Copiague eighth-grader Fredricka Cooper may have just set the school record for loudest sigh of relief.
The chance to put away Tuesday night’s game against visiting Ward Melville was placed into Cooper’s hands, but it slipped through them and rolled out of bounds with 7.2 seconds remaining. Leading by two points, Copiague now needed an extra stop to remain atop Suffolk League II.
Off the inbounds pass, Ward Melville got one more chance from around the basket, but its attempt at a game-tying layup rolled off the rim, thanks in large part to strong defense by Copiague guard Madison Mais and forward Janiya Morris. Cooper was positioned perfectly to grab the rebound, but Ward Melville forward Kaitlyn McNeil poked it away from her. Cooper dove for the loose ball and knocked it away to prevent the second chance.
As the ball rolled away, the buzzer sounded to secure Copiague’s 53-51 league victory.
“I knew I made a mistake, but I came back and got it back and saved it for my teammates,” Cooper said. “I couldn’t do that without my teammates. They knew I was down, but they told me to get my head back in the game, so I did. It feels great.”
Copiague (7-1) entered the fourth quarter trailing 36-33 after Ward Melville guard Jenna Greek beat the buzzer with a floater to end the third frame. The Eagles opened the final period with a steal and a fast-break layup by guard Ja’Nyah Martin, which sparked a 16-7 run.
Mais spearheaded the run with nine points, hitting a three-point field goal with 6:42 left to take a 38-36 lead. Now up 45-43 with 3:33 remaining, Mais crossed up a defender and laid it in to make it a two-possession game, 47-43. Just 31 seconds later, she hit another layup off an assist from guard Kerah McHugh, who had three assists during the 16-7 run.
Mais gave Copiague a three-possession lead with 1:54 left when she drove down the right lane for another layup to make it 51-43. She finished with 13 points and seven assists. As a team captain, she took pride in how she elevated herself to help lead the team during the final minutes.
“It feels really good, because that shows that I really deserve to be a captain,” Mais said. “I’m always pushing everybody. I make them go harder.”
Mais’ biggest assist came on a drive-and-kick with 26.1 seconds left, leading to a make from midrange by Cooper to go up 53-49.
Greek led all scorers with 22 points, followed by Jaclyn Engel with 17 for Ward Melville (5-2). Morris led Copiague with 16 points.
Mike Anderson is a high school sports reporter who has covered 12 sports so far at Newsday. He was the sports editor of Stony Brook University’s campus newspaper for two years.
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