North Girls Basketball Falls to Top Ranked Northport

Certain teams in every league carry a clout and way about them that other teams surrender to them without a fight. According to Sachem North girls basketball head coach Jim Mellor, Northport is that kind of team.

"Sometimes it's disheartening because I think we lose on [Northport's] name alone," said Mellor. "We're trying to build up this program a little bit and get the girls to believe they can compete. We compete for two minutes and feel proud of ourselves, and then fall into a shadow."

When asked if he felt Sachem gives Northport too much respect, Mellor said, "Absolutely. They're a great team, top 10 on the Island, but it doesn't mean you just fold whenever someone walks into the gym like they do. We may not be able to beat them, but I want to be able to play with them."

Northport walked into Sachem North Tuesday night and controlled play from start to finish, defeating the Arrows, 76-34.

Turnovers were Sachem's spell throughout the first quarter, and they fell behind 14-6 early. The Tigers' fast-break, high-tempo offense seemed to catch Sachem off-guard. Megan Marineli's jump shot to stretch the lead to 16-6 forced Sachem to call a timeout.

Northport kept coming, as Chrystal Pope had a gorgeous layup to extend Northport's lead to 22-6, including a 10-0 run. Sachem's Danielle Levine iced the streak moments later with a beautiful drive to the paint with a layup.

Levine, who finished with a team leading nine points, opened the scoring for Sachem in the second quarter when she tracked down an offensive rebound and finished to cut Northport's lead to 23-10.

The rest of the second period was a back-and-fourth struggle. Whenever Sachem showed life, Northport answered right back, preventing the Arrows from ever getting back into the game.

The Arrows did however get a spark when guard Erin McNulty hit a three-pointer as time expired that brought a roar from those in attendance. Sachem trailed 35-20 at the half.

Northport dominated the second half. They came out strong, going on a 13-0 run, including a 3-pointer by Pope, who finished with a game-high 16 points. Sachem's Levine broke the streak yet again, but not after Northport extended their lead to 48-22.

Northport's size was evident throughout the entire game, as center Stephanie Leon played strong on both sides of the court in the paint. She finished with 11 rebounds on the night.

The fourth quarter wasn't kind to the Arrows, on the scoreboard and on the court. They lost McNulty to a leg injury and she did not return. They also lost Levine to a leg injury after she was shoved during a three-point attempt, which went uncalled by the referees.

Levine led Sachem with nine points. McNulty talied seven. Brooke Foltmann and Colleen McNeece both finished with four.