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Section XI releases basketball playoff brackets

Riverhead basketball player Faith Johnson-DeSilvia 020416

The Riverhead girls basketball team clinched a share of the League III championship last night with a 63-30 win at West Islip. The Blue Waves finished 13-1 in league to finish in a tie with Huntington for the league crown, the Blue Waves’ first since the 2011-12 season. 

A 15-3 overall record didn’t sit too well with the Section XI committee that determines playoff seedings. The Blue Waves were seeded seventh in the Class AA bracket that was unveiled Wednesday morning, setting up a first-round matchup at home Friday against No. 10 Half Hollow Hills East. Huntington was seeded ahead of Riverhead as the No. 6.

The Blue Waves will play at 5 p.m. and the game has a $4 admission. The winner advances to most likely play at No. 2 Commack in the quarterfinals. Commack, the defending Class AA county champion, will host wither No. 15 Smithtown West or No. 18 East Islip in the first round.

The Blue Waves’ last playoff win also came against Hills East in 2013. The Blue Waves were the seventh seed that year as well and eventually lost in the quarterfinals to No. 2 Sachem East.

Riverhead’s last county title came in 2012.

In other playoff matchups, the Shoreham-Wading River girls were seeded seventh in Class A and will play at No. 2 Islip on Saturday at noon.

In Class B, the Bishop McGann-Mercy girls were seeded No. 2 and will host No. 3 Center Moriches at noon Saturday.

On the boys side, after clinching a playoff berth last night, Riverhead was seeded No. 20 in the Class AA bracket and will travel to No. 13 North Babylon Thursday for a 4 p.m. outbracket game. The winner will play No. 4 Smithtown West in the first round Saturday.

The Blue Waves are the only local boys team to reach the playoffs.

See the full brackets here.

Photo Caption: Riverhead’s Faith Johnson-DeSilvia drives to the basket. (Credit: Garret Meade)

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