Wantagh Girls Basketball Clicking on and off the Court Heading into Playoffs

With one game remaining in the regular season the is near the top of the Conference A-1 standings and chemistry on and off the court has played a large role in their success.

Wantagh (11-5, 7-2) enters its regular season finale Friday evening against Roslyn at 11-5 and 7-2 in conference, just one game removed from first place Garden City.

“The key to our success is we play as a team this year,” said junior guard Demi Valenti. “We all became very close. It makes it easier to communicate with each other. “

Nineteenth-year Wantagh girls basketball head coach Stanley Bujacich also points to team cohesiveness as a key ingredient for the Warriors’ winning ways in addition to his many athletic players.

“We just got better as the year went on,” Coach Bujacich, said. “We believe in ourselves.”

After dropping its first two games, Wantagh reeled off eight wins in nine games including a 35-29 triumph at Garden City on Jan. 5. The Warriors will be looking to head into next week’s playoffs on a high note in its regular season finale and senior night tilt against Roslyn that tips off Friday at 6:30 p.m. The game will honor Wantagh’s four seniors, Tara Basile, Brenna Smith, Shannon McDonald and Michelle Buccheri.

In last year’s playoffs, Wantagh suffered a in the first round, but the Warriors are hoping for a far deeper postseason run in 2012. Valenti said the team is motivated for a championship not just for themselves but for Coach Bujacich.

“We are all in it to win it for our coach because he's dedicated so much time and energy into us everyday,” Valenti said. “We're going to play our hardest and take it as far as we can go and make the banner this year.”