Basketball

Wake-up call

Sullivan West jolted from early slumber by Liberty’s feisty first quarter play

By RICHARD A. ROSS

LIBERTY, NY - In the early going of a Division IV game against Liberty on January 3, the much-needed tune up for the clash with Burke two days later, the Sullivan West Lady Dawgs hit rock bottom in their execution, while a revitalized and improving Lady Indians squad gave them all they could handle.

Plagued by six turnovers and several reckless fouls, Sullivan West failed to box out or guard the perimeter well. Although the Lady Dawgs got out to a 3-0 lead, Liberty’s Ceara Williams showed grit in the low post. In a flurry, the Lady Indians ripped off five straight points by stringing together a nice inlet pass to Williams, forcing a turnover and getting a three-pointer from Angela Giacolone.

Williams later wrested the ball from Sullivan West’s Rachel Houghtaling and put it back up to give Liberty an 8-7 lead. Two nice drives to the basket helped the Lady Dawgs to an 11-8 lead by the end of one. Sullivan West coach Ron Bernhardt was steaming as he gesticulated to his players about their eight-minute miasma.

Liberty (2-7, 1-3 OCIAA) shows signs of improvement since this writer saw them squander a game against Eldred early on. Facing teams like Sullivan West and Burke is a daunting task for the Lady Indians, but coach Tom Lagattuta has taught his team to rotate the ball on offense and look for the open shooter. Moving Williams back and forth from the low to the high post and using Giacolone on the perimeter paid off early, but, unfortunately, Bernhardt’s adjustments neutralized Liberty’s early assertion.

One of those adjustments came in the second quarter by way of pressuring the ball up the floor with helping defense. The result: Liberty turned the ball over eight times in the second quarter as compared to five times in the first. Sullivan West cut its turnovers to two.

Raising their defensive intensity after allowing Williams to score five points in the first quarter, Sullivan West limited her to four more for the rest of the night. The same was true for Giacolone, who had a pair of threes in the first half and was blanked for the second half.

Offensively, the Lady Bulldogs began to look better with improved passing and better footwork.

Sullivan West’s Sarah Lander got valuable minutes and 12 points, as she continues to heal from a badly turned ankle suffered a couple of weeks ago. The Lady Bulldogs also got some fine play from Donna Kelly, who scored all nine of her points in the first half. Katrina Graby and Patti Knack each chipped in six. Lyndsey Murphy had nine as Bernhardt freely subbed in his entire bench in the second half.

The Lady Dawgs led 30-15 at the half, finishing the second quarter on a 14-0 run. The combination of their heightened defense and fluid offense allowed them to extend their lead to 48-19 by the end of three. As Sullivan West (6-2, 3-0 OCIAA) continued to answer the wake up call, Liberty’s production went down geometrically. The Lady Indians scored only two points in the fourth quarter, as the Dawgettes cruised to a 60-21 victory.

Bernhardt was visibly more comfortable with what he saw late as compared to what was on display in the early going.

As for Liberty, the Lady Indians need to build on what they demonstrated in the first 13 minutes of the game. It’s a work in progress and there are promising signs that the team’s efforts are paying off.