Wantagh girls basketball team captures Nassau Class A title as Kayla Mannix finds Riley Forthofer for winner

Kayla Mannix wasn’t going to let this one get away.

Trailing by one point with less than 20 seconds left in Monday night’s game, Wantagh had a Plan A and a Plan B while drawing up a play during a timeout. But sports often don’t go to plan. Once it came time to improvise, Mannix was ready.

The sophomore forward corralled an offensive rebound near the baseline and found Riley Forthofer. Without hesitation, Forthofer hit a layup with 7.7 seconds left to give second-seeded Wantagh a 44-43 victory over top-seeded Lynbrook in the Nassau Class A girls basketball final at Farmingdale State College.

“I knew I was going to get it,” Mannix said. “I didn’t care who was in my way. I was going to get it and pass it however I could. I didn’t know how much time was left, but once I got that rebound and threw it right to Riley, I knew she was going to make that layup.”

“I just knew I had to put it back up and I did,” Forthofer said. “Once I did, I turned around like, ‘Oh, my God, that just happened.’ I’m just in shock right now. I’m so proud of my girls, so proud of my team.”

Wantagh (21-2) will play Mount Sinai (19-3) at 8 p.m. on Saturday at Farmingdale State in the Long Island Class A championship game/ Southeast Regional final. Lynbrook finished 20-3.

Wantagh wins! Kayla Mannix with an offensive rebound and finds Riley Forthofer for a layup with 7.7 seconds left and Wantagh holds on to defeat Lynbrook, 44-43, in the girls basketball Nassau Class A final @Wantagh_Warrior pic.twitter.com/xldOkdJIdI

— Owen O'Brien (@owenobri) March 10, 2025

Forthofer also hit two free throws with 46.5 seconds to cut Lynbrook’s lead to 43-42. Wantagh forced a turnover after Forthofer’s go-ahead layup to take its first county title since 2006.

Juliana Cerasi had 12 points and Isabelle Ferraro added 10 for Wantagh. Sophia Dwyer led Lynbrook with 18 points.

The teams were tied at 16 at halftime and Lynbrook led 28-26 entering the fourth quarter.

For many members of Wantagh’s girls basketball team, it was the players’ third county title in less than 12 months. Wantagh also won a girls lacrosse and girls soccer title.

“This was huge for them and they are winners,” coach Stan Bujacich said.

“They win in other sports and the whole year we’ve been like this. We hate to lose. We pulled games out of the hat a couple of times . . . They are used to winning. When it comes to crunch time, they’re not afraid.”

Cerasi remembered the feeling of losing in the county final last year and was determined to have a different outcome in her senior season.

“Last year we were so close,” she said. “We had that feeling in our head from last year, all being on the bench crying. We did not want to end this game like that.”

“This moment is so special to me and my coaches, Coach [Bujacich], my girls,” Forthofer said. “This is what we’ve been playing for all season, and we did it. We actually did it.”