Olivia Agunzo has already reached so many milestones in her high school basketball career. The Division Avenue senior earned All-County honors last year, was named one of Newsday’s Top 100 players on Long Island and she scored her 1,000th career point earlier this season.
But she’s not done yet. Agunzo and her teammates are focused on a long playoff run. The Blue Dragons are currently 4-1 in Conference A3 and 10-4 overall.
“My main goal for this year is to win counties because that has always been a dream of mine,” said Agunzo, a 5-7 guard. “I want us to go far in playoffs.”
Agunzo finished second in Nassau County last season, scoring 26 points per game. She also hit 60 three-point field goals. This season, she’s averaging 24.5 points per game.
“What separates Olivia is her tremendous work ethic,” said Division coach Steve Robins. “There are a lot of talented players but few work as hard as her. I have been coaching for 20 years and her dedication is at the top of the list.”
In addition to Agunzo, Robins starts four sophomores. He’s very optimistic about his young team.
“The team is off to a strong start, said Robins. “We have played an extremely tough non league schedule, which we are hoping will pay off in the long run. I have been impressed with [the sophomores] ability to compete against tough competition.”
The super sophomores are: Eleni Georgatos, Ashley Anderson, Rebecca Petrellese (an All-County soccer player this season) and Emma Robins. Emma earned All-County honors in basketball as a freshman last season. Robins is averaging 13.5 points per game thus far this season.
“The main competition in our conference is Manhasset and Carey,” said Robins. “Manhasset is an extremely talented club with tremendous athletes and Carey is a scrappy team with two exceptional players.”
Agunzo describes her Blue Dragons teams as such: “We play fast and upbeat. We like to have fun and always compete. We are great in transition and our defense is the reason we win most games.”
But it’s Agunzo’s offense that fuels Division. The milestone moment so far this season came on December 28, when Olivia scored 25 points in a 61-52 loss against North Shore in a non-league matchup. It was a fourth-quarter free throw that gave her 1,000 points for her career.
“It’s really an unbelievable accomplishment considering she did it in two and half years,” said coach Robins. “She basically lost her entire sophomore year due to the Covid pandemic.”
But Olivia is not done.
“It felt amazing knowing I reached a milestone that’s always been a goal of mine,” said Agunzo. “I am super happy and proud of myself. Breaking the school scoring record is definitely something I would also love to accomplish. I want us to go far in playoffs and win counties and the Long Island championship.”
