By Ashley Pavlakis
The Connetquot varsity girls’ basketball team returns to action this season after posting a winning record in 2024. The Thunderbirds are getting back into the swing of things, picking up their first win versus William Floyd on Saturday.
The T-Birds are led by head coach Sal Piscitelli, who’s been coaching for over two decades. On the sideline, Piscitelli is joined by assistant coach Sarah Ecke. They’re members of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) and compete in League II.
“I’ve been the varsity coach for four years, but I’ve been coaching basketball for twenty-two years. It’s been girls’ basketball the whole time but just at different levels. I was the JV-9 coach for a little while, then I was the JV coach, then I was the assistant coach,” said Piscitelli.
Taking a look at last season for the T-Birds, they took home 11 wins and finished with a 11-10 record. They put up 50 plus points in 7 of their 11 wins, with the remaining wins falling in the 40-point range.
“This year and last year we had a talented team. Last year, we graduated four seasons, and we lost some of our bigs and a point guard going into this year, but we ended up having a transfer come back in. We’re a little undersized right now but some of the girls are doing a great job with stepping up,” said Piscitelli. “Last year they bonded together quickly because they’re all friends, so it made it easy because they had continuity and chemistry together. This team, this year, is slowly starting to build that chemistry together. I think they’re an athletic bunch, they’re resilient and they are definitely determined.”
In terms of defensive efforts, the T-Birds are working hard on that side of the court.
“Yes, 100 percent. It’s something that we try to pride ourselves on and they do have pride in their defense. They look to work very hard on the defensive end knowing it’s going to help us on the offensive side,” said Piscitelli.
High school sports teams are always a mix of upper and lower classmen. The Thunderbirds have more seniors on the roster this season.
“We’re more top-heavy [seniors], I want to say. We do have an eighth-grader on the team who does get some time. She’s still learning, getting her IQ about her. I have seven seniors and three of them are starters. Our starting lineup is really two juniors and three seniors and then we roll in a tenth grader, an eighth grader, and a senior,” said Piscitelli.
Young talent is blossoming across Long Island as another eighth grader makes their way onto the varsity squad.
“To have her come up and see what the varsity is doing, what we’re running, how we expect things, and to really go out there and play as hard as she can with the speed and pace. We were in an intense game with William Floyd the other day and she stepped right into the role. She didn’t falter or fall apart when she went out there,” said Piscitelli.
The team has changed a little bit this year and the girls are working on becoming a unit on the court.
“Our philosophy for the game has changed a little bit. At one point I said to them ‘let’s go showtime and just run fast breaks like the Lakers in the 80s and go all day long,’” Piscitelli told The Messenger with a chuckle.
