Girls basketball: Millbrook rolls into state semifinals
Millbrook is probably one of a few small-school girls basketball teams in the state that sports a pair of talented 6-foot forwards, both of whom can score in tight spaces. In order to be a more complete team, though, the Blazers are in need of a perimeter threat.
Ella Wilson is just that shooter. She was sidelined recently for three weeks with a sprained right ankle, the victim of a practice misstep. Wilson returned a week ago, in time to help the Blazers defend their Section 9 Class D championship, but she only scored two points and that didn’t quite feel satisfying.
“I had to just go keep shooting in practice,’’ she said of the remedy for her layoff.
Wilson apparently has rediscovered her range, sinking five 3-pointers and scoring 16 points as Millbrook repeated as regional champs, putting away Suffolk County champ Port Jefferson 61-30, on Saturday evening at Farmingdale State.
“Tonight I was just feeling it,’’ Wilson said. “The first shot went in and the second and all I wanted was to hit another one. … It was just rushing through me.’’
“Having her back,’’ said forward Emily Grasseler, “she just really completes our team. We need her to complete that missing piece on the outside.’’
All-star forwards Grasseler and Natalie Fox established their inside presence early, each scoring three buckets as Millbrook moved out to a 15-7 lead after one quarter. “We’ve been coming out of the gate pretty well the past month,’’ said Millbrook coach Adam Peek. The Blazers extended to 31-15 by halftime, Wilson sinking two 3-pointers and Beth Bosan one.
Grasseler also scored 16, surpassing 1,000 career points. Fox had 15 and Bosan 12.
“It's kind of a milestone that I hadn't really let myself think about,’’ said Grasseler, who missed much of her junior season with injury and a host of games due to the COVID shutdowns a year earlier. “I didn't think that it was in the cards for me. Just to get it, I really have to thank my teammates.’’
Millbrook is on a roll at the right time: the Blazers have won their last three games by 45, 43 and 32 points.
“I said to the girls at the end of the game, my god, we just won a regional final game by 30 points,’’ Wilson said. “It shows what we can do as a team when we play together, and how good we really are.’’
It was that teamwork on the other side of the ball that proved crucial. Lola Idir is a long-range threat, averaging 29 points per game for Port Jefferson (18-4) . She hit a pair of 3-balls in the first half and that’s when Millbrook clamped down on her even harder, using a mix of extended zone and man defenses, holding her scoreless the rest of the way.
“We tried to focus on never leaving her open, talking, communicating and switching on to her,’’ Peek said. He added limiting Port Jeff’s second-chance opportunities was also crucial.
Amy Whitman hit a trio of 3-pointers for 11 points and Alexa Ayotte scored six of her 10 points after the break when the outcome was already determined.
Millbrook (21-3) will face Section 2 champion Greenwich in Saturday’s 2:15 p.m. state semifinal at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy. The other semifinal pits Section 6 champion Randolph and Section 4 winner Union Springs. The Sunday final would be at 11:15 a.m.
Fox believes heading to Troy as the defending champs is an asset.
“It kind of pushes us to play better and play harder because we want it, we want to repeat what we had last year.’’
Twitter: @KenMcMillanTHR
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Millbrook Port Jefferson Class D girls basketball NYSPHSAA
