d expect to witness three times in less than three weeks. But that’s what Wantagh did. And although it didn’t have the ultimate Hollywood ending of being crowned as a state champion, it doesn’t take away from Wantagh’s feelings of pride and accomplishment.

Wantagh fell to Ardsley, 39-28, in the state Class A girls basketball  final at Hudson Valley Community College on Saturday night. Wantagh (22-3) won its first Long Island championship in program history this season after winning its first county title since 2006.

After the loss, Wantagh reflected one more time together in the locker room about more than just its final day together.

“We were talking about obviously this one game doesn’t define our whole season,” senior Juliana Cerasi said. “We won counties for the first time in 20 years, we won [a Long Island championship] for the first time in program history, we really pushed ourselves and we got to this point. No one thought we were even going to get here.”

Wantagh’s consistent late-game heroics made the postseason run even more memorable for the team.

“It’s so exhilarating and rewarding when you have those wins, and each time, we celebrated,” Cerasi said. “ . . . We lived out the season to the fullest and that’s kind of what the best part was.”

After Wantagh forced 19 turnovers in a 58-51 victory over Albany Academy on Friday, Ardsley took better care of the ball by playing at a slower pace, turning the ball only four times.

“Their guards really took care of the ball, we couldn’t force any turnovers, but these kids had a great year,” coach Stan Bujacich said. “We made Wantagh proud. We made the county proud. I’m not taking anything away from them. They were just awesome all year and I loved going to battle with them.”

Wantagh trailed 16-14 at halftime and was outscored 10-3 in the third quarter as Ardsley (23-3) opened a 26-17 lead. Ardsley  led by at least seven points for the entire fourth quarter.

“It didn’t come out like how we wanted,” Cerasi said, “but I’m really proud and we all pushed each other until the end.”

Kayla Mannix had 10 points, eight rebounds and two steals and Riley Forthofer added nine points and 13 rebounds for Wantagh.

Although the season ended with one fewer win than Wantagh hoped, the team had no regrets.

“It was fantastic,” Bujacich said. “It was a joyride and it was something we’ll never forget.”