After reaching the halfway point of the season, the Mineola High School Lady Mustangs basketball team endured some tough losses and missed the playoffs. Coach Denise Zunno's young Mustangs ended the season with a 4-8 record in Nassau Conference IV.

The Mustangs were 3-3 at the mid-season after a 40-26 road win over Clark. The ladies in red had this one in hand by halftime, leading 23 to 7 and keyed by junior point guard Katherine Hock's four three-pointers. Hock led all scorers with 13 points. Senior center Kim Rossi rolled a pair of sevens against Clark, pulling down 7 rebounds and blocking 7 shots.

In the second half of the season, the Mineola women stared reality right in the eyes and found it can be ugly at times. Ranked pre-season at #2 in the conference, Wantagh whipped Mineola 47-35. The 'Stangs were down just 7 points at halftime and 2 after three quarters, but went stone cold in the fourth. Wantagh outscored Mineola 17-7 in the deciding frame. Kim Rossi scored 12 points, six of them coming in the third quarter when Mineola drew within two points. Freshman guard Kristen McNally scored 6 of her 9 points in that third quarter.

It was out of the frying pan and into the fire in the next game. Mineola went from playing the second-ranked team to the pre-season conference favorite, Manhasset. Once again, inopportune cold shooting spells caused the Lady Mustangs to try and play from behind all night long. Manhasset led by 10 points after one quarter and by 11 at halftime. They put the game away in the second half for a 45-29 win over Mineola. Senior guard Erin Cloghessy scored 11 of Mineola's 29 points.

Sewanhaka handed Mineola its third straight loss by a 54-36 count. Sewanhaka was ranked #3 in the conference before the season. Katherine Hock led Mineola with 11 points. Erin Cloghessy added 10 while Kim Rossi snared 8 rebounds and blocked 2 shots.

Despite losing to Mineola by 25 points earlier in the season, Bethpage shocked the 'Stangs this time with a 63-57 win. Junior guard Mary Warren and sophomore forward Maureen Cloghessy scored 6 points each in the first quarter. But Bethpage still had a 17-15 lead. Cold shooting in the second quarter let Mineola down 11 points, and the deficit rose to 16 points after three quarters. Bethpage center Jennifer Brooks was a one-person wrecking crew. She scored 13 of her game-high 26 points in the pivotal third quarter. Mineola staged a brave fourth quarter rally and outscored the hosts 22 to 11 but could not climb all the way back. Erin Cloghessy was again high scorer for Mineola with 19 points. Katherine Hock added 12 points, all on 3-pointers, and Kim Rossi put up 10 points, pulled down 8 rebounds and swatted away four shots. But, despite a game effort, Mineola slipped to 3 and 7.

A rematch with Lynbrook was one of the most exciting games of the season. Mineola owned an 11-3 lead on the 4th-ranked Owls after one quarter. But, by halftime, Lynbrook was starting to get the Lady Mustangs into foul trouble and grabbed a 22-17 lead. Katherine Hock kept Lynbrook's leading scorer, Jackie Grillo, in check, holding her scoreless in the first and third quarters. Still behind 32-28 after three quarters, Mineola showed a great deal of heart in the final quarter before dropping a 57-52 decision. Grillo did just about all her damage at the free throw line, hitting 10 out of 12 in the final quarter to seal the win for Lynbrook. Erin Cloghessy again led Mineola with 17 points. Younger sister Maureen scored 10 points.

Mineola snapped its 5-game losing streak and closed out the season with a 42-34 win at Roslyn. It was tight much of the way. Mineola led by one point after the first quarter and by two at halftime. But, the Mustangs opened a 10-point lead after three quarters and withstood a late charge. While Roslyn's zone defense was spread out to make life difficult for Mineola's chief scorers, Maureen Cloghessy got loose for a career-high 15 points and helped Mineola hang on for the win. Seniors Erin Cloghessy and Kim Rossi closed out their Mustang careers with 9 and 8 points respectively. Sophomore Nicole McAllister also scored an invaluable 6 points.

From the beginning, Coach Zunno knew this would be a rebuilding year. The ups and downs that followed proved her right. But, with only two players graduating, she's hoping the experience gained this season by four juniors, six sophomres and two freshmen will pay off in more wins and a return to league contending status next season.