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Gibson and Walker lead Copiague team When Copiague's Gabrielle Gibson and Ieasia Walker reached the 1,000 career point mark this season, most would have suspected that the ends of two spectacular high school careers were near. They thought wrong. Both are sophomores and have only just begun. With the playoffs approaching, Copiague will be utilizing both girls' abilities, but putting emphasis on the entire team coming together, something head coach Carole Oleson was hoping would happen at this point in the season with the playoffs starting this week. "The rest of the team has stepped up," Oleson said. "That's been our objective all along. Two kids aren't going to do it all." The Eagles were favored to win the League III championship and did so with a 14-0 undefeated record. They finished 16-3 overall in the regular season, their only losses coming against North Babylon, Whitman and Elmont in non-league contests. They haven't lost since the 57-56 Elmont defeat on Dec. 30. Copiague's only downfall is its size. The first couple rounds of the playoffs will be like the regular season, but once it reaches the quarter and semifinals, the opposition's height advantage will be a deciding factor. "We need our forwards to step up because we're small," Oleson said. "We're a better team when we're running and playing to prevent defense to close up the passing lanes." Throughout most of the regular season the Eagles were experimenting with different offensive and defensive sets to see what works. There could have easily been a handful of games where they blew out their opponents. Instead, they worked on things they needed improvement on. "It's not about beating a team by 60," said Olseon, whose team is averaging a 19.7 point margin of victory. "A win is a win, bottom line." Walker, who according to Oleson has shown interest from Penn State, Georgia and Maryland already, has a great court presence and has such a fluid drive to the basket. Oleson compared her playing style to former Eagle and current St. John's player Kia Wright. Walker is in good company, considering Wright, a senior guard for the Red Storm, was the 2002 Suffolk County Player of the Year and is the fifth all-time leading scorer in Long Island history with 2,148 points. "By [Walker's] senior season she'll prove to be one of the best players ever to come off the Island," Oleson said. Wilson is a firecracker on the court. She can light it up in any phase of the game and is very difficult to defend. She's the type of player with an array of tools in her arsenal. One minute she'll be driving to the hoop for an easy lay-up, the next she'll be throwing up shots from beyond the three-point line. The advantage of having these two girls: "They both have the ability to bring the other kids up a level and make them better," said Olseon, who loves having the one-two punch. Jasmine Campbell and Dominque Cunningham are the next two leaders, who always play an important role in Copiague's success. Both have a handful of double-doubles and are threats from inside the paint on both sides of the ball. Quick Facts:
Copiague won its first and only New York State title in 2002-03. It won the Suffolk County and Long Island Championships in 2001-02 and 2002-03.
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