Senior night in East Hampton on Wednesday was going really well: until tipoff. After a disastrous start, however, Klaudia Komarnicka came to the rescue and helped send the Bellringers’ three seniors out on a high note.
Komarnicka scored 10 of her 14 points in the second half, including two crucial three-point plays in a dominant fourth quarter as East Hampton rallied for a 47-41 victory over visiting Valley Regional.
Senior Kelsey Booth, who is headed to Sienna next season, had 18 points before fouling out for East Hampton (16-4, 14-4 Shoreline), which outscored Valley Regional 23-7 in the final period. The big rally allowed Booth, Katie Dash and Vanessa Freeman to celebrate a win in their final regular season home game together.
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Freeman (eight points) capped the spirited comeback by hitting the go-ahead free throws with 1:47 left. East Hampton, which last led 5-2 early in the first quarter, hit its final six free throws. Meanwhile, the Warriors went 0-for-5 from the free-throw line down the stretch.
“It’s a special night for the seniors,” East Hampton coach Shaun Russell said. “You always want to see them go out on a winning note on this night.”
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Komarnicka, a sophomore who scored 16 points in Saturday’s win over Westbrook and 10 in a victory over Morgan on Monday, played a huge role in making sure that happened.
“Klaudia was tremendous tonight,” Russell said. “She is just getting better and better, exponentially from week to week. The one thing about her that is real special is she has a knack for finding the openings, and if you can get her to commit to playing aggressively she makes some plays.”
No one on the East Hampton side was making plays early, however. Conversely, the Warriors (3-17, 1-15) could do no wrong. They led 15-8 after the first quarter and 27-15 at the half. Emily Frese had 18 points for Valley Regional, which hit four three-pointers in the first half.
“They stuck with their game plan, made some big shots early and put us on our heels,” Russell said.
At that point, no one would have blamed the Bellringers for looking ahead to Saturday, when they host Morgan in the quarterfinals of the Shoreline Conference tournament. But they didn’t pack it in. Booth hit back-to-back three-pointers from the top of the key, which cut East Hampton’s deficit to 35-32 with 5:17 remaining in the fourth.
“She’s a senior. She’s going D-I [Division I]. She’s going to knock down shots,” Valley Regional coach Joel Rebhun said.
Valley answered as Kiernan Decker made it 37-32 with a jumper. That’s when Komarnicka made her presence felt. She took a cross-court pass from Ashley Chasse and banked in a layup while being fouled with 4:36 left. She hit the ensuing free throw, cutting the lead to 37-35. Komarnicka converted another three-point play, moments after an emotional Booth fouled out, which drew East Hampton to within one at 39-38 at the 3:53 mark.
And she wasn’t done yet.
After Chasse’s free throw made it a two-point game, Komarnicka tied it at 41 with a nice runner in the lane with 2:08 to go. Seconds later, Freeman was fouled while grabbing a rebound at the other end. She calmly hit the go-ahead free throws and East Hampton held on.
“I thought, ‘Just stay calm and focus on what I’ve been doing all season,’" Freeman said.
The Warriors had three chances to tie it in the final 90 seconds, but went 0-for-5 from the line.
“That’s a weakness we had at the beginning of the year that became a strength for us. We were 12 for 13 the last game," Rebhun said. "We didn’t get it done tonight.”
While Komarnicka stole the show, Russell noted the comeback wouldn’t have been possible without the Bellringers’ senior leadership.
“I can’t say enough about the three of them," he said. “If we are in the same boat [Valley] is in tonight, a team full of underclassmen, we're not winning that game. There’s no one to lead you back in the direction to doing the right things to win the game, and they did that tonight.”
That said, East Hampton can’t come out flat against Morgan and expect to advance.
“We have to be prepared from the jump,” Dash said.
Look for Viewfinder today starting at 1 p.m. for more photos of Senior Night in East Hampton and Portland.
