Ward Melville girl’s basketball nets big win in postseason playoffs

Ward Melville girl’s basketball nets big win in postseason playoffs

Jacklyn Engel drives the lane for the Patriots in the opening round of post season play. Photo by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon 

Sachem East the Suffolk Class AAA (No. 9) seed came calling on the Patriots of Ward Melville (No. 8) to kick off the postseason in a girls basketball matchup on Feb. 13 where both teams found themselves deadlocked at 21-21 going into the halftime break.

The spark for the Patriots came in the 3rd quarter where the duo of senior captain Julia Dank along with Jenna Greek the junior paired up to put some distance over their visitors. Sachem East clawed their way back in the last 8 minutes of play but the Patriots were able to keep the Arrows at bay for the 47-43 victory.

Dank topped the scoring chart for the Patriots with four three-pointers, a field goal and five from the free throw line for 19 points. Greek banked 2 triples a pair of field goals and 4 from the charity stripe for 14 points.

The win propels the Patriots to the quarter final round where they’ll have their hands full with a road game against top seeded Brentwood on February 27. Game time is slated for 5 p.m. 

— Photos by Bill Landon