East Meadow in good standing

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East Meadow’s girls’ basketball team is where coach Pete Olenik anticipated heading into the second half of the conference season, perhaps even exceeding his expectations.  

The Lady Jets (6-5 overall) were scheduled to tip off at home against Conference AA2 rival Hicksville after press time, with each team 4-1 in-league and tied for second place. Olenik’s pre-season goal was to finish second in the Baldwin-dominated conference and make a postseason run like last season, when East Meadow hosted a rare playoff game in the first round and won.

“If we can steal that one, we’d be halfway through our conference schedule and 5-1,” Olenik said about the Hicksville game. “You can’t ask for much better.”

The Jets had to play Hicksville without second starter Hannah Arbuse, an All-Conference guard last season who injured her knee in a loss to Baldwin on Jan. 12. She could also sit out most of the remaining games. Arbuse was averaging seven points per game, but will be missed mostly for her steals and tipped shots. Freshman backup Rhoda Williams will step in for Arbuse and have to step up her game quickly, Olenik said. 

East Meadow’s season got off to a rocky start when the program’s all-time scorer, Emily Shurina, a fifth-year varsity starter and an All-County selection that past three seasons, suffered a high ankle sprain in a scrimmage that sidelined her for the first four games. The Jets went 1-3 during that initial stretch. Shurina has since averaged 18 points per game and dropped 18 three-point shots, including four in a 51-37 win at Herricks on Jan. 9.

That victory was part of a three-game winning streak featuring a 57-31 win at home to Port Washington on Jan. 6 and a 41-28 win at Plainview-JFK on Jan. 10. Olenik was encouraged that these were all conference games, two of which were on the road and played on back-to-back nights. 

He believes his team played their best game in a 56-48 come-from-behind win against South Side at home on Dec. 23. The Jets trailed by six at halftime, but in the final two periods they outscored their opponents 35-12. Seventeen of Shurina’s 25 points came in the second half. “Emily’s performance, without a doubt, propelled us,” Olenik said.

Sophomore Danielle Hippner, an All-Conference selection last season, has developed the most of anyone on the roster, Olenik said. She shines brightest on defense, especially as a shot blocker, and excels low in the paint, averaging eight rebounds per game. When working the offensive boards, she often gets second-shot scores, helping to up her average to 10 points per game.

But Olenik is surprised most by the play of sophomore backup forward Stephanie Sparkowski, who has given the team more quality minutes, mainly on defense, than he initially expected from her.

Meanwhile, four of East Meadow’s last seven games are on the road, including at Baldwin, the defending state champions, on Feb. 6 and at Hicksville, the finale on Feb. 9, which could decide second place in the conference.