Bay Shore was 19-1 this year — the defending Long Island champions. They made it all the way to the state finals, while the Blue Waves had just three wins all of last year. 

Riverhead fought. They were without their leading scorer in Deshawn Watkins but that didn’t matter. The Blue Waves showed heart and given the urgency of their opponent’s timeouts, they definitely worried the Bay Shore coaches during the game.

With two minutes remaining in the third quarter, junior guard Peter Lagnena hit two consecutive threes — one from so far behind the three-point line it could have come from another planet — and it electrified the Riverhead crowd at Bay Shore High School. It cut the lead to six, and after a Landon Zaleski free throw, the lead was only five. 

“I really felt that was a game changer for us,” Riverhead head coach Pat Fabian said. “I think it really sparked a belief in our guys that we can hang with a team like this.”

Sophomore point guard Anaiis Mitchell was running on fumes trying to keep pace with the Bay Shore offense, a classic run-and-gun type team. He registered 13 assists in the game and never came off the court. Depth was an issue for the Blue Waves all season And without Watkins, that made things even tougher.

Fabian used just a six-man rotation against Bay Shore, and everyone on the court was simply exhausted and slowing down. That fatigue really set in during the fourth quarter. Zaleski would hit a triple to close the deficit to six points again, but that’s as close as Riverhead got.

“The guys really left it all out there,” Fabian said. “They gave it everything they had. I’ve never been more proud of a group. I’ve coached for 10 years, and today was my proudest moment.”

Bay Shore got into their typical fast break offense after coming away with turnovers by pressing and trapping the Blue Waves. Riverhead just didn’t have the experience nor the energy to stop the bleeding. At one point in the game, there were three sophomores and two juniors on the court at the same time. Bay Shore posted an 18-5 fourth quarter to run away and advance to the semifinals.

Lagnena and Zaleski both scored 16 points for the Blue Waves. Liam Lennon, the lone senior in the starting lineup, scored nine and Mitchell added eight.

Nobody pegged Riverhead (8-4 League I, 12-10 overall) as a playoff team this year. Three players who were expected to be part of the varsity team this year left the area. There was also a first time head coach in Fabian, who was the assistant last year. But the Blue Waves exceeded those early expectations and even took it a step further by winning the first round game against No. 10 Commack.

There were a lot of unknowns going into this season. This year was supposed to be a rebuilding year by all intents and purposes. But the players in the gym felt otherwise. 

“We knew we were going to need to bring up younger guys from JV,” Fabian said. “They were going to be a part of the team anyway but not to this extent and to have roles this large. Our young guys had to grow up fast this season and this year’s experience only helps us going into next year.”

Nobody on this roster had ever tasted the varsity playoffs before. This was all new for everyone. But it’s really encouraging to return most of the squad next year. Zaleski, Mitchell and Jack Bartolo are all sophomores. Lagnena and Sentrell Hires are juniors. Yes, they lose Lennon and Watkins — a major part of the success this season — but the majority returns next year.

“Before the season I said that our success wouldn’t be dictated by wins and losses,” Fabian said. “But after this year’s run, we need to reshape our expectations. We know we belong with the best in Suffolk County. And we’re going to work like hell this offseason to make sure our expectations get met.”

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The last game of the season — a 6-5 extra inning thriller that knocked Half Hollow Hills West out of playoff contention — was the closest Riverhead came to actually losing. Mya Marelli smashed the walk-off hit in the 10th inning that day.

“We finally had one of those games that we were thinking ‘we might lose this,’” head coach Rich Vlacci said. “It was good to see that we’re not invincible. But at the same time we realized we can perform under pressure and can come up clutch when we need it. It was a great experience rolling into the playoffs.”

“We didn’t go 17-0 for nothing,” Marelli said of that win. “We had to finish the job.”

Some say that not having a loss could be a blessing and a curse. Losing tends to give teaching moments that help a team grow.

“I teach sports psychology so I tell the kids all the time that I feel that it’s almost important to have a loss,” the coach said. “What it does is it kind of shows you what’s wrong. When you constantly win you don’t nitpick at the flaws because you’re having success. The best thing about the group we have is that even with all the success, we’ve nitpicked so many little things to say even though we are doing well, we can do better. The girls reciprocated that and that’s why we are where we are.”

Riverhead showed no signs of slowing down Tuesday as they took apart a familiar opponent in League I foe Ward Melville. Playing in front of perhaps the largest crowd of the season, where extra bleacher seats were installed behind the outfield fence, the Blue Waves dominated from the start and secured a 7-2 victory to advance to the second round of the playoffs.

Before the playoffs began, coaches in Suffolk County had a meeting and decided on players who would receive all-county honors, among a plethora of other awards. Riverhead came away with four all-county players in Marelli, Jordyn Kwasna, Sophia Viola and Kaysee Mojo. Marelli was also named the Big Schools Pitcher of the Year.

“It’s definitely a major accomplishment to be recognized for all the hard work we put in,” Kwasna said. “Individual stuff is cool but we’re after history. We’re more focused on our team goals and trying to win Riverhead its first softball county title.”

Riverhead’s big four played a major part in Tuesday’s victory. Marelli threw a complete game, allowing only one earned run and striking out 10. Viola connected on two hits and scored two runs. Kwasna mashed two opposite field line drive hits, scored two runs and recorded an RBI. Mojo, who got a bloody nose and missed an at-bat, had two hits and drove in two runs.

“We’ve played our whole season in small increments,” Mojo said. “This is just our next four-game stretch. We have all the small goals to make sure we can make it to our main goal. This win was massive to start off the playoffs.”

Vlacci’s “job’s not finished” mantra, which is plastered all over the Blue Waves’ gear, refers to taking that next step that eluded them last year. Being one game away from making it to the Suffolk County championship still weighs on the minds of the Blue Waves. 

“The vibes this year are so much different,” Marelli said. “We love being here and we love playing on this team. It’s almost like we wanted it to end last year. We weren’t having fun. We’re all in it this year. We’re all committed to the same goal. There’s no drama. We’re all about business.”

“We play for what’s on the front of our jersey,” Mojo added. “Not what’s on the back. We truly are here for one another and want the best for everyone.”

Riverhead needs three more wins to be crowned Suffolk County champions. Up next is League II’s Commack, which defeated No. 5 Connetquot, 12-4 on Tuesday. The quarter-final was moved to Saturday at 11 a.m. Riverhead High School. Being the No. 1 seed, Riverhead will play home games the rest of the way. Riverhead didn’t face Commack during the regular season.

“I think that’s good, not having played Commack,” Vlacci said. “Sometimes you go into a game and you overthink. We haven’t seen them but they haven’t seen us, either. I think our reputation is going to speak loudly for itself. For us though, no matter who we play, the same mindset has to occur. We have to be aggressive and we have to be focused. Nothing changes with our opponent, we just have to play our style of game.”

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“It’s become a tradition for us,” Mahan said. “We always want to end on a make. It’s like good luck in a way.”

That extra shot may have boosted Keegan’s confidence as she led the Wildcats to a 44-26 victory at Shoreham-Wading River High School to cement a spot in the Suffolk County Class A semifinals. Keegan scored a career-high 17 points and caused absolute havoc in the passing lanes, coming away with five steals.

“Keegan was huge for us today,” SWR head coach Adam Lievre said. “I told her before the game as we were walking out of the locker room, ‘You have to shoot. If you’re 0-for-5, the sixth one still needs to go up.’ She ended up having a great shooting night and hit some crucial layups.”

The fourth-seeded Wildcats had trouble to start the game, committing turnovers in each of their first four possessions. The good news was Islip was having trouble scoring as well, and the first quarter ended with Shoreham-Wading River up 6-4. Keegan scored all six of SWR’s points in that first quarter.

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Haylie Abrams has her shot blocked by Islip’s Carley Mullins. (photo credit: Robert O’Rourk) Julianna Mahan drives to the basket with Carley Mullins defending. (photo credit: Robert O’Rourk) Coach Adam Liver talks to the team during a timeout. (photo credit: Robert O’Rourk) Despite pressure from Sara Geldmacher, Alyssa Bell scored on this play to open the fourth quarter. (photo credit: Robert O’Rourk)

“I was debating whether I was watching a JV or varsity game for a little bit there,” Lievre joked. “But we finally got back to our brand of basketball.”

The Wildcat defense got more fierce as the game went on. Steals started coming in bunches, and the lead started to swell as turnovers led to fast break buckets on the other end. SWR finished the first half with 13 steals and a 12-point lead over No. 5 Islip. 

“We read the reversals very well and got our hands on a lot of them,” Lievre said. “But it’s not always about steals. Sometimes it’s just about a simple deflection. It slows the pass down and leads to less open shots. Even forcing them to lob it instead of a straight pass allows the defense to rotate better.”

“Defense is our best offense,” said Mahan, who scored 14 points in the victory. “It’s been that way all year long. The more we force turnovers the better off we’ll be.”

Mahan also notched 15 rebounds and four steals. Though she was often double-teamed and had trouble scoring at times, the extra attention allowed space for others to shoot. Keegan relished the opportunity to contribute in the most important game of the season thus far.

“I’m always a defense-first type of player,” Keegan said. “But I was getting a lot of open shots today and I just did my best to make them.”

The lead grew to 23 points in a dominant third quarter, and Islip just didn’t have enough juice to make a comeback despite Carley Mullins scoring six consecutive fourth quarter points in only about a minute of action.

The victory sets up a rematch of last year’s Suffolk County championship in the semifinals. The Wildcats take on No. 1 seed Kings Park Wednesday night at Centereach High School. Game results will be posted to Riverhead-News Review website.

“Both teams are very similar in that we both graduated four starters [from last season],” Lievre said. “It’s a little bit different circumstances doing the rematch in the semifinals but it should be a great game.”

The lone returning starter for each team happens to be at the center position. Mahan was again matches up against the 6-foot-2 Ryan Currier. In last year’s county title game, Currier netted 15 points and scored most often on offensive rebounds.

“It’s basically our bench last year versus their bench,” Lievre said. “They do a lot of pressing. We’re going to have to handle the press. With Currier on the other side we’re going to have to prioritize rebounding. She’s got like two inches on Jules [Mahan]. Like I said earlier, it’s anyone’s championship this year.”

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The team that handed Shoreham-Wading River their only league loss of the season came out on top again, emerging with a 48-41 victory and essentially eliminating any shot for the Wildcats to win the league. 

“I think in both games we beat ourselves,” said SWR head coach Adam Lievre. “I would say this game was a carbon copy of our first game. Bad start. Unforced turnovers. Sloppy play. Got going for a few minutes. And then got back to our ways again.”

Mt. Sinai (8-0 League VI, 11-4 overall) jetted out to a scorching start, taking a 12-1 lead with three minutes remaining in the first quarter. The Wildcats had trouble getting a full offensive attack together, committing turnovers and allowing the Mustangs to pull away slightly. 

The second quarter featured a whole new Shoreham-Wading River team, with senior captain Juliana Mahan leading the way. Mahan scored the first four points of the quarter in less than a minute and ended the quarter with nine points to bring the game into half, tied at 22-22.

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Shoreham Wading River sophomore Kady Keegan lays up for two for the Wildcats. (photo credit Bill Landon) Shoreham Wading River junior Grayce Kitchen shoots from the corner. (photo credit Bill Landon) Shoreham Wading River junior Alyssa Bell shoots from the baseline. ((photo credit Bill Landon) Shoreham Wading River senior Juliana Mahan fights for the rebound. (photo credit Bill Landon) Shoreham Wading River senior Juliana Mahan fights her way to the rim between two defenders. (photo credit Bill Landon)

“Jules is the biggest advantage we have over the other teams we play, so we need to get her the ball,” Lievre said. “When she’s open we want to feed her. Sometimes I think we don’t give it to her when she’s open and sometimes we force it to her when she’s not open. At the end of the day, we just need to make better decisions with the ball.”

The Wildcats tried to feature more of Mahan in the second half but many of the passes inside got deflected and turned into fastbreak points the other way. Mt. Sinai got ahead by as much as nine points before Shoreham-Wading River (6-2, 10-6) started to chip away again. 

With big buckets by Mahan, Ashley Bell and Kady Keegan, the Wildcats tied it up again at 38-38 with just five minutes left to play. The momentum looked like it had finally shifted back in favor of the home team. But in the end, the turnovers left little chance to come away with the victory. Mahan finished with 15 points, Bell added 13 and Keegan came away with eight. Mahan also had four blocks on the day and corralled 16 rebounds.

“We’ve got to have better composure especially at the end of the game,” Lievre said. “We need to make better decisions with the ball. I think we put ourselves in the right spots but just didn’t make the right decisions. Hasn’t happened a lot when we’ve been winning the last six weeks but for whatever reason, against Mt. Sinai it reared its head.”

Mahan has been on an absolute tear during the Wildcats’ five game winning streak between the two Mt. Sinai games. Against Bayport-Blue Point (4-3, 8-5) last Thursday, the senior put up a season-high 35 points in the 69-63 overtime victory. She’s averaged 16.2 points over the course of the season.

Shoreham-Wading River’s final game of the season will be Feb. 15, then playoffs will start. That’s when Lievre wants the best version of his team to show up.

 “Tonight would have given us a chance at a league title or at least given us a higher seed come playoff time,” Lievre said. “But it is what it is at this point. We’re going to do our best the next four games and try to get as high of a seed as possible and then, once the playoffs start, anything goes. You only have the opponent in front of you.”

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Megan McKay had a monster game at the plate, producing a 3-for-4 effort including a run scored and an RBI. Junior catcher Kaysee Mojo also had a productive day at the dish with two hits.

The win promotes Riverhead to the second round of the Suffolk County Class A double-elimination bracket and will travel to No. 1 North Babylon on Friday at 4pm. 

The Blue Waves entered the payoffs on a high note, winning their season finale in style with a walk-off, two-run home run last week. The win marked their fifth victory in their last six games to end the season

“They are just a tenacious bunch,” Accardi said after the season ender. “They are gritty. The chemistry we have as a group is just not something I have seen before. Nobody is bigger than the team. They just never die and fight to the end. I would hate to play us in the first round.”

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