Smithtown West girls basketball runs the gauntlet, wins four games in five days
The Smithtown West bench reacts to a three-pointer by Madison Redmond in the fourth quarter of a Suffolk League III matchup against West Babylon on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026 in Smithtown. Credit: Michael A. Rupolo Sr.
If the impending snowstorm makes this weekend three days long, nobody will have earned the extra rest more than players on the Smithtown West girls basketball team.
The Bulls played four games in five days this week, playing back-to-backs on Monday and Tuesday, as well as Thursday and Friday. Rather than tiring out, they got stronger throughout the week and ran the table, winning all four games to maintain second place in Suffolk League III for another week.
Smithtown West capped the week with a 58-26 win over visiting West Babylon on Friday. The Bulls knew before the week began that they were about to embark on a draining journey, but their yearlong goal put it in perspective for them.
“We want to put another league championship on our banner,” senior forward Ashley Mennella said. “We knew at the end of the week we were going to get a break, so we just needed to go hard for the five days and we’d be rewarded after.”
Smithtown West (12-4, 10-2) overcame its wear and tear by getting contributions from everyone, rather than relying heavily on its already overworked top options. Senior guard Bella Marciano provided four points, five rebounds, two assists and three steals. Fellow senior guard Jackie Vinas added six points, six rebounds, three assists and one steal. Senior forward Madison Redmond was the team’s second-leading scorer with 10 points off the bench.
These contributions helped lighten the burden on the captain trio of Mennella, senior guard Catherine Piccininni and senior forward Alyssa Lorefice. Mennella scored four points and co-led the team with seven rebounds, alongside Lorefice.
Freshman guard Ava Dockery led West Babylon (9-6, 8-3) with nine points.
Lorefice led all players with 15 points and four assists, while also adding a steal. After losing 47-44 to West Babylon earlier this year, Lorefice’s tired crew planned to take control early so they could play comfortably for the rest of the game.
They did just that, ending the first quarter on a 12-2 run to enter the second leading 15-7. Now with a lead, the Bulls got comfortable and allowed only two field goals over the middle two quarters, entering the final frame up 42-17.
“We knew, last game of the week, to just push through it and play our game — to not let anyone else dictate what we were going to do,” Lorefice said. “Getting these four wins in five days is a great feeling. It’s our entire starting lineup’s last season to play, so we just went out there and showed a lot of heart and effort.”
Now, with first-place Northport not coming to town until Wednesday, Smithtown West can finally relax for four days.
Mike Anderson is a high school sports reporter who has covered 12 sports so far at Newsday. He was the sports editor of Stony Brook University's campus newspaper for two years.
