Grit and determination, in the face of a swarming, disconcerting Massapequa defense which forced a lot of turnovers, were enough to keep the Syosset Lady Braves in striking distance of their rival Chiefs for most of the Nassau County Class A Girls Varsity Basketball semifinal game, played at Wantagh High School on Tuesday, February 24. But for every modest run which placed Syosset on the cusp of a momentum shift, the Chiefs restored order with precision foul shooting, key steals and the inspired play of starting center Kerri Rueb and starting guard Lauren Carone.

Despite the frustrating finish to their 13-7 season, the Braves had reason to be content with their marked progression over the last several years. This was the first time the Syosset squad reached the semifinals since the state's seeding system was altered, an accomplishment that, for some, partially abated the defeat.

Junior Lindsay Klimkowski believes the team's play this year is reason enough to be sanguine about the future. "Next year we're going to still be one of the strongest teams in the conference because we will still have a lot of players returning." Among those who likely will be back are juniors Karen Zelenka, Kim Jacobs, starting center Allison Hoyt, starting forward Lindsay Klimkowski; sophomore starting guard Erin Connolly; and freshmen Meghan Berry and Jessica Mannix.

Five Braves, starting point guard Rachel Friedman, starting forward Mary McCue, Kristen Haunss, Jessica Hovance and Amy Weisberg are graduating seniors.

In the semifinal match, the Braves' offense was suppressed early in the first quarter, and the defense fell victim to two three-point plays by starting center Kerri Rueb and starting forward Michelle Ciquera, who scored 7 of her 11 points in the first 8 minutes. Having fallen behind early 16-8, the Braves began to quickly regroup in the second quarter.

Shots by Friedman, Hoyt and Klimkowski gave the Braves a 6-0 run that inched the score back to 16-14. It was the one prolonged bout of chaos the Chiefs faced all game. But the Chiefs evened out the scoring to make it 24-16 at halftime.

The second half was when Carone, scoring a game-high 22 points, began to dominate, at times looking as if a court order restricted competitors from approaching her within 500 feet. The Braves allowed her to repeatedly penetrate inside for easy lay-ups. Rueb, with 12 points for the game, was also a threat.

The Chiefs' aggressive defense also forced an overabundance of Syosset turnovers, including two off of inbound passes stolen by Ciquera. Friedman had difficulty finding openings to which to pass, including around the perimeter, thereby neutralizing the Braves' outside shooting, which had been a trademark for the team this year.

Disparity in free throws also was a factor in the score. The unflappable Chiefs scored from the line, compared with Syosset's 6.

Hoyt's foul under the basket of Rueb, who made the field goal anyway after rebounding her own shot attempt, led to a 3-point play that seemed to place the final nail in Syosset's coffin. With about 4 minutes left, the Braves were down by 10, 47-37. They lost by a final of 57-49. Nevertheless, the Braves played as if they still were in it to the very end.

"We had a great season and although we lost in the semifinals, we played our hearts out up until the final buzzer," said co-Captain McCue.

"We tried our hardest and we gave Massapequa the best game we could, but this wasn't our game," added Co-captain Friedman.

Overall in the game, the Braves shot 19-6-49.

Last week in the quarterfinals, the Lady Braves proved that the third time really is a charm. After losing to the Elmont Spartans during their past two meetings - last year in the first round of the playoffs and this past year during league play - the Braves were looking for redemption when they entered the familiar gym.

In the highly anticipated re-match, the Braves took an early lead, but the Spartans battled back and in the second quarter took their first lead of the game. This lead was not to last for long, however, as the Braves hit several unanswered shots to go into halftime with a three-point lead.

For the next 16 minutes the Braves contained the Spartans, lengthening their lead until they had sealed a victory and a place in the semis.

Powering the Lady Braves was Connolly, who led all scoring with 17 points, including 5 three-pointers. Next in scoring was Hoyt, who contributed 14 points and 5 rebounds. Friedman added 8 points and 7 assists; Klimkowski,11 points; and Marry McCue, 13 points and 16 rebounds. Elmont was led by Faith Johnson with 14 points.

"The Lady Braves withstood a very physical South Shore team to gain the win. They maintained composure and played team ball for 32 minutes," said Head Coach Diane Alleva.