The Garden City girls varsity basketball team successfully defended its Nassau County Class B title with a 47-33 victory over Floral Park in an exciting game held before a capacity crowd at Hofstra University. The top-seeded Trojans dispatched Seaford, Wantagh and New Hyde Park to reach the final game with a 21-0 record. Floral Park, seeded number two, had an identical record entering the contest.

As expected, the game began with the tenacious defense that is the hallmark of both teams. Floral Park induced the Trojans to misfire from the outside; forays to the basket were rebuffed with physical play. Garden City disrupted the Knights' patterns with tight team defense, particularly by Eleanor Weille who shut out Floral Park's standout guard in the first half. GC forced turnovers, controlled the backboards and limited open shots. About the only offense Floral Park could manage was the result of foul shots.

On the offensive end, Garden City had difficulty freeing leading scorer Bethany LeSueur, due mostly to the opponents' clutch-and-grab tactics more commonly seen at Islander games. After Erin Schoelle opened the scoring, the girls suffered a dry spell, finally broken by a couple of jump shots from LeSueur and Katie Kimball. Foul trouble limited Schoelle's playing time;' Nora Chlupsa replaced her and contributed to the defensive dominance. MaryBeth Hogan harassed the Floral Park guards into mistakes, making them relinquish the ball. Lauren Seery and Amy Appelt provided relief for the starters. At half-time the score read 16-15, Garden City.

At the start of the third quarter play became even more physical and points continued to be hard to come by. Spurred on by hundreds of rabid rooters waving maroon and gray pom-poms, the GC defense remained steadfast, making Floral Park scratch and claw for every point. While Weille and Hogan made life miserable for their guards, Katie Kimball negated their inside threat. At the other end, Garden City began forcing the ball inside to Bethany LeSueur, who was being (wo)manhandled by multiple defenders. Trailing midway through the third quarter, the Trojans switched tactics. Kimball from the left side and Erin Schoelle from the right loosened up the defense with outside shots and then drove past them for baskets. LeSueur now had room in the middle for her trademark spinning maneuvers. In an eight minute period spanning the third and fourth quarters, the Trojans turned a 21-18 deficit into a 37-28 lead. With GC's stifling defense and reliable foul shooting, the game was won.

At the awards ceremony following the game, Coach John Dell'Olio and assistants John Hogan and Linda Norton received the plaque acknowledging Garden City's second consecutive Nassau County Basketball Championship, the only two in school history. Individual plaques were awarded to Amy Appelt, Tania Barnett, Kerin-Leigh Boghosian, Nora Chlupsa, MaryBeth Hogan, Lauren Kast, Katie Kimball, Bethany LeSueur, Samantha Lucas, Laura Micelli, Captain Erin Schoelle, Kristen Seaman, Lauren Seery and Captain Eleanor Weille. MVP Bethany LeSueur was joined on the all-tournament team by Katie Kimball.

The Garden City girls varsity basketball team will defend its Long Island Class B title against Southampton on Saturday, March 13, at 4 p.m. at Hofstra. The winner of that game will advance to the State Final Four March 20-21. With continued support and outstanding play, the girls will reach the goal that was denied them last season, the New York State championship.