Half Hollow Hills West vs Central Islip

HIGHLIGHTS

Central Islip 63, Hills West 53: Anhya Jenkins dropped 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Chanel Taylor had 23 points and five rebounds as No. 3 Central Islip defeated No. 7 Half Hollow Hills West in a Suffolk Class AA semifinal at Stony Brook University. Central Islip (21-2) meets two-time defending champ Commack in the title game at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Stony Brook. “We just wanted this more,” said Jenkins, who had eight fourth-quarter points. “We went through so many years of losing -- we went through so much -- but we worked so hard.” They worked especially hard after Hills West (18-5) took its last lead of the game, 49-48, on a basket by Jada Cooper (6 points) with 5:52 remaining in the fourth quarter. But the Musketeers would rattle off 13 straight points -- seven from Taylor and six from Jenkins -- as the lead stretched to 61-49 with under a minute left. Hills West’s Tori Harris finally broke the skid on a putback with 31.5 seconds to go. She later added two free throws to make it 61-53 with 20.9 seconds, but Taylor closed the game with a pair of free throws. Naabea Assibey-Bonsu added 12 points, five rebounds and five assists for Central Islip. Harris closed her high school career with 25 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two blocks. She had 17 points in the first half, as Hills West led 30-28. But the Musketeers switched from a man-to-man defense to a 3-2 zone, which gave the Colts, and Harris, trouble. Harris did not score in the third quarter. Teammate Samantha Hinkle added 11 points and six rebounds, and Channiah Baker had nine points for Hills West, which could not overcome its fourth-quarter scoreless drought of more than five minutes. The Musketeers prepare for Thursday’s championship game and a chance for Central Islip’s first title in girls basketball since 1960.