A "12" will be added to the six two-digit numbers on the blue banner hanging on a wall in the Riverhead High School gymnasium.
The Riverhead Blue Waves girls varsity basketball team clinched the League III championship Thursday night with a lopsided 40-point victory over Smithtown East.
The Waves, whose only loss this season was an opening day non-league game against Elwood/Glenn, have a 15-game winning streak underway with two regular season games left to play.
Following their 66-26 romp over the Smithtown East Bulls (2-7, 2-13) at home on Thursday, each member of the team helped cut the net from one of the baskets — a tradition for Waves league champs. The last cut was made by head coach Dave Spinella, who notched his 101st victory Thursday and his second league title, the Wave's last championship in 2008.
"It feels great," Spinella said. "Now we just need to stay focused, finish out the season and move on to the playoffs." Until the seed meeting in two weeks, Riverhead won't know which team will be its first opponent in post-season play.
With Thursday's game, the Waves improve to 10-0 in league competition and 15-1 overall.
Melodee Riley — who earlier in the day signed with the UCONN Huskies with a full scholarship to play on the NCAA Division I track and field team — was the game high-scorer with 21 points. Shanice Allen scored 17, and Jalyn Brown had 13 points and 10 assists.
Waves tell Christopher: No one fights alone
Thursday's game was the annual "Coaches Against Cancer" event, which is a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. But this year, the Waves coaches dedicated the fundraiser to Aquebogue Elementary School student, Christopher Timpone, who is battling a rare bone cancer.
Free will donations, yellow "Kids Against Cancer" bracelets, booster club snack sales and a 50-50 raffle raised $1,000 for the Timpone family, after the 50-50 winner, Amanda Riley — Melodee's sister — donated her prize back and assistant coach Gerald Wiesmann kicked in $45 to make the total an even thousand.
Christopher and his mother Kathleen Timpone were on hand for the game, having come directly from a chemotherapy treatment at Sloan-Kettering in Manhattan. The Waves, who wore yellow shirts hand-decorated with messages of hope and support, presented the 9-year-old — an athlete in his own right — with a basketball before the game.
Despite being out since 4:30 a.m. and dealing with an all-day treatment at the NYC hospital, Christopher stayed until the game-ending buzzer to root the Waves on to their 15th victory. At the girls' invitation, Christopher, clad in pajamas and slippers and tethered to an IV, climbed the ladder to the basket and made the ceremonial first cut of the net.
RiverheadLOCAL photos by Peter Blasl
