WEEK IN REVIEW: GIRLS' BASKETBALL

Greg Dedrick
ccSCOOP Sports

02-17-10 - 1:52 p.m. - It was an exciting final week in girls' basketball as champions were crowned in both the Patroon Conference and Central Hudson Valley League. Although a non-Columbia County team captured the Patroon, with Maple Hill bringing home the crown, the CHVL title was won by state-ranked Germantown.

Teams used this week to finish up their regular season and try to build momentum and enhance their resume with the Sectional seeding meetings starting early this week. Sectional play is set to begin as early as Wednesday.

MONDAY

New Lebanon at Doane Stuart

The Tigers got off to a slow start and were never able to recover on Monday, falling on the road 26-21.  New Lebanon fell behind 12-2 after one quarter, and despite playing the middle quarters close and outscoring their opponents by 6 in the final quarter, it was not enough.

Juanita Eaton hit two shots from deep and two from the field to finish with a game-high 10 points for the Tigers. Lauren Sears added 7 in the loss, while Mikayla Buffa and Kendra Houston each added 2.

Hawthorne Valley at Heatly

The Wildcats struggled mightily on the road against the Hornets on Monday, but they were never able to gain traction and struggled to score. The Wildcats found themselves down 10 points after a quarter, but they were able to cut it to 9 at the half. The second half, however, was not kind to Hawthorne Valley. They were outscored by 17 and fell 50-24.

Nicole Muller and Frances Workman each scored 8 points in the loss, while Emma Prior added 6. Hannah Otter added 2 for the Wildcats, who got to the free-throw line for only two shots and knocked down just one three-pointer.

TUESDAY

Taconic Hills at Greenville

The Titans picked up a nice victory over fellow Class B squad Greenville on Tuesday in Greenville. With both teams hovering around .500, a win by either one over the other could be big for sectional seedings. 

The game was back and forth early on, but the Titans closed on a 15-8 run and held on for a 33-31 victory to earn the crucial win. Six different players scored for the Titans led by Rachel Preusser who scored 13. Alexis McComb and Whitney Keefner each chipped in with 7.

Chatham at Cairo-Durham

The Panthers earned their second win of the year on Tuesday, against the team they also defeated for their first win of the year. Chatham came flying out of the gates, opening up 7-0 after one quarter, and pushed their lead to 15-1 at the half. In the third quarter, the Mustangs battled back, outscoring the Panthers 17-9, but Chatham was able to seal the 35-25 win by outscoring the ‘Stangs by 4 in the final quarter.

Leah Layton scored 12 points to lead the Panthers, while Alyssa Keeler knocked down two triples on her way to 10 points.  Four other Panthers got in on the scoring action, with Karsyn Sawyer adding 8 in the win.

Hudson at Catskill

The Bluehawks went on the road and notched an impressive 41-36 victory over fellow Class B school Catskill on Tuesday.  Hudson’s win places them firmly atop the Class B heap coming out of the Patroon Conference, while Catskill’s defeat knocks them down close to .500 and may help Taconic Hills in the seedings.

Hudson jumped out to a lead after one quarter before the Cats came storming back to hold a slight lead heading into the fourth. The Bluehawks would not be denied, however, and they outscored the home team 15-8 in the final quarter to earn the win.

Three players scored in double figures for the Bluehawks. Danielle Kitsock hit three from deep and finished with 13 points, while Sam Davis and Shavonda Cousin added 11 and 10 respectively. 

Ichabod Crane at Rensselaer

The Riders earned a solid win over Rensselaer on Tuesday, bringing home a 50-39 victory. The Riders outscored the Rams in every quarter but one--the second in which the two teams each scored 8.

Becca Smith scored a game-high 16 to lead ICC, while Hannah Smith added 14. Five other Riders got in on the scoring action, with Haley Ooms leading those five, scoring 9 points which included a pair of triples.

THURSDAY

Germantown at Emma Willard

Marching toward a league title, the Clippers took care of business on the road Thursday, beating up on host Emma Willard 48-25. The Clippers scored in double digits in every quarter but one, including 20 in the fourth quarter, while holding their opponents to single digits in all four quarters.

The Clippers got scoring contributions from seven players, with Taylor Race leading the way with 22 points. Patti Cameron, Victoria Fuchs, and Kim Kreig each chipped in 6 points.

Coxsackie-Athens at Hudson

The Bluehawks kept rolling, blowing out the Indians 62-22 in Patroon Conference action. Hudson opened the game on a 19-0 first quarter run and never looked back. The Bluehawks outscored the Indians 21-5 and 13-8 in the third before the teams each scored 9 in the final stanza.

Nine players scored for Hudson including Jenna Turner who nailed a pair of threes and finished with a game-high 14 points. Sam Davis and Shavonda Cousin each scored 10, while Danielle Kitsock and Cortlynn Jepsen scored 9 and 8 in the win.

Catskill at Ichabod Crane

The Riders avenged one of their three losses this season, topping the Cats 37-32. Ichabod held a 2-point lead after one quarter but fell behind by 1 heading into the half. Coming out of the locker room, the Riders would not be denied as they outscored the visitors in each of the final two quarters.

Alyssa Stall hit three shots from the field and two shots from deep to finish with a team-high 12 points, while Becca Smith added 10 in the win. Haley Ooms chipped in with 6, Hannah Smith added 5, and Sarah Wheeler scored 4.

FRIDAY

Cairo-Durham at Taconic Hills

The Titans closed out their regular season with a 56-30 home victory over the Mustangs. Taconic Hills scored in double figures in each of the four quarters, while holding Cairo to single digits in each quarter.

The Titans got points from an impressive ten players. Whitney Keefner led the way with 11 points, while Rachel Preusser added 13 to lead the Titans. A trio of players, Tara Clapper, Emma Gryner, and Kayla Henderson each added 6.

Chatham at Greenville

The Panthers dropped their final regular season game of the year, falling to the home-standing Spartans 51-17.  Chatham struggled to find a consistent scoring threat as they scored just 3, 5, 4 and 5 points in each quarter respectively.

Five players scored for Chatham led by Marissa Myers with 9. The other four players each chipped in 2 points each.

New Lebanon at Germantown

SECTIONAL PREVIEW

Ichabod Crane:  The Riders finished the regular season 15-3, and with a record like that, they would seem to be destined for a high seed, however, two of the losses were to Class C Maple Hill and the other to Class B Catskill. Despite Maple Hill being state ranked, they are still two classes lower than the Riders, while the Cats finished the regular season hovering around .500. Class A has a lot of good teams and two really strong squads in Averill Park and Holy Names. ICC would like to avoid them as long as possible, so staying out of the 8/9 and 7/10 games would likely keep them clear until the final four. My best guess is the Riders will earn a home game in the first round but will be lower than expected, perhaps in the sixth or seventh seed.

Hudson:  The Bluehawks looked like an average team early on but finished up 13-5 in the league and look to be a strong contender in Class B. The Bluehawks' five losses were not bad. They fell to Maple Hill and Ichabod Crane twice each and also fell early on to Rensselaer. If the loss to the Rams came later in the year, it’d be a bigger deal, but the Bluehawks have clearly become a better team since the slow start. Hudson has won seven straight games to close out the regular season. Section II has just one team ranked in the state poll in Class B, so the field isn’t loaded, but it won’t be easy either. After Fonda it looks like a few teams have a chance at that second seed, with the edge going to Watervliet.  Look for Hudson to garner a home game and a seed somewhere between third to fifth.

Taconic Hills:  The Titans finished up their regular season at 9-9 and right in a three-team lump of Class B squads who finished at .500. The Titans split with those other two teams (Catskill and Greenville), but they defeated both in their most recent meetings. As we said about Hudson, there is only one dominant team in Class B, and that’s Fonda. But Watervliet is dangerous, and there are a couple other strong squads. The Titans are going to be an interesting team, along with the other two teams that are lumped in with from the Patroon. I’d give the Titans the edge because of their recent wins over those teams, and I could see them seeded anywhere from seventh to twelfth, but more likely they'll get an eighth seed and probably a home game against Greenville.

Chatham:  The Panthers finished with just two wins, both against fellow Class B member Cairo-Durham, and I don't expect them to play in the postseason. If they do, the Panthers will likely be the fifteenth or sixteenth seed depending on whether or not Cairo opts to play and have a rough first round road game for sure.

Germantown:  As of the last state poll, three Section II Class D squads were ranked, with Germantown being the second team, ranking sixth. The Clippers just capped off a one-loss regular season and a CHVL crown. If the state rankings were to hold, the Clippers would likely be the second seed behind Whitehall, while Argyle would fall into third. The experienced Clippers should have an easy time until the Argyle semifinals matchup. Argyle has two players who average over 10 points, but they aren’t an overly experienced or big squad. A potential finals match with Whitehall could be a fantastic matchup of 6' 1" versatile forwards as Taylor Race and Brittany St. Clair do battle.

New Lebanon:  With Tigers down to just five players, I’d be shocked to see them head into sectional play. If they did, they’d likely be the lowest seed and have a very tough first round matchup against Whitehall or Germantown.

Hawthorne Valley:  They have played better down the stretch but still struggled. I doubt they will play in the postseason, but if they do, expect a bottom seed and a rough first-round match.

POWER RANKINGS

1  Germantown (previously 1):  Captured the CHVL regular season title

2  ICC (previously 2):  Avenged one of their three losses this week

3  Hudson (previously 3):  Helped their seed with a pair of wins

4  Taconic Hills (previously 4):  Finished the season with two wins in two games

5  Chatham (previously 6):  Finished their last week with a second win over C-D

6  Hawthorne Valley (previously 5):  Finished with two wins a weaker CHVL team

7  New Lebanon (previously 7):  Struggled down the stretch with limited players