Islip girls basketball's Rylee Moran, Abbey Dieumegard key comeback victory over Half Hollow Hills West
Rylee Moran: “The energy is so contagious and once we started heating up, everything fell into place" on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. Credit: Kathy M Helgeson
When it was trailing 11 points at halftime, the Islip girls basketball team embraced the pressure.
Islip defeated Half Hollow Hills West, 46-39, on the road Tuesday night in a Suffolk IV matchup. Rylee Moran and Abbey Dieumegard led the Buccaneers with 19 and 15 points, respectively.
Seventh-grader Emily Johnson scored nine points in the second quarter to give Hills West (5-4 League IV) a 26-15 halftime lead. Islip (6-3) responded by outscoring the Colts 15-6 in the third quarter to bring the deficit to 32-30 after three.
“We were really slow to the ball in the first half,” Moran said. “We knew, as a team, that we weren’t staying together so we just made sure to emphasize that we need to play as a unit and work with each other in the second half.”
Islip coach Collin Smith said Hills West is a team stacked with young shooters. Sophomores Ella Corso and Amayah Burke registered 10 and nine points, respectively, for the Colts. When it came to regaining the lead, Islip’s defense was imperative.
“We needed to up the pressure in the second half because they have great shooters,” Smith said. “We needed to play them, we needed to be on them. I have some legit athletes who, on top of being so competitive, can really run around and stay in good coverage.”
Fifteen of Moran’s points came in the second half. She said once she and her team made the adjustments and built momentum, it was easy to stay hot.
“It takes one person making a shot to change the whole game,” Moran said. “As a team, the energy is so contagious and once we started heating up, everything kind of fell into place and we were working with each other to make those shots fall.”
Of Moran and Dieumegard’s combined seven assists, five of them were to each other. Dieumegard said the pair’s connection stems from the chemistry they continue to build at practice and in games.
“We just always know where each other is,” Dieumegard said. “We have such good communication that, even if our heads aren’t up, I know where Rylee will be. If I get the ball outside, she’ll be under the basket waiting for the layup. If I get the ball on defense, she’s there for the quick pass up the court.”
“Every day, (Moran and Dieumegard) give the world to me and to the team,” Smith added. “They’re stellar scholar athletes and, when they want to turn it on, the level of play just increases so much.”
Tess Ferguson is a reporter on Newsday's high school sports staff. She joined the team after graduating with a journalism degree from Ithaca College in 2025.
