With a 23-1 record and a Long Island championship, Floral Park Memorial High School’s girls basketball team has made major gains this season.
But the Lady Knights’ sights were set on the state title this week as they prepared to leave for Troy to play in the state tournament.
“I would say I’m happy, but I’m not satisfied …,” senior point guard and team captain Kaela Hilaire said. “I really don’t think we’re done yet.”
Seeded No. 2 in the Nassau County championship tournament, the Lady Knights beat the No.1-seeded Elmont Memorial High School Spartans Feb. 27 60-49 in a Sewanhaka district matchup.
Hilaire, a South Floral Park resident who’s bound for the University of Albany on a full athletic scholarship, scored 37 points.
Floral Park went on to beat Islip High School Buccaneers 62-53 in the Long Island championship March 5, earning a spot in the state tournament.
“I feel we have every piece of the puzzle to compete with anybody,” Coach Michael Spina said.
The team has been preparing to take on the state contest since the fall, playing in tournaments and against top-level schools before the regular season started, Spina said.
The Lady Knights’ sole loss to North Shore High School’s Panthers came in December.
North Shore has become a rival for the team, junior forward Natalie Hickman said. The Panthers beat the Lady Knights in the Nassau County semifinals last year, knocking them out of the tournament.
But Floral Park “avenged” this year’s defeat by beating North Shore at home in January by a 12-point margin, Spina said.
“Everything since that, we’ve been on a roll,” he said. “All the things we’ve done, as far as (non-league games) and our style of play — everything and everybody has picked up their goals.”
Hilaire, 18, has proven a “dynamic player” Floral Park’s opponents have to watch, Spina said.
Hilaire said she felt she had more to work for this year after an early exit from the playoffs last year.
“I didn’t want to leave here without getting some type of championship,” she said.
But Hickman, 16, could prove a secret weapon for the Lady Knights as a power forward who can rebound well and make three-point shots, Spina said.
Hickman, a Floral Park resident, was a backup for her sister, Lorraine, until she became injured last year, Spina said.
She felt a lot of pressure to fill her sister’s shoes, but she “just took (her) own path,” she said.
Hilaire said she helps the team bond as captain and has individual conversations with her teammates to encourage them.
That closeness helps the Lady Knights take on their opponents, Hickman said, and could lead them to the state championship.
“We already have the chemistry, so we just have to perform, and if we do that, we’ll come out on top,” she said.
The Lady Knights will play the Rye High School Garnets in the state semifinal at 3:15 p.m. March 11 at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy. The winner will play in the championship Saturday evening.
