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V. Oyakhilome, Ames pace Lindy
For those who still doubt Lindenhurst, consider yourselves warned. These are not the Bulldogs of years past, they're a veteran squad that is dominating opponents all across Suffolk, and Friday was no exception.
Valerie Oyakhilome had 19 points and seven rebounds and Colleen Ames had 14 points for host Lindenhurst in a 60-26 win over Northport in Suffolk League II. The last time the Bulldogs defeated the Tigers was 1987, according to Lindenhurst coach Greg Flynn.
"It feels awesome to finally beat them," Oyakhilome said. "We know in order to get far, in order to win the league championship, this is the obstacle that we have to overcome."
Lindenhurst (8-1, 5-0) led 25-16 at halftime but exploded for 22 points in the third while holding Northport to only three.
"What I told them at halftime was we've spent five years traveling all over the country and getting after it. These girls want respect," Flynn said. "I said 'if we bury them now, we'll get respect. If we squeak out of here with a four- or five-point win, God forbid we lose, people are going to say the same old thing.' They wanted to take it to these girls and they did."
Annie Dodge, Dorrien Van Dyke and Allie Clarke each had five for Northport (5-4, 4-1).
Shannon Crehan's (12 points) three-pointer at the end of the first quarter gave Lindy an 11-9 lead and the Bulldogs never looked back.
Oyakhilome and Ames each had seven points and Naomi Oyakhilome (13 rebounds) had five points in the third quarter. The Bulldogs went on a 27-3 run over the first 10 minutes of the second half, after which the teams emptied their benches.
"Once we started making the gap bigger, all I was thinking was we've just got to get them by more, we've got to get them by more," said Ames, who also had five blocks and four assists. "We've got to prove our point. We've got to prove that we're a better team -- that we're a good team and we're going to be someone to beat in playoffs."
