Girls’ basketball

Lady ‘Dawgs’ claim county bragging rights

Bulldogs send a message with smothering defense to Bears, the county’s other big winner

By RICHARD A. ROSS

LAKE HUNTINGTON, NY — The rivalry between the ladies of Sullivan West and Tri-Valley dates back to last summer. The two teams banged each other around during summer league at Sullivan County Community College, and though it was Downsville that emerged as the eventual winner, each team felt good about its hardwood prospects that were still months away.

Now in the twilight of this year’s regular season, it would be safe to say that both squads lived up to the hype. All that was needed was a match-up between the two to settle each side’s claim as the county’s best girls’ team.

Class C Tri-Valley came into the February 15 crossover match against Class B Sullivan West rocking and rolling. True, the Bears did lose to number-five state ranked Tuxedo on December 22 and again on February 8. Bracketed between those losses to 17-2 Tuxedo, the Bears (13-7) had reeled off nine straight wins. The Bulldogs (13-6) had faced much tougher competition but the Bear’s height advantage was a concern for coach Ron Bernhardt going into the county showdown, which would be the “Dawgs” last regular-season home game of the year.

While the Bears had faced a testy defense from the Tuxedo Tornadoes, they were totally stymied by the smothering pressure that the Bulldogs applied. After controlling the tip and getting an easy two from Sarah Lander, the Bulldogs showed they could easily neutralize Tri-Valley’s press and get numbers at the other end of the floor. While they didn’t capitalize on all those attempts, the Bulldogs still got out to a 17-7 lead by the end of the first quarter, fueled by a steal by Heather Lander that she fed to her sister Sarah, who hit for two. Kate Fanning came through with a three-pointer and April Ackermann executed second-chance points with her fine rebounding.

The second quarter witnessed a rampage by the unchained “Dawgs,” who tore off on a 25-2 run, fed by Tri-Valley turnovers aplenty. Jamie Clifford caused two of those exchanges. Slick passes, great transitions and stifling defense defined Sullivan West as the far superior club.

“We didn’t handle the pressure well at all,” said Tri-Valley Coach Karen Furman. “Their defense was much more active and smothering than Tuxedo’s. We’ve been averaging 56 points a game and tonight we only managed to score 25,” Furman said at the game’s conclusion.

The second half saw the insertion of Sullivan West’s bench players, and the “Dawgs’” intensity slowed somewhat. The Bulldogs led 54-14 after three quarters. The Bears outscored Sullivan West 11-4 in the final quarter, but the damage was already done.

April Ackermann led all scorers with 16 points. Autumn Darder had 11 and Sarah Lander racked up 10. Lacey Moore and Shauna Murry each had eight points for the Bears.

Fourth-seeded Sullivan West played host to number-five seeded Marlboro in a first-round sectional game on February 23. Tri-Valley opens its sectional campaign against Millbrook. For results of that game and the other sectional contests see next week’s issue of The River Reporter.

Coach Bernhardt put the game in context: “Here in the county, it’s a big deal. Had we played them in January, the outcome might have been different.” The game was postponed by weather.

“We played them in a straight man and we had a terrific first half,” Bernhardt said. “We were a little nervous about their height but stressed how important it was to limit our turnovers and their second-chance shots. We had an ‘A’ defensive effort. We hope we can carry this momentum into the sectionals.”

With the win the Bulldogs matched last year’s record of 13-6, which included a sectional win over Highland and a semi-final loss to Red Hook.