Liberty Independent – Sheryl Pinder

Day and Night Quarterfinal Drama: Left panel top to bottom: Fallsburg boys erupt in joy following their 58-41 win over Tri-Valley that advances the Comets to a semifinal road clash against Pine Plains. Rakkir Watson dribbles the ball up the floor as Tri-Valley's James Pugh looks for a steal. Michael Robinson is poetry in motion as he swishes a pair of free throws: Right side: Tri-Valley girls enjoy the moment as their fans laud them with applause following their 68-54 win over Fallsburg. Falsburg's Sheryl Pinder looks to drive the ball up the floor as Celia Garcia sets a pick. Sabrena Smith looks to defend. Tri-Valley's Katlynn Greffrath hits the game's biggest shot with 3.1 seconds remaining in the third quarter off a double screen play drawn up by Coach John Tenbus. The lead burgeoned to 13 at the buzzer and the shot proved to be the dagger in the heart to the courageous Lady Comets.

FALLSBURG AND GRAHAMSVILLE, NY—There is no way to describe the sea of emotions that swirl through players and coaches standing on the precipice of uncertainty before a do-or-die sectional encounter.

Nerves aside, the most salient current that courses through each and every one is the desire to win and advance. To even ponder the end of one’s long season of trials and efforts is unthinkable. And so invariably, the intensity of play evinced in sectional games is characteristically beyond the pale and incredibly dramatic.

Game changers: Fallsburg's Braiden DeGraw, left, fires in two of his game-high 16 points. Tri-Valley's Caroline Martin and Katlynn Greffrath tie up Fallsburg's Celia Garcia to garner an extra possession.

With the arduous regular season behind them and the wonderful accomplishments of being one of the 30 Section Nine teams about to enter the frenzied fray from which only one will be left standing in each of the five Classes of teams, the agenda of the moment is to exert the last full measure of skill, devotion and effort, coupled with unselfish teamwork and indomitable will, in order to earn the privilege to play again.

To marshal a victory under such circumstances is to cross the Great Divide, that unchartered field of battle from which only one of the two teams engaged will emerge unscathed. Victory is akin to imbibing The Nectar of the Gods; defeat is disheartening beyond measure.

Despite the canon of countless games of this ilk that I have borne witness to and tried to recreate afterwards with all of the words I can summon to approximate their dramatic unfolding, it is always new, always fresh and always special.

That Fallsburg and Tri-Valley would come to engage in a rare day-night double header of boys and girls quarterfinal clashes in a home and away rare two-act enterprise, made February 25 memorable and historic for the two schools and the communities they represent.

As neighboring rivals who had played each other twice during the regular season, this third and most important clash would pack the gyms with fervid fans bent on providing unbridled spirit to further the cause of their beloved teams.

Michael Robinson looms large to the left, while Katlynn Greffrath and Celia Garcia vie intensely for a ball on the right.

The Fallsburg boys and Tri-Valley girls had won both prior encounters with their rivals. On several occasions the oft-quoted adage of “It’s hard to beat a team three times in a season,” was advanced by fans from both sides as they pondered the impending outcome of the most important 32 minutes of the season to date.

By night’s end that maxim would be proven false as the Fallsburg boys used their speed, unselfish teamwork and impeccable skills to marshal a 58-41 win over Tri-Valley.

Heading into the nightcap, the Lady Comets with their cadre of seniors vowed to rectify the flaws that had twice barred their hoped-for victories against the Lady Bears.

To their credit, the Lady Comets put forth their best effort of the season, particularly in the first half but nonetheless fell short of the mark as the defending champion Lady Bears triumphed 68-54.

Each game had its own unique script, its requisite heroes and defining plays. Tough as it is for the 12-7 Tri-Valley boys team and the 10-9 Fallsburg Lady Comets to see their seasons end, particularly for the seniors who summoned their all in the quest, both squads made enormous strides this season and both have much to be proud of. Much more needs to be said on this subject and will be forthcoming as this narrative unfolds.

To the victors belong the spoils and in this case the 14-5 Comets earn the right to test their mettle against number-one seeded Pine Plains on the road. “To be the best, you’ve got to beat the best,” and so for a squad comprised of mostly seniors looking to go out on the most positive of notes, there is no bigger stage than the impending semifinal on February 28.

Should they unveil the kind of play they evinced in this quarterfinal, they have the weaponry and the will to ground the Bombers and emblazon a stunning chapter in Fallsburg’s once-storied hardwood history. All of this from a school that rendered a stultifying 0-20 record just a few years back. This is Fallsburg’s third consecutive year making a sectional run and they hope that the adage which claims that the “Third time pays for all,” will come to fruition.

For the 17-1 Tri-Valley Lady Bears, the challenge of playing Tuxedo for the third time in what amounts to the all-important rubber match is what Coach John Tenbus and his team have envisioned and worked assiduously towards all year long.

The recent deflating loss to the Lady Tornadoes, coupled with the fact that it was Tuxedo that defeated Tri-Valley in the 2009 finals only adds fuel to the fire, though the cast of players is entirely different from that fray and John Tenbus was only the assistant coach that night two years ago.

The Coaches: Tri-Valley's Brian Tingley, Fallsburg's Pete Dworetsky, Fallsburg's Daniel Redmond and Tri-Valley's John Tenbus

Since his ascendance to the helm, his team now comprised mostly of youngsters, has authored an uncanny 35-3 record.

That Tenbus guided his team to a Section Nine Class C title in his first year made him the 2011 Coach of the Year in this writer’s estimation, though that view was not shared by other print maven pundits.

Rarely do I make such pronouncements about Most Valuable Players or Coaches of the Year as they are often subjective judgments that invite criticism. When I do, I stand by them with all of the weight and credibility of my award-winning journalistic career.

With the graduation of Jakki Pugh, “The Eternal Flame,” many pundits figured that the Lady Bears would be a far easier mark. But great teamwork, the coach’s wizardry and his demands for rigorous conditioning have combined with his players’ talent level and competitive spirit which is second to none.

All of which makes Tri-Valley’s success story an ongoing one. To wit, one might recall Mark Twain’s famous words as they apply to the 2012 Lady Bears,“Rumors of my own death have been greatly exaggerated.”

Vanquishing feisty Fallsburg brings the Lady Bears to the next Great Divide, the wide semifinal chasm, and crossing that one will be its greatest challenge to date.

While etiquette asserts “Ladies first,” the chronology of the day warrants the opposite:

Fallsburg Boys Prevail: The Comets’ Tale

Tri-Valley senior Greg Swarthout goes up for a shot as Fallsburg's Rakkir Watson looks to not foul him in the process.

When Tri-Valley lost to Fallsburg on February 15, T-V Coach Brian Tingley carefully assessed the 75-62 defeat in terms of what his team needed to do toin order to reverse the dynamics. “They scored 51 of their 75 points off fast breaks and second chance opportunities. We’ve got to get three guys back on defense,” he averred prior to this sectional encounter.

Fallsburg’s speedy transition games had also fueled its January 61-39 “Transit Authority” win and Tingley was bent on slowing the streaking Comets down.

Relentless defense, patience and timely shooting would be key in authoring the upset Tingley felt his team was in a position to record and for the first quarter at least, the plan was working. A few tweaks including the personnel and method of inbounding the ball were part of Tingley’s thoughtful script.

For his part, Fallsburg Coach Pete Dworetsky wasn’t about to take Tri-Valley lightly. “It’s all about today,” he averred prior to the game hinting at a few new wrinkles but mostly the same strategy. Dworetsky fully understands the mantra, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Amidst the posting of the colors from the Fallsburg Police Department Honor Guard and the sonorous rendition of the National Anthem sung by Fallsburg principal Mike Williams, the special proceedings got underway.

Tri-Valley’s Conor Walsh and Fallsburg’s Michael Robinson got set for the tip as the winter sun streamed in through the windows bathing the floor in an unusual suffusion of natural light. Fallsburg controlled the tip but committed a turnover on its first possession which fueled a T-V drawing of first blood as Cody Exner sent the ball across the lane to a charging James Pugh.

Unfazed, Robinson slid the ball into Braiden DeGraw who tied it up forthwith. On its next set, Pugh kicked it out to Steve McInerney and T-V reclaimed the early lead. Back-to-back shots from DeGraw and Robinson changed that early landscape. Both teams were rebounding well but Rakkir Watson added to the lead with a floater.

Members of the Fallsburg Police Department present colors prior to the game.

Pugh countered with a three to make it a 9-8 Tri-Valley. Dworetsky fumed at the missed coverage that had given him the open look. His admonitions to his team would prove efficacious as it was the only trey Tri-Valley would register in the game.

The decibel level in the gym was steadily rising. Another T-V bucket preceded Fallsburg’s miffing on a trio of offensive put backs before DeGraw was fouled by Walsh and hit both. Then a steal by Jimmy Bertholf and his subsequent lay up put Fallsburg back on top. They’d never trail again.

With 1:53 remaining Robinson hit two from the stripe to make it 14-11. Sam Didinsky’s trey from the corner made it 17-11. Bertholf fouled Jesus Lozada on an attempted three. Lozada hit all three from the line as the quarter would close with Fallsburg leading 17-14. Each team had turned it over three times.

The Bears inbounded to start the second quarter as Lozada scored on a put back. Russell Corley kissed it off the glass to widen the lead to 19-16. Fallsburg got a crisp pass from Corley to Dustin Foertsch for two more.

Fallsburg’s cheerleaders used time outs to amp up the crowd. The Bears’ cheerleaders were not present as a number of them were at the indoor track state qualifier.

Action continued as the Comets built a six point lead before Walsh cut it back down with a great backdoor cut and bucket with 4:19. DeGraw slashed the lane for two more enroute to his game-high 16 points.

Robinson made it 27-18 as he rose up strong. T-V’s Alex Brown got an easy bucket as Fallsburg miffed on its weak side help. When the dust settled at the half, Fallsburg led 30-20. Pugh had seven of T-V’s first half points, while DeGraw authored a third of Fallsburg’s first half points with ten.

Fallsburg inbounded and Corley took it straight to the rim. Exner answered. Corley muscled great position under the boards and scored again. Tri-Valley looked a bit stressed as it failed to inbound the ball in the allotted five seconds. DeGraw’s turn around jumper had the Comets’ fans in a tizzy as the lead burgeoned to 36-25.

In this critical nexus of the game, Tri-Valley needed to get stops and show patience. It did neither well enough to forestall a 10-5 Fallsburg run to close out the stanza affording the Comets a 46-30 lead after three.

In the third quarter Fallsburg got scoring from six players living out Dworetsky’s precept of “It’s not who scores, it’s that we score.” Corley led the way with six of his eventual eight points. Watson, Didinsky and DeGraw each contributed a bucket as did Daniel Justiniano.

Tri-Valley countered with ten points as it got three from Pugh to go along with two apiece from Swarthout, Exner and Shatik Smith. Walsh hit one of two from the line.

With a comfortable lead in place, Fallsburg played out the string in the fourth quarter, its play not nearly as crisp as it had been prior to that. Even so they still outscored T-V 12-11 in the final stanza to evince the 58-41 victory.

In addition to DeGraw’s 16, Fallsburg got ten from Robinson and Watson. They shot 11-for-19 from the line for a lukewarm 58%. Pugh led the Bears with 13, while Smith had ten. The Bears were 12-for-20 from the stripe for 60%. Turning the ball over 14 times fulfilled one of Tingley’s ongoing goals. Fallsburg had 18 turnovers in the game.

Tingley summed things up thusly: “I thought we moved the ball well and gave them some things they weren’t expecting in the first quarter and we stayed with them. Defensively we played okay. We held them in the 50’s but offensively we got a little stagnant in the second quarter in particular. We only scored six points. It’s hard to come back when you have a drought like that,” he averred.

“We wanted to really go to the basket today but instead we settled for the one shot though we did get more paint looks today especially in the first half.” In terms of the agenda of getting guys back quickly on defense, Tingley felt his team did a good job until the end when Fallsburg was getting a lot of quick stuff as it felt it could gamble on defense given its large lead.

Tingley credited Fallsburg’s play. “They looked good,” he noted while positing the idea that he felt they might have a tough time with Pine Plains.

In terms of the 12-7 season overview, Tingley smiled. “At the beginning of the season James Pugh said, so we’ve gotta beat three and I thought Oh My God, if we only get four wins. I wanted a lot more. We had to get those early ones because I knew we were inexperienced. We could get good by the end of the season but it would take us awhile to get there. We couldn’t afford to throw away games early in the year and expect to make it up later,” he posited.

“We’ve got a lot of people returning next year and those returnees have played a lot. We would play ten guys pretty regularly. For the most part we got everybody in every game. This year the juniors and sophomores got a lot of minutes.”

Looking ahead to the summer Tingley said, “We usually try to get into something. If Liberty has something we’re going there but if they don’t maybe we’ll start something. We usually put together a team to go down to play some games in Seward,” he added.

Dworetsky credited his team’s unselfish play and the rewards that have come from such. “These kids have worked way too hard the last couple of years to just walk away. We knew Tri-Valley coming in here was going to be tough but we executed really well. Once or twice we tried to force it down the lane and we had one possession on defense that I wasn’t thrilled with (the open three),” he offered.

Turning to thoughts of Pine Plains, Dworetsky feels his team will be ready to execute its game plan. “We have one goal in mind and that’s to be playing at New Paltz on Friday.” Dworetsky is counting on his team’s defense to put enough pressure on the Bombers so that “good things can happen.”

The Kids Are All Right: Stamina And Crisp Execution Fuel Lady Bears Victory

Tri-Valley's Caroline Martin shoots over Fallsburg's Kelsey Moody.

With only 48 hours between their last highly emotional encounter won by Tri-Valley 70-45 which assured the Lady Bears of home court and a share of the Division V title and a snow storm cancelling school to boot, Fallsburg got permission to use its gym for a practice Coach Daniel Redmond knew his team needed if it was going to alter the existing dynamic with the Lady Bears.

Two 25-point losses that involved melt downs, turnovers and as he saw it, squandered opportunities to pull off upsets, had Redmond and his all-important seniors vowing that enough was enough.

This time, they’d come with a new attitude and seek to avoid the miscues that could fuel another Tri-Valley “track meet.”

For senior starters Sheryl Pinder, Shanice Mack and Celia Garcia in particular, this was the biggest game of their careers and they were determined to pull out all stops to garner the win.

Junior transfer Nyasia Blakney looked calm and confident. Behind her 23-point flurry two days prior, she intended to do her part to secure the victory.

As the teams took their warm ups, Redmond paced anxiously up and down. Tri-Valley Coach John Tenbus expressed his usual nervousness but managed to be adept at not showing it. He was confident that his defense could hold the Lady Comets’ lethal weapons l Pinder and Blakney sufficiently in check to win.

But to do that his girls would have to take care of the basketball, use their quickness and stamina to wear Fallsburg down, make key shots to offset the expected runs and for heaven’s sake, make free throws, something which has been a bugaboo all year long.

Each team looked to establish the tone. Fallsburg hoped to unnerve Tri-Valley with a strong start, something they were about to unveil with a rain of threes in the first quarter as Celia Garcia buried a pair and Pinder hit her first of two taking advantage of Tri-Valley’s failure to close on perimeter shooters.

With teams that feature bigs like Mack, Blakney and Kelsey Moody, the expectation is that they will try to deploy their height advantage inside to score in the paint, get the lion’s share of rebounds and block shots.

Guarding Sheryl Pinder does not mean stopping her. Pinder had 29 points in the final game of her illustrious high school career.

The last thing Tri-Valley expected was a powerful Fallsburg perimeter arsenal but over the course of the night as the Lady Bears did what was necessary to see that diminished, Tri-Valley’s speed, its relentless defensive verve and its more diversified offensive balance would prove effective to marshal the 68-54 win that would advance them one step closer to their avowed purpose…”Not just defending the championship, but pursuing another.”

Moody and Tri-Valley senior Erin Smith got set for the tip as the “Red Sea” of Tri-Valley fans made their presence felt on one side of the gym while diagonally opposite, a large host of Comets fans including the victorious boys team and their coach looked forward to a Fallsburg sweep.

The Comets controlled the tip but promptly turned it off, an inauspicious sign for Redmond who was no longer masking his emotions. Tri-Valley junior Mareena DiMilia scored from the wing for that all-important first bucket.

When T-V sophomore Katlynn Greffrath was fouled and went to the line, a hush fell over the crowd. That silence soon turned to a roar as she hit two-for-two from the stripe for the 4-0 lead. Erin Smith scored and hit one from the stripe as well for the 7-0 lead and nearly built on that behind a Greffrath steal but T-V couldn’t convert the points off the turnover.

Pinder blanked on a chance to put the Lady Comets on the board as the Comets cheerleaders barked, “You’ve got to get loud.”

With Tri-Valley leading 8-0, Garcia finally broke the drought with a trey. Erin Smith showed her senior leadership as she ambled through the lane to make it 10-3. By night’s end she’d share a team-high accrual of 15 points with Caroline Martin but Smith was even more important with her aggressive play, rebounding and indomitable will to prevail.

Despite its height advantage, Fallsburg was ineffective in boxing out. Proof in point was made as diminutive Sabrena Smith scored on a third put back attempt surrounded by infinitely taller Lady Comets for the 12-6 lead.

After a palming call on Garcia gave the ball right back to the Lady Bears, Sabrena Smith ripped through the lane uncontested to score again. Greffrath had a steal but travelled with 3:03 remaining. Tri-Valley was getting steals as Caroline Martin heisted a Fallsburg inbounds pass but the Lady Bears weren’t converting those into points.

At the other end of the floor Garcia pulled up for her second three to make it 14-9. Fallsburg got to the line behind a foul by Erin Smith but the first of two lane violations on the night nixed the free throw by Blakney.

The battle of the fans: Tri-Valley (top) and Fallsburg (below)

Martin dished it to Erin Smith in the post for the 16-9 lead but lethal Pinder would close the quarter with five straight points including a trey and a layup off a Tri-Valley turnover as the Comets closed within two at 16-14 as the first quarter ended.

Tenbus calmly reorganized his troops during the periods, while Redmond extolled his girls and encouraged them to build on what they were doing. Getting close to Tri-Valley was nothing new; surpassing them was another matter.

The Lady Bears began the quarter with two points from Nicole Bradley who had come in to give Erin Smith a breather. Fallsburg then threw it away as Redmond implored his team to play defense.

Martin missed a shot but a Tri-Valley rebound re-routed the ball to her at the top of the key as the freshman hit her first big shot of the game for the 20-14 lead.

Fallsburg was squandering trips with missed shots and then lost a rebound to Martin who came up with the ball seemingly out of nowhere.

Martin raced up the floor with Greffrath on the opposite side. At the last second she dished it to Greffrath who scored to the tumultuous cheers of the Red Sea horde with 2:14 to go. Fallsburg converted a three point play behind a made free throw and a Moody put back of a miss from the stripe to cut the lead to 22-19. Martin came up huge again as she canned a three.

Every time Fallsburg closed the gap, Tri-Valley would widen it back. All of this was consuming energy but Tri-Valley’s conditioning advantage was its ace in the hole. Blakney hit one from the top of the key to cut it to four at 25-21 with 5:06. Each team travelled before Garcia picked up her second foul. Fallsburg was over the limit and Greffrath stepped up for a one-and-one.

She hit both to make it 27-21 and Garcia was flagged for travelling again. After a T-V miss Moody threw it away. Cumulatively, these unforced turnovers were taking their toll. Sensing the need to elevate her game even further, Pinder hit her second three to make it 27-24. Blakney fouled Erin with 3:28 but she missed both.

Caroline Martin looks to pass while Nyasia Blakney guards her closely. Below, Blakney fires in two of her ten points. Martin ended up with 15. In the previous game just two days prior both led all scorers with 23 points.

Pinder looked to tie it with a three but the ball caught nothing but air. Coming up the floor with a chance to close within one or to tie, Fallsburg was suddenly looking the other way as Martin had stolen the ball and scored for the 29-24 advantage.

Flustered, Fallsburg committed a backcourt violation as Redmond fumed and called in his troops for an emotional talking to. Tie ups were affording alternating possession arrows as players from both squads looked to wrest the ball from each other.

With 1:09 to go and closing the gap, Fallsburg had possession of the rock, Greffrath got a key steal and was fouled before the shot. Greffrath hit both from the stripe to make it 31-27 with 52.4 seconds. Blakney and Pinder both missed close in. Tri-Valley had the last word of the half with a lay up to carry the 33-27 lead into the half.

Tenbus schooled his team on the importance of the first minutes of the third quarter. They had withstood Fallsburg’s runs and would look to rectify the issues with the Lady Comets’ open threes as 15 of Fallsburg’s 27 points had come from long range.

Fallsburg would never score from out there again for the rest of the night.

Blakney opened the second half with a floater from below the key to cut it to four. A missed three by Martin was rectified by an alert Greffrath who grabbed the ball and put it through the cylinder. Time and time again, Tri-Valley answered Fallsburg’s bids to draw close.

Tri-Valley led by six which soon became nine as Sabrena Smith slashed the lane and hit a free throw. Pinder hit an off-balance shot to make it 38-31 and a Moody offensive put back cut it back to six. Again the Lady Bears counterpunched with two more points.

Ominously, Erin Smith picked up her fourth foul and had to come out as Mack went to the line and hit one before a lane violation nixed another. Bradley came in for Smith as the score hovered at 40-34. Martin drove the lane to widen the gulf to eight with 3:55 to go. Pinder countered with a bucket but missed the accompanying free throw.

Martin pushed it right back to eight with a pair of made free throws. Was this the same team that had looked clueless from the stripe?

How sweet it is: Mareena DiMilia and Katlynn Greffrath enjoy a victory hug. They hope they'll be more occasions for such this season before all is said and done.

With 3:20 to Tri-Valley poured it on as the red-hot Martin dished a nifty pass to a scoring Bradley. Blakney cut it to six again but a runner by Greffrath provided yet another answer. Tri-Valley led 46-42 with 1:17 as the game remained tight.

Greffrath hit one of two from the stripe but Bradley put back the missed second one to push the lead back to seven with 1:07. With 44.2 seconds to go Greffrath travelled.

Pinder picked up her third foul as Sabrena Smith scored and hit a free throw. Martin came up with a huge steal with nine seconds remaining. The Lady Bears were in possession with 3.1 remaining as Tenbus called a time out and set up a double screen looking to free Greffrath on the right wing beyond the arc.

The play worked like a charm as the Wizard of Wonderland’s strategy had designed it so that the deft sophomore had just enough space to bury the trey. It was the dagger for Fallsburg as it gave T-V a 55-42 lead heading into the final quarter.

Despite the gulf, Pinder would refuse to quit. More than anything else, the talented guard who has come to define Fallsburg girls basketball would uncork her final effort though it would prove to be too little; too late.

Pinder would score all 12 of Fallsburg’s points in the final frame, nearly equaling the Tri-Valley team output of 13. It was a noble effort from a player who deserves the highest regard.

Tri-Valley continued its fine free throw shooting down the stretch as the Lady Bears iced five of six from the stripe in the fourth quarter enroute to an 18-for-27 (66.6%) high water mark as Erin Smith hit three of four and Martin was two for two in the stanza. Back to back steals and buckets from Sabrena Smith sent the crowd into delirium. DiMilia added a bucket for good measure. Sabrena Smith stalled the final possession until the end.

When the final buzzer sounded the Lady Bears hugged one another with boundless joy while the tearful Lady Comets made a quick exit to the locker room to try and reckon with the impact of this season-ending shock.

Pinder held her head up high and listened as this writer extolled her play and her career. “I want to thank my teammates. I thought we gave 100 percent out there. I played my best game and tried to give it my all,” she said.

Pinder ended with a game-high 29 points for the 10-9 Lady Comets. Blakney had ten and Garcia had nine via her trio of treys. Fallsburg shot seven-for-16 from the line for 43.7%. Martin and Erin Smith led 17-1 Tri-Valley with 15 points apiece. Greffrath had 14 and Sabrena Smith had 12.

The Lady Bears will look to return to the finals via a hoped-for home win over Tuxedo on February 28. The Lady Tornadoes bested Rhinebeck 40-31, while #1 seeded John A. Coleman Catholic bested #8 Pine Plains 58-38. They will play #4 Millbrook which bested #5 Chester 59-35.

Tenbus agreed that free throws were huge and that Fallsburg came into this game with its best effort. “Sheryl being a senior was going to do everything she possibly could to keep her team in it and try to win. She played a heck of a game tonight and Garcia did two. They were the two players we were manning in our triangle and two the whole game and they did a good job of screening for each other.”

Tenbus went on to say, “We stepped back as opposed to edging out to try and force them back so we could recover. They knocked down quite a few and those shots were big.” Talking about Greffrath’s miracle shot at the end of the third that really was the defining play of the game, Tenbus noted, “We were in our four high set and we set two double screens for her. The outside girl goes to screen the big block and the girl on the elbow holds the guard in and Katlynn loops and we hope she gets a good look. I said Katlynn, you’re tired, make sure you put a little more on it and did she ever.”

Tenbus said that he had told his girls, “The most important part of the game are those minutes right after halftime. You’ve got to take advantage of those minutes and we did a great job and got it up to 13. At halftime I told them we’ve got to be a little bit more patient on offense. We’ve got to look for the best shot, not necessarily the first shot. Defensively, this is why we run in practice so we can stay in shape and continue,” he noted.

“A lot of the other team we play get tired and when they do they lose their focus and start making mental and physical mistakes and that’s when we try and turn it up a notch,” he averred.

Tenbus lauded subs Bradley and Sarah Schneyer. That’s what we need. They all know their role as far as what they should do.” Tenbus looks forward to playing Tuxedo. “Hopefully we’ll play better this time. We’re on a nice roll at the end of the season with a couple of good wins against Eldred and Fallsburg. That carried over here and momentum at this point is huge.”

Tenbus extolled Erin Smith’s play and her assertion at trying to get to the basket. “That was huge because when they’re playing their 3-2 and we’re working the ball around, the middle is wide open and I give Erin a lot of credit because she turned and looked at the basket right away.” Fallsburg went from a 3-2 to a 2-3 and added in a man defense. We stayed with the triangle and two quite a bit and just went man-to-man the rest of the time.”

“Fallsburg is a talented team. One of their girls is always going to put up big numbers whether its Sheryl or Blakney, Garcia or Moody. You kind of pick your battles.”

A despondent Redmond emerged from the locker room where he had tried to console his team. “I’m very happy with the progress we made in the last two days. That was a totally different team that we had out there tonight. I thought the last game we played lethargically. This game I felt we put everything on the line and I have to give a lot of thanks to my seniors. They put forth their best effort and just came up a little short.”

Redmond felt his team’s biggest dilemma was its inability to box out. “I’ve been trying to teach the girls not just to jump for the ball but you’ve got to put your body on somebody,” he noted.
Redmond also acknowledged that fatigue became a factor towards the end. “They make it into a track meet which I thought we slowed down the first two and half quarters as we slowed down the tempo and played the way we wanted to play. We kept the game close until they did one of their patented runs.

All the credit goes to Coach Tenbus and his team. They’re not 17-1 for no reason but I felt like the progress we made from the first time we played them to the second time and tonight was tremendous. We had the game..a few points here and there where we could tie the game but we didn’t take advantage of it.”

As to Pinder, Redmond said, “She told me at the beginning of the day that she wanted to leave it all out there and she proved that to me. I told her that I needed her leadership and she put the team on her back and we ran as she ran. She pretty much kept us in the game. I really thank my seniors for all their contributions and all I can wish is that we’ll come back next year. We have a lot of work in front of us but I’m looking forward to the challenge.

The team was hurting after the loss. That sting will last for awhile but for them to come into a hostile gym I think it’s a credit to how hard they worked and how hard they practiced,” Redmond concluded.

For albums of photos from both games, visit www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com

Full Throttle

Lady Bears’ Express Hurtles By Fallsburg To Arrive At Division V Title Station On The Number Two Sectional Seed Track; Caroline Martin Has Breakout Game Abetted By Katlynn Greffrath and Erin Smith To Give Tri-Valley Home Court In Upcoming Sectionals; Bears’ Bullet Train Now Switches From Regular Season Line To Title Quest Track While Fallsburg Looks To Derail T-V In Looming Quarterfinal

Tri-Valley 70, Fallsburg 45

By RICHARD A. ROSS

rross@sportsinsightsny.com

Photos at: www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com

Oh What A Night! Scenes From Fallsburg's Senior Night/ Tri-Valley's Division-Clinching Win (Clockwise) Senior Samantha Rivera and her parents, Senior Celia Garcia and her mom, Senior Savonne Gillard and Coaches Redmond and Carter, Tie up: Fallsburg's Nyasia Blakney is tied up by T-V's Katlynn Greffrath, Mareena DiMilia and Erin Smith. T-V freshman Caroline Martin scores two of her game-high 23 points. Coach Daniel Redmond admonishes his team during a time out. Tri-Valley parents laud their team's humongous third quarter landslide. Nyasia Blakney scores two of her game-high 23 points. T-V's Sabrena Smith brings the ball up the floor as she is shadowed by Celia Garcia. T-V Coach John Tenbus emphasizes a point during a time out. Celia Garcia posts up for a three that wouldn't go. Only one trey was scored in the game and that came from Shanice Mack. Fallsburg senior Sheryl Pinder drives the ball as Sabrena Smith looks to guard her. Fallsburg senior Shanice Mack and parents, Fallsburg senior Sheryl Pinder and her parents. On the run: Caroline Martin breaks up the floor behind yet another Tri-Valley steal.

FALLSBURG, NY—Way back in December idling in the roundhouse prior to setting out on the regular season main line, a gleaming red, white and blue Tri-Valley train, the defending Section Nine Class C champion, fine tuned its machinery and prepared to set off on a long journey.

Up the track would be 17 local stops including ten vital league encounters, a veritable minefield of rivals such as Chester, Seward, Eldred, Fallsburg and Tuxedo, all intent on derailing Tri-Valley’s itinerary, namely its straight track sojourn to the Class C finals.

Tri-Valley's Mareena DiMilia made her mark in this game with her defense and timely shooting.

As engineer/coach John Tenbus pondered the arduous trip ahead, he knew the lay of the land had changed significantly since Tri-umphant Valley had sped along mightily to its Class C title a year prior.

Not only was his star Jakki Pugh now playing in college, but Tuxedo, the team that had vanquished T-V in the 2009 finals had moved down from Class B.

To further complicate matters, Class D state champion behemoth John A. Coleman Catholic had moved up to Class C and would in all likelihood be waiting at the end of the line looking to run any comer off the rails in order to begin its own run at the Class C state title.

From the get go, Tenbus told his team that getting the number two seed in the Section Nine tournament would be vital in its title defense, thereby avoiding the Lady Statesmen until the final encounter.

The very same thought preoccupied the minds of Tri-Valley’s Division V rivals whose hopes for such dwindled as the Lady Bears vanquished them one right after the other.

But with its February 9 home loss against Tuxedo, the only defeat in Tri-Valley’s season, the Bears entered their final regular season siding at 13-1 needing to run the table on a pair of games versus Eldred and to prevail in a road clash with Fallsburg to preserve its seed status.

Eldred turned out to be the easy part, but Fallsburg might prove to be another matter.

The Lady Comets had just played Tuxedo the night before their encounter with Tri-Valley and re-armed with the addition of Monticello junior transfer Nyasia Blakney, they had given the Lady Tornadoes almost all they could handle before coming up short 34-29 in a game they had led at times.

Fallsburg Coach Daniel Redmond was confident that his team had what it needed to hold Tri-Valley at bay. If his girls would give the same effort they had evinced the night before, he felt a victory could well be soon in hand.

Fallsburg's Shanice Mack fires in two points. She had seven points in the game including the only trey of the night.

Tuxedo Coach Dave Powers was an early arrival for this game as he looked to scout both teams anticipating a meeting with Tri-Valley, hopefully on his team’s floor should they falter against the Lady Comets.

But as he was quick to perceive, as were all the others on hand, Fallsburg wasn’t going to pull off the upset. Tri-Valley was not going to let that happen. Not by a long shot.

Perhaps it was the fatigue of playing Tuxedo so tough the night before and the early start of this game, or perhaps it was the fact that Tri-Valley was about to unveil its ‘A’ game of speed and smothering defense.

But from the get-go the dynamic of the game was clear in force. Tri-Valley set the tone early and withstood the expected Fallsburg runs. And in doing so, they unveiled the kind of game they’ll need to prevail in the daunting tournament ahead.

The Lady Comets were never able to keep up with the streaking Lady Bears’ express which threw its speedy transition game into full gear.

Fueled by countless steals, surprising success in rebounding against its taller adversary and surcharged with an endless bevy of lay ups, T-V nearly succeeded in putting Fallsburg away early. But the feisty Lady Comets fought back to keep it within ten at the end of the first quarter (20-10) and at the half (37-27) before the Lady Bears unveiled another gear and went on a tear in the third quarter to slam the door shut.

By night’s end when the smoke had cleared, the Lady Bears’ bullet train had left the Fallsburg local in the rearview mirror by the score of 70-45, the same 25 point margin as their 64-39 win in Grahamsville back in January.

Tri-Valley sophomore Katlynn Greffrath poured in 16 points in the game.

How this happened in a matter of intense interest, particularly given the fact that the two teams will meet again a mere 48 hours after this encounter. Given the do-or-die nature of sectional games, this clash despite its immediate significance with regard to seeding is concerned, will be quickly supplanted by the ever-more-important quarterfinal.

Both coaches will look to tweak things and to reinvest their teams with a sense of confidence and purpose, though to be truthful, that seems hardly necessary.

Both squads are already as motivated as they can be. Tri-Valley which had played its worst game of the year against Tuxedo and then came out flat against young and inexperienced Sullivan West in the Coaches Vs. Cancer Classic, blasted away any sludge that was inhibiting its engine to roar on all cylinders.

As for confidence, Tri-Valley should have plenty of that behind a pair of 25 point wins over Fallsburg and the stoking of its engines from its home crowd fervor.

This game’s 5:00pm start was intended to afford the Section Nine seeding committee an early evening determination as to who would go where once the tournament begins. Had Tri-Valley lost this game, the Division V title would have been owned exclusively by Tuxedo who would then have hosted games up until the finals. T-V’s win resulted in shared Division V title ownership with Tuxedo.

They share one other thing: an intense desire to deliver a knockout punch to the other that would send the loser home and propel the winner into the intense excitement of playing for it all at SUNY New Paltz on March 2.

Prior to the game Fallsburg honored its five seniors who were called forth to present flowers to their parents. They included Samantha Rivera who has been a part of the program for six years though this was her first year on varsity. “She really helped us out in practice and I’m proud of her,” noted Coach Daniel Redmond.

Next up Redmond introduced Celia Garcia, “the energy of this team who is far and away one of the best people I’ve ever met in my life.” Redmond then introduced Shanice Mack who has been playing varsity since her freshman year. “She started her first game and she has started ever since,” noted Redmond. The fourth senior introduced was Shavonne Gillard.

Redmond concluded by introducing standout guard Sheryl Pinder. “She’s a phenomenal basketball player,” Redmond noted.

The stage was now set for the tip as Fallsburg junior Kelsey Moody and Tri-Valley senior Erin Smith got set to leap skyward. Fallsburg controlled the tip. Both teams missed a bevy of shots in the early going before Erin Smith was fouled by Rivera and hit one of two from the stripe. Sabrena Smith added to the lead the Lady Bears would never relinquish. Mack got Fallsburg within one with an early bucket.

Behind Katlynn Greffrath’s deft shooting, mostly from the wing that netted eight points, as well as four each from Caroline Martin and Erin Smith to go along with three from Mareena DiMilia, Tri-Valley looked like it might ice the game early but Fallsburg battled back with four points from Nyasia Blakney and four from Mack in the period to go along with a bucket by Sheryl Pinder. T-V led 20-10 at the end of the first quarter.

The bad news for Fallsburg was its accumulation of nine team fouls in the first quarter including two for Kelsey Moody. The fouls were a product of closing late to reckon with Tri-Valley’s quick rotation of the ball. On the opposite end of the floor, the Lady Bears were unveiling a panoply of bewildering defensive looks including a 1-3-1, a box and one, a triangle and two and even a 3-2 for a short period of time.

The one oversight would be to allow Blakney to range in open space where she would soon show her dexterity in burying shots from below the key.

Sabrena Smith opened the second quarter with a bucket and Martin was soon at the line moments later to hit one of two from the stripe as the lead burgeoned to 13 at 23-10. Fallsburg marshaled four straight points to trim the lead.

T-V answered with a trio of offensive rebounds, the third of which Erin Smith put though the cylinder to reinstate the 13-point margin at 25-12. Sabrena Smith slashed though the lane unimpeded but missed a lay up. Fallsburg kept coming but Martin buried one from the wing. Fallsburg’s attempt to pack it in down low was giving the red hot T-V shooters space to operate. Martin would score five points in the frame, a modest prelude to her third quarter eruption for ten enroute to a game-high 23 on the night.

Pinder was whistled for an offensive foul much to the chagrin of the local fans. Then Sabrena Smith kissed one off the glass for the 29-14 lead. Greffrath scored off a steal to make it 31-14 and it looked like this one was just about over. But the Lady Comets would not quit. They closed the quarter on a 13-6 run to pull within ten at 37-27.

In the latter half of the second quarter Sabrena Smith was sent to the floor via a blocking foul. Moments later Pinder drove it wire to wire and scored. T-V turned it over but on their next trip they scored on a nifty dish from Greffrath to Erin Smith. From here out until the end of the stanza though, it became the Fallsburg show but not before Moody picked up her third foul.

Blakney completed a three point play, Moody blocked Martin and Pinder dropped one through to make it 33-23. A put back by Blakney cut it to eight as the home crowd was really feeling it now. Mareena DiMilia answered the challenge with a huge shot from the wing to push the margin back to the psychologically more solid ten point lead with 1:40 to go.

Tri-Valley's Erin Smith lunges for a loose ball as Fallsburg's Nyasia Harris tries to take possession of it too.

Sabrena Smith and Pinder took turns travelling with the ball as nerves were getting more frazzled. Smith travelled again amidst a moment of indecision. With 50 seconds Greffrath poked the ball away from behind and Moody picked up her fourth foul as she tried to slap the ball away from the feisty sophomore. That would prove to be very costly.

The Bears looked to make the final play of the game but the ball went out of bounds with just two seconds remaining. They never got the shot off and the teams went to the locker rooms with the score 37-27 as each had scored 17 in the stanza. It would be the Lady Comets’ best showing of the night.

Fallsburg got six from Pinder to go along with two from Moody, but the biggest factor was Blakney with nine.

Tenbus knew his team was going to have to approach how they reckoned with her differently in the second half. Tri-Valley got four apiece from Sabrena and Erin Smith, five from Martin and two from DiMilia.

Blakney got six in the third quarter but that was it for the Lady Comets who got to watch Tri-Valley run haywire as they tripled them up with 18 points to build a 55-33 lead after three quarters. One wouldn’t realize in reading that last sentence that Fallsburg had made it dramatic by cutting the lead down to eight before the Lady Bears proceeded to bury them for good.

Blakney hit the quarter-opener from out in space to cut the lead to eight at 37-29. Fallsburg picked up two quick fouls including Mack’s third. When Mack lost her footing, Martin alertly picked up the ball and raced up the floor for a lay up.

Blakney cut it back to eight as she easily slid in under the basket for two. A couple of T-V misses gave Fallsburg the ball but a key turnover which might have given them the chance to cut it to six sent T-V the other way for a lay up as Greffrath scored as the Lady Bears reinstated a 12-point margin at 43-31. Outscoring tiring Fallsburg 12-2 over the next 5:30 was all they needed to put the game away for good.

Smiles are in no short supply following the Tri-Valley win. From their vantage point they hope they'll continue to have plenty more to smile about before all is said and done.

The Bears began to deploy floor-length passes and score on run outs. Fallsburg could not keep up with the pace. The Bears continued to lunge in on the ball effecting tie ups and garnering alternating possessions.

Young Sabrena Smith would hit the deck again, first the victim of a moving pick and then as a result of an immovable Nyasia Harris. She went to the bench but the unflappable guard was soon back in the fray.

Fallsburg whittled it back down to 12 at 45-33 but then surrendered a 10-0 T-V run to end the quarter.

In the third quarter Tri-Valley got nine from Martin and two points each from Sabrena Smith, Greffrath, Erin Smith and Nicole Bradley. Pinder picked up her third foul in the frame.

The fourth quarter was far less dramatic. T-V slowed it down to milk the clock but still managed to score 15 points in the stanza as Greffrath, Martin and Erin Smith posted four points apiece. Sarah Schneyer’s free throw with two seconds remaining in the game would account for the Lady Bears’ final point.

Fallsburg authored its second best quarter of the night as they scored 12 showing their refusal to quit no matter what the circumstances. A three from Mack would be the only downtowner the entire night by either team. Blakney had four points and Pinder had three.

Blakney ended up with a game-high 23. Pinder had 11. To go along with Martin’s 23, the Lady Bears (16-1, (9-1 OCIAA) got 16 from Greffrath and 14 from Erin Smith. Fallsburg 10-8 (3-7 OCIAA) was two-for-three from the line (66.6%). Tri-Valley was eight-for-21 (38%).

Pinder felt fatigue was a factor. “They’ve got a lot of great players and a lot of fast players but we tried our hardest to beat them but we were in foul trouble.” Blakney felt there were some communication issues as well. Not surprisingly since she just recently joined the team and hasn’t had the entire season to develop the kind of chemistry that comes from playing together all year.

Blakney led Fallsburg with 12 rebounds, Moody and Pinder had 11 and Mack had seven.

Tenbus talked about the fluctuating runs that had alternately fueled his team’s big lead and then Fallsburg’s comeback bids.

“I told the girls coming into the game that this was going to be an emotional night and that they were going to make a run at one point and we’d have to withstand it. As far as what went wrong there are two ways to handle those kind of runs. You either accept it and step back up and play with more intensity or you fold and start getting nervous,” he averred “and that’s what happened to us in those sequences,” said Tenbus.

Referencing his young point guard’s play (Sabrena Smith that is), “We’re still working on this with her reminding her not to get caught penetrating too deep where she can’t pass the ball back out. They’re giving you that lane because they want you to get down in there. Be patient, look for the good shot. I thought all night we had a lot of good shot opportunities and open looks and it was a matter of being patient which we really haven’t done.”

Talking about Blakney, Tenbus noted, “We started out running a triangle and two where she wasn’t guarded. Caroline, Katlynn and Mareena were guarding areas. Blakney did a good job. Caroline closed out on one wing but we left the other wing open. That’s when she would pop to the top and got a lot of open looks right at the foul line.”

Tenbus went on to say, “Because of their size we defend inside to out. I’ll give up a jumper any time as opposed to lay ups in here. As much as she scored a lot there and it was an adjustment, it did play into our game plan as to what we wanted. Defensively we got after it tonight. That was our goal,” said Tenbus who went on to enumerate the defensive postures deployed and the results that followed.

Tenbus lauded the play of Caroline Martin, “Huge! I’ve been stressing to her that if you catch in rhythm, let it fly. If you’re off balance, pass it out and it will come back and you’ll get a better look,” he noted. “She stepped up and for a freshman that’s big. This year she’s been a little inconsistent. She’s had games where she’s made a lot of mistakes and other games where she’s been our best player.”

Tenbus credited Erin Smith’s smart play by staying out of foul trouble. “We play smart defense but hard defense. This win was huge. Now we’ll have home games down the road and we’ll have our home crowd encouraging us to play well.”

Tenbus thought his team might be set for a rematch with Pine Plains but the seedings will send Fallsburg into the Bears’ den instead. “If we play like we did tonight, we’ll be tough to beat.”

Redmond was clearly disappointed. “We knew the two teams we would have to play against in Tuxedo and Tri-Valley will press you 90 feet of the court. The thing with Tri-Valley is their speed and overall they just outran us and my pet peeve today were untimely turnovers. We had chances to get the lead down to six or four, we turned the ball over with a terrible, terrible turnover.

That’s really frustrating as a coach because we work on those specific things in practice knowing what they’re going to do. We played two tough games. Today I really felt like we could take advantage of our size inside,” he noted.

That said, and despite Blakney’s 23, “If we can’t get the ball across the half court line, we can’t get it into the post and that was our biggest problem because we had great position in the post. Foul trouble was also a problem like it was last night against Tuxedo. “We’re a different team when I don’t have my starting five in there,” he averred.

Without a strong bench, Fallsburg needs to ride that group all game. Redmond thought his team might be headed to Tuxedo but the Tornadoes drew Rhinebeck instead so it’s back to Grahamsville to try and marshal the biggest upset of the tournament.

Redmond continues to extol his players, many of whom have been with him for four years for their relentless drive and will to win. “Four years ago if we lost a game like this I’d go in that locker room and kids would be laughing. Now their heads are down, they’re crying and taking it personally. That shows maturity and growth.”

You can be sure that Fallsburg will bring every last bit of what its got to the floor on Saturday night. The last thing they want is for their season to end. As for Tri-Valley, a team that has set its sights from the time it exited that roundhouse, it’s been about keeping that light green and racing up the track to that glorious station to defend what they feel is rightfully theirs.

You’ve got to love it. Can’t wait to write the next chapter.

For an album of photos, visit www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com

Small Wonders

What Tri-Valley Girls Lack In Size They Make Up For In Speed, Unity of Purpose, Grit and Stifling Defense; Post Jakki Pugh Era Begins With Undefeated Tear As Lady Bears Hammer Fallsburg To Garner Fourth Straight League Win And Sixth Overall

Tri-Valley 64, Fallsburg 39

By RICHARD A. ROSS

rross@sportsinsightsny.com

Dawn of a new era in Tri-Valley basketball as the Lady Bears victimize yet another league rival to remain unbeaten (clockwise) Katelynn Greffrath squares up just inside the arc to swish in two of her ten points on the night. Freshman Caroline Martin asserts herself with a team-high 16 points and great defense. Fallsburg senior standout Sheryl Pinder looks to drive on Sabrena Smith. Pinder led her team with 16 points. Fellow Lady Comet Shanice Mack grabs a rebound and looks to turn upcourt. The Tri-Valley girls sport their 2012 practice shirts that state their guiding precept: "We're Not Just Defending A Chamipnship. We're Pursuing Another." Fallsburg's Kelsey Moody pulled down 21 rebounds. Here she is fouled trying to put one of them back in. Moody had 13 points in the game.

GRAHAMSVILLE, NY—“Good things come in small packages,” might well be one of many descriptions of the 2012 version of the Tri-Valley Lady Bears. For indeed height is not one of their assets.

While height often figures prominently in a team’s ability to rebound the basketball, it is only one dimension of measure. It is already quite apparent that this year’s team has both the defensive width to cover teams across the full span of the floor and the depth of talent to score enough to win armed with a bevy of able shooters who share the ball.

Add the dimensions of heart, cohesiveness and a tireless work ethic, stir vigorously with extremely demanding practice sessions and what emerges is a new winning formula with its own intoxicating and unique allure.

For Tri-Valley's Mareena DiMilia, moving to play point guard means new challenges but the gritty, tough-minded athlete brings a competitive fire to the mix that is second to none. When she's not breaking the school shot put record with her uncanny strength, she's muscling her way under the boards boxing out and getting rebounds from girls that dwarf her in size.

So far it’s proving to be a powerful elixir and the Lady Bears are feeling its effects, not just in terms of their wins, but by virtue of the chemistry that has led to their early season success.

As freshman Caroline Martin notes, “I love this team like a family and when I was gone I missed them a lot.”

(Martin was briefly in Monticello, but glad to be back).

“I love playing with these girls. We’re all so close. It feels really great to be playing with this team and my coach. This is a total team. We’re all in this together. That’s how it is,” she noted, anxious to hurry off and join her teammates for the post-game confab.

Martin who came up from J.V. for sectionals last year to give Coach John Tenbus an extra edge defensively, is symbolic of the change from last year to this.

On this night against rival Fallsburg she would lead her team with 16 points, while the Lady Bears would get 15 from Sabrena Smith and 10 from Katelynn Greffrath. Can you say balance?

Winning a Section Nine title last year was an amazing experience for Tenbus and his team. Without question that would not have taken place without the immeasurable contribution of Jakki Pugh who has now taken her heart, drive and uncanny basketball skills to the Post University Eagles of the Central Athletic Collegiate Conference.

For Pugh who still burns with “The Eternal Flame,” and her beloved team whom she left to carry on without her, this is a new era, one that looks bright indeed for Pugh who leaves in her wake an historic legacy at Tri-Valley and in Section Nine.

It’s new ground too for the the young Lady Bears who have quickly closed ranks to focus on a new agenda, namely winning another title.

With Pugh’s tearful exit near the end of the 64-40 Class C Regional Semifinals after going toe-to-toe with Fordham-bound Liz Miller, most onlookers felt they were witnessing the end of not just a remarkable season, but also an era.

After all, that season and the one before it had produced a 34-6 record and two consecutive trips to the Section Nine finals, with the second one under Tenbus’ first watch proving victorious.

But if this season’s early indications are what they appear to be, this is SO NOT OVER.

A mid-court kerfuffle unfolds as Tri-Valley's Keira McHugh and Nicole Bradley engage in a tug of war with Fallsburg's Kelsey Moody over a loose ball. Feisty and aggressive, Tri-Valley brings fervor to its game in all of its aspects.

As their warm up shirts so aptly decry, “We’re Not Defending A Championship, We’re Pursuing Another.”

With Pugh’s departure from Tri-Valley, many rival schools including Fallsburg licked their chops figuring the Bears were a one and done phenomena.

But while Pugh who ended her illustrious career with 1,182 points was responsible for approximately 22 points per game on the 2011 Lady Bears who averaged about 55 per night, her departure has resulted in a revamped Tri-Valley team which is arguably more balanced and cohesive than last year’s juggernaut.

With this past week’s stunning 40-32 road win over the Tuxedo Lady Tornadoes which completed the victorious Orange County trifecta of beating Chester and Seward, the Lady Bears brought their 5-0, 3-0 mark to their home court to take on neighboring Fallsburg, a team rife with experience, talent, size and hunger.

Spending quite a bit of time at Fallsburg of late, I sensed a great deal of optimism and confidence from Coach Daniel Redmond and his players that with Pugh gone, this would be their time to overtake their neighbors. In Sheryl Pinder, Fallsburg has one of the premiere small school players in Section Nine and with bigs Kelsey Moody and Shanice Mack in the paint, a powerful interior presence that Fallsburg figured would give them the edge.

While they hoped to leave Tri-Valley for dead by night’s end, this Friday the 13^thclash showed the Bears to be like Jason of the storied horror film, unfathomably immortal.

Fallsburg’s nightmare began with Tri-Valley’s 19-7 first quarter dominance, which without a late trey by Shanice Mack would have been a 15-point bulge instead of 12. Here’s how that first quarter shook out.

In competitive basketball, there are few uncontested shots. Here Fallsburg's Shanice Mack looks to put the ball up and she has plenty of company while she's doing so. Mack is potentially a prolific scorer but she was limited to a sparse five points in this game. T-V held Fallsburg to single digits for three of the four quarters.

Tri-Valley senior Erin Smith controlled the tip against Fallsburg tall tree Kelsey Moody. A pair of early T-V turnovers were part of an inauspicious start as were a spate of misses of shots and put backs.

Fallsburg had its turnover woes and missed chances as well as the teams failed to score until Mareena DiMilia put back an offensive rebound at 5:49.

Moody hit one of two free throws to put the Lady Comets on the board and a trey by Garcia gave Fallsburg a 4-2 lead.

The celebration of such would be short-lived indeed. Erin Smith tied the game and her free throw gave the Lady Bears the lead they would never relinquish at 4:46. A steal and a bucket by Martin made it 7-4.

Put backs by DiMilia and Martin poured it on as the Lady Bears continued to force turnovers by Fallsburg which was having its pocket picked often from behind and its passes snared triggering transition buckets.

Sabrena Smith canned one and then picked off the ball from behind. It was not the last time the Lady Comets would cough it up in the opening stanza. DiMilia scored her sixth point of the frame whiie Fallsburg continued to shoot blanks. Greffrath hit one with time expiring on the shot clock and the hit another for the 19-4 lead.

When the dust had settled after the opening period, DiMIlia had six, Martin and Greffrath had four apiece, Sabrena had two and Erin Smith had three.

The voracious Lady Bears would soon use a 14-9 second quarter to widen their lead to 33-16 by halftime. Martin opened the show with a nifty shot. Fallsburg threw away its inbounds pass and Greffrath quickly made them pay to make it 23-7. Moody hit one of two from the stripe. By night’s end the Lady Comets would be nine-for13 for an admirable 69% from the stripe but it was nowhere near enough to keep them in the game.

A very familiar sight: Sabrena Smith converts a steal into a layup. The diminutive dynamo scored 15 points in this outing.

Moody would post a game-high 21 rebounds on the night and contribute 13 points but she and Pinder who had a team-high 16 would account for nearly 75 percent of Fallsburg’s scoring.

Keira McHugh, another 2011 late season JV Sectional call up scored two from the corner. She’d net six on the night in what Tenbus described as her best effort to date. Greffrath added a bucket from the corner, a place she’s quite lethal from to make it 27-8. Moody made it 27-10. She accounted for seven of Fallsburg’s nine points in the stanza.

Tri-Valley’s 14 points in the second quarter came via four from Sabrena Smith,Greffrath and McHugh to go along with a bucket from Martin.

Tri-Valley’s imposing defense held Fallsburg to its third straight single digit quarter as the Lady Comets could only manage eight points in the third period. Pinder had six of those including one of her three treys on the night. Moody had two points from the line.

Tri-Valley doubled up Fallsburg with 16 in the period, once again showing its diverse arsenal led by six from Martin with a bucket apiece from Sabrena Smith, Greffrath who would soon exit the game for the rest of the night after banging her wrist, Amanda TerBush, Nicole Bradley and Maria TerBush.

By night’s end nine of the 11 Lady Bears had scored. Tri-Valley led 49-24 after three quarters. At this juncture citing details of how points were scored seems moot. Suffice it to say that the Lady Comets had their best showing in the fourth quarter as they mounted a 15-point outburst which equaled that put forth by the Lady Bears including their subs.

Two treys from Pinder were part of her eight point fourth quarter. Moody added three points and Mack netted two from the line.

Sabrena Smith used steals and lay ups to author her seven points in the final stanza. Martin added four. She scored in all four quarters on the night for her team-high 16 point output. McHugh and Amanda Terbush iced the cake with a bucket apiece.

Including last year's historic 18-2 run that included a Section NIne title in his first year, Tri-Valley coach John Tenbus has overseen his team to a 24-2 mark thus far. His girls revere him despite the fact that he works them to death. Time will tell whether he can marshal this year's team back to the mountaintop, but from early indications, things are heading in the right direction.

Tri-Valley 6-0 (4-0 OCIAA) was four-for-six from the line (66.6%). Fallsburg fell to 6-4 (1-3 OCIAA) with the loss.

Veteran DiMilia talked about this year’s squad in the post-Pugh era. “We are an extremely balanced team. We don’t have a lot of height but we do have strong girls who will get the rebounds. We are quick. We work very hard in practice and that helps us get a lot faster.”

Redmond said he was proud of how his team played to the last minute. “They all went in there to contribute what they can as we were up against a good team. Honestly Tri-Valley surprised me with how good they are,” he admitted. “Especially with how many weapons they’ve got. You’d figure that after losing a star like Jakki Pugh they’d be having a down year. They might even be better than last year. They seemed very balanced across the board. I was very impressed with them. They really outplayed us tonight but like I said, I’m proud of the way my girls stayed in there.”

Redmond touted the work of Moody on the boards and Shanice Mack’s ability to handle the ball which led to Fallsburg beating Tri-Valley’s press at times. I love my team to death,” he added also giving props to guard Celia Garcia and of course Pinder.

The good news for Fallsburg is that now they’ve got a better idea of what they’re contending with when they get Tri-Valley on their floor later this season. I’m seeing Tuxedo, I’ve already seen Chester. Eldred blindsided us in the Chester tourney but we’re anxious to see them again. Celia wasn’t in that game,” he noted.

“It wasn’t the best of our games tonight, but hopefully we’ll improve from here.”

Tenbus talked about the past, present and future:

“That win against Tuxedo the other night was big. Our girls know that Tuxedo is the big name and that they’re always competitive. Coach Powers does a great job setting up the program down there. We knew it was going to be a tough one.

But we have it in our mind that if we want to be one of the elite teams in the league we have to be able to beat the good ones. It was a battle and we played well and were able to pull out the win.”

Tenbus commented on Martin’s plays. “She’s growing. She’s a freshman and you live with the mistakes. She’s a little hesitant at times (not on this night) but she’s coming along.”

Speaking about his team’s mission to play tough defense, a hallmark of Tri-Valley basketball success, Tenbus noted, “You look down the scores and you see numbers in the 30’s. We have to exert a lot of pressure on defense because there are going to be nights when we don’t score a lot and we have to shut other teams down. That’s always a focus for us in practice,” he noted.

Tenbus felt it wise to keep Greffrath out for the rest of the game following her fall. “She’s a tough kid and a great outside shooter. You can’t leave that girl alone. We try to get penetration and the kick out.”

“We’re one of the smallest teams in the league but we battle. Boxing out is always a mainstay of our practice. It takes Mareena and Erin working very hard to try and compete. We try to keep the rebounding close and focus on other areas we have more control over. We’re scrappy. We’ve got to get points when we can. I don’t have the one dominant scorer. There’s no egos. Any win is a good win,” he added.

While the girls were aware that they scored approximately 33 points per game in addition to Pugh, Tenbus had to make them aware that they got a lot of those points because defenders were concentrating on her. “So now it’s an adjustment trying to score with defenders right on us.

Mareena has stepped up. She’s now the point guard and it’s a learning process in which there will be mistakes.

We have to be in top condition. We go hard in practice. Injuries happen. They all know they have to be ready to go in at any time and keep up the pace with everyone else.”

Tri-Valley will play at Livingston Manor and then host Roscoe. Games with Manor last year were the toughest tests of the regular season. “Kevin (Clifford) does a great job and they’re always tough. I think it will be close,” said Tenbus.

Tri-Valley has seen all of its league opponents except Eldred who they will play twice in the final week of the season. Chester will return to Tri-Valley on January 23^rd. “They’re a great team. They have height. Mardelle Jean is playing really well,” he noted. “It’s going to be a battle.

Looking far down the road Tenbus knows that Coleman is waiting. The 2011 Class D champs were pushed up to Class C by Section Nine. Coleman is the odds-on favorite to be the number one seed going in and Tenbus has told his team that if they want to vie against Coleman they’ll have to be the two seed. That means winning out in Division V.

That’s a long way off as the Lady Bears have only traversed the first third of their regular season sojourn. But at this crossroads, Tenbus’s small wonders are wondrous to say the least.

Count on this writer/photographer to see much more of Class C Lady Basketball in the coming weeks. Harried and busy as I am, “Home is where the heart is,” and for me, that means courtside on the cutting edge of great hardwood encounters.

More to come.

For an album of photos, visit www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com

Last year’s momentous 18-2 run that reached its zenith with the 40-27 Section Nine Championship win over Millbrook was a storybook season.

For first year Coach John Tenbus, to have his team “Reach the Unreachable Star,” was a dream come true as it was for his standout senior Jakki Pugh, whose “Eternal Flame,” provided the heat and the light to guide her young teammates to the historic

“C” Change

Fallsburg Holds Sway Over New Array Of Lady Spartans In First League Match Up Of the New Year; Seward Hurt By Five Veteran Opt-Out As Former State Contender Goes To War Without Fire-Tested Platoon

Fallsburg 46, S.S. Seward 37

By RICHARD A. ROSS

rross@sportsinsightsny.com

Scenes from Fallsburg's league victory over S.S. Seward (clockwise): Fallsburg's Celia Garcia opens the scoring with a three-pointer. She ended up with 11 points on the night. Seward Coach Joe DiMattina draws up a scheme for an offensive set. Fallsburg's Shanice Mack scores two of her game-high 13 points on the night. Pressure defense by Fallsburg's Celia Garcia and Shanice Mack bottle up Seward's Brittany Siezcek. Fallsburg Coach Daniel Redmond uses a time out to stress consistency. Seward junior Julie Allen advances the ball up the floor as Fallsburg's Sheryl Pinder eyes her closely.

FALLSBURG, NY- “The Times They Are A-Changing,” the title of a sixties anthem by Bob Dylan seems timelessly relevant nowadays in so many respects. 2011 was marked by uprisings and protests aimed at seeking greater democracy and justice. Time Magazine selected “Protester” as the Man of the year. Change has become the byword of our times.

Sports mirrors life as I’ve often noted and as such, change is as inevitable in the hierarchy of athletics as it is in other aspects of human enterprise. “The first one now will later be last,” sang Dylan, predicting an inversion of the political and social paradigm. Those words and their opposite implication that those who once were at the bottom would soar to new heights, reflect the kind of shift we seem to see all around us.

When it comes to the Lady Spartans of S.S. Seward, the idea of change now applies to basketball, though remarkably, not to soccer.

Ever the threat to drive to the rim or square up to shoot the long ball, Fallsburg's Sheryl Pinder is much on the mind of opposing coaches. On nights when Fallsburg gets balanced scoring from other players, the Lady Comets are dangerous to say the least.

Under the watch of Coach Joe DiMattina, Seward has had an incredible amount of success in both sports. Selected by The Times Herald-Record as Coach of the Year in both girls soccer and basketball in 2006 and 2007, DiMattina has inspired an unfathomable run by the Lady Spartans in soccer. This past fall he steered his team to its 11^th straight Section Nine title, eight of those coming since his arrival from Tuxedo in 2004.

Two state soccer championships and a bevy of trips to the final four have defined one of the most salient small school records of success in NYSPHSAA history.

And for a few seasons, success on the hardwood was impressive too. The Lady Spartans were Section Nine Class C champs in 2004-05. In 2006-07 they won Section Nine again and lost in the state final to Hammond 52-51.In 2007-08 they lost in the quarterfinals to Haldane. Small schools are particularly vulnerable to the ebb and flow of talent, but Seward has proven itself to be a rare exception to that precept in other sports including boys soccer, boys basketball and more recently in cross-country and track.

Looking forward to this season, DiMattina fully expected a veteran team to be taking the floor in the daunting Class C wars that now include rival Tuxedo down from Class B, as well as Tri-Valley, Fallsburg and Chester. But instead he discovered that five players he expected to be a part of this year’s campaign found various reasons to not come out. The result was obvious in the Lady Spartan’s first league encounter of the year, a January 3 tilt with the host Lady Comets of Fallsburg, a team rife with experience and talent that resulted in the 46-37 Fallsburg victory.

Coach Daniel Redmond’s strategy was to press Seward and to control the offensive and defensive glass. Most importantly, Redmond knew that his team needed a balanced attack, not a one-person show. By night’s end the Lady Comets would have a trio of players in double figures as Shanice Mack would lead all scorers with 13 points, followed by 11 each from Kelsey Moody and Celia Garcia.

Garcia opened the scoring with a swishing three less than a minute into the game. In that opening minute each team had turned the ball over. Seward would suffer from far more of these exchanges than Fallsburg by night’s end.

Seward's Kelsey O'Dell looks to pass the ball as she is closely guarded by Fallsburg's Kelsey Moody.

Mack’s turnaround jumper and a pair of free throws from Sheryl Pinder led to a 7-0 Fallsburg lead. Seward shots weren’t dropping. Mack had a put back on the weak side to make it 9-0. The Comets led 13-4 at the end of the first quarter as Moody scored four. Seward got its first basket at 1:31 of the first quarter as Maggie Paras finally ended the drought. Veteran Lindsey Dunn provided the other bucket for the Lady Spartans.

DiMattina consistenly drew up the strategy for the offensive sets but it took the Lady Spartans quite some time to execute what he called for. When they did, it worked. The question he posited was would they continue to do so on subsequent trips. As the game moved along there was certainly an improvement over the miasma of the first half.

The Lady Comets led 22-12 at the half, as their second quarter production diminished. They outscored Seward 9-8 in the second stanza. Seward got six of its eight points from Kelsey O’Dell but foul trouble would consign her to miss valuable minutes in the second half. Junior sparkplug Julie Allen provide the other two points in the quarter.

She looked impressive with her hustle and her ability to distribute the ball from the point.

Fallsburg’s second quarter output came via six points from Mack, two from Nyasia Harris and a free throw from Garcia.

Fallsburg erupted for 16 points in the third quarter led by seven from Moody to go along with a trey from Samantha Rivera, a bucket from Pinder and three free throws from Garcia who ended up shooting six-for-nine from the stripe. The Lady Comets were 12-for-24 (50%) by night’s end from the line.

A big edge in rebounding by bigs Moody and Mack helped Fallsburg to dominate the inside game and score many points in the paint.

Seward got five of its nine third quarter points from Brittany Siezcek. Allen and Amanda Tantillo scored a bucket apiece in the period.

Fallsburg's Kali Seastrand soars above the crowd. The Lady Comets will bring their spirit and verve to the Monticello Cheerleading Competition on January 7.

Seward saved the best for last as it amassed 16 points in the final frame to double up Fallsburg’s eight in the stanza. Seven of Seward’s points came from Dunn who had swished a three. She ended up with nine to lead the Lady Comets on the night. Allen added four, Sieczek had a trey and Katie Moos added a bucket to bring the orange total to 37 on the night, the most points they’ve scored in their 3-3 season to date. They are 0-1 in Division V.

Four of Fallsburg’s final eight points came from Garcia. Mack and Moody had a bucket apiece in the final frame. Fallsburg is now 4-3 (1-2 OCIAA). Fallsburg lost to Chester and Eldred in prior league games.

DiMattina viewed this as his team’s best game to date. “We’ve been having a slow start because of losing those girls who didn’t come out.” He praised the play of Allen at the point guard who has had to adjust to stepping into that position, a different role from the one she played a year ago.

“It’s just a new team. It takes getting to know each other a little bit more, knowing where we fit in and knowing our role,” said DiMattina. “We know it’s going to be rough in Class C this year but I’m hoping that we play a little bit more aggressively.

It was positive that we were able to score when Lindsey (Dunn) was on the bench. She missed a third of the game.

Redmond knows his work over the past four years is paying off. “I thought our defense did well in spurts. We pressed them at times though we’ve had to change things up in that regard due to the season-ending injury of Paige Seletsky who tore her ACL in Fallsburg’s recent win over Livingston Manor.

“That’s a huge loss in terms of her hustle points and her defense. We’ll have to do the best without her. We brought in Samantha Rivera who played JV last year. She’s not scared to shoot the ball. Kelsey and Shanice have been playing well together. Redmond reiterated the need for balanced scoring when the load doesn’t have to fall solely on Sheryl Pinder.

Redmond knows his team will be tested against the other league opponents besides Chester and Eldred. They play Tuxedo and Chester in back-to-back home games on January 17-18. “We ready for the challenge and we play so much better on our court. I was able to get a lot of subs in tonight.”

Fallsburg travels to play Family School on January 5 and then on to Roscoe on January 9 before heading to Tri-Valley on January 13. The Lady Spartans host Tri-Valley on January 5, travel to Eldred on January 9 and then host Tuxedo on January 13.

Visit www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com for an album of photos.

Play It Forward

Wallenpaupack Reclaims Hawley Rotary Title As Monticello Comes Up Short In Attempted Three-Peat Bid; Fallsburg Boys Win Hambletonian Classic Championship Vs. Sullivan West While Lady Comets Top Lady Westies In Consolation Match Up As All Aforementioned Teams Look To Parlay Tourney Experience Towards Improvement For The Grueling Challenges To Come

14^th Annual Hawley Tip Off Classic Championship Game: Wallenpaupack 47, Monticello 35

Boys Hambletonian Classic Championships: Fallsburg 45, Sullivan West 29

Girls Hambletonian Classic Consolation Game: Fallsburg 40, Sullivan West 23

By RICHARD A. ROSS

rross@sportsinsightsny.com

Scenes from the 14th Annual Hawley Tip-Off tourney (Clockwise) Monticello's Rob Riley scores the first points of the game. Monticello's Anthony Gray electrifies the crowd with this athletic lay up and drew the foul to make it a three-point play. Monticello's Naquan Holman rises up for a shot and is closely defended. Tournament MVP Jake Brown had 24 points in this game and 26 in the first one against Mountain View. The Buckhorns pose with their trophy which was in Monticello's possession for the past two years. Jake Brown shoots over Anthony Gray. The trophy is back at the Big Lake.

WALLENPAUPACK PA AND CHESTER, NY—“The past is history, the future is a mystery but today is a gift, that ‘s why we call it the present,” goes the adage which reminds us that our lives are comprised of three separate domains: what was, what will be and what is.

For basketball teams reckoning with the here and now challenges of the game at-hand, the degree to which they execute their game plan, work together cohesively and deal with the inevitable adversity that comes within the context of a game is all that can be controlled.

That said, what went before, particularly when teams have a history with one another as well as a consciousness of their own prior successes and the lack thereof, the imprint of what came before lurks strongly below the surface. That is particularly true for coaches and the veteran players returning to the fray from past seasons.

Teams that won before want to do so again, while those that came up short in their quests are motivated to turn the tide in their favor.

To put it succinctly, when that tip goes up as it did in this year’s 14^th Annual Hawley Tip Off Classic Tournament between cross-river rivals Wallenpaupack and Monticello, the present is all that matters. Gone now was Monticello’s senior-laden team that edged out Wallenpaupack 41-40 for its second straight title a year ago and its fifth straight victory on the Buckhorns’ home court.

For Monticello Coach Chris Russo, that night which authored the story on this website entitled “In a New York Minute” http://74.220.215.54/~sportsi2/in-a-new-york-minute/, was a memorable milestone in a remarkable season. By comparison for Wallenpaupack Coach Rich McGinnis, it was a lost opportunity to close out a game he felt his team should have won and an augur for a struggling 5-18 season in the daunting world of Quad A Pennsylvania basketball.

But no matter what the outcome of the past or present encounters, basketball teams are always forward-looking as they know that no matter what has transpired, it’s what they do tomorrow, next week and the weeks that follow that will determine their fate and what kind of legacy they’ll leave for next year’s team to follow.

To wit, the Buckhorns put last year’s loss and the 2009 one as well in the rearview mirror and looked to parlay their easy 45-23 semifinal victory over Mountain View into the real goal of bringing home the trophy and title they dearly sought.

Monticello returned two veterans to the fray in junior Rob Riley and senior Anthony Gray. Both had played in last year’s tussell but they’d have to approach this year’s quest for the three-peat without the likes of Kenny Sanders Jr, Jesse Kapito, Austin Billig, Billy Cargill and Juan Peña. With as many sophomores on the team as seniors who at present lack the kind of experience only gained from the crucible of big game pressure, the Montie veterans hoped they could carry the team.

To be successful against Wallenpaupack, the Monties would not only have to deal with their size, quickness and cohesive play, but most importantly with standout junior guard Jake Brown who had scored 26 of the Buckhorns’ 45 against Mountain View. Gray was confident that his defensive verve would shut down the AAU-schooled guard. Gray’s messianic approach may have been a bit too enthusiastic as it netted him a trio of first half fouls and consigned him to the bench while Brown continued his showmanship on his way to a game-high 24 points.

Life is about the learning. As legendary UCLA Coach John Wooden noted, “It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.” There would be lessons aplenty for both teams to carry forward from this tournament; lessons that would resonate with meaning long after the memory of this emotionally charged night faded into the realm of what was from the resonating intensity of what is.

In last year’s piece I chose to write a blow-by-blow description of the action, something I eschew this time out for two reasons: First, this game was not the nail-biter of a year ago. Aside from its 10-9 first quarter lead, Monticello trailed the rest of the way sometimes closing the gap to two or three but never able to get the critical stops it needed or to make its offensive trips up the floor consistently profitable.

There were too many one and done shots, too many misses and too much deviance from the kind of efficient basketball that had seen the Monties overcome early lack of focus to devastate Western Wayne 61-39 in the semifinal clash the night before.

Wallenpaupack was an entirely different animal and the Monties were going to need their ‘A’ game to keep pace with what would amount to a Class AA school were they based on the New York side of the river.

Wallenpaupack’s William McLaughlin controlled the opening tip against Riley but the Buckhorns failed to convert. That honor became Riley’s as he pulled up for an early jumper. Brown would soon tie it up with a put back of his first attempt. A blocked shot by Monticello junior Naquan by McLaughlin sent an early message about the rigors of shooting in the paint.

Brown would score seven of his team’s nine in the opening stanza with the other two coming from junior Nick Tereschak. The Monties got four from junior Latique Liles including a trey, as well as a pair of points from Gray and Riley to marshal the 10-9 lead.

Early foul trouble would force the Monties out of their intended array as Gray picked up his second and then third foul in the ensuing second quarter. Brown also had two fouls by the end of the second quarter.

Wallenpaupack began the second quarter with a pair of steals, one by Brown and the other by junior Alex Moit. The latter gave the Buckhorns an 11-10 lead. They’d never trail again. They outscored Monticello 10-6 in the second quarter to take a 19-16 lead into halftime. Brown had four as did Tereschak to go along with a bucket from McLaughlin. The Monties had gotten within one at 13-12 but Brown had a pair of pull up jumpers to push the margin to 17-12.

Monticello got four of its six from senior co-captain Ros Djombalaj including the last points scored in the period.

Russo implored his team to return to what they do best: play aggressive defense and to keep that intensity past the first rotation of the basketball. But Wallenpaupack was patient using the lack of a shot clock to rotate the ball and to often find easy backdoor penetration or points in the paint. Late rotation by the Monties put the Buckhorns on the free throw line.

Both teams had their most productive output in the third quarter as the Monties got 15, while Wallenpaupack scored 19. The Buckhorns had nine free-throw attempts in the quarter and they made seven of them on their way to an 11/17 night from the line for a 64.7% success rate.

The key to Wallenpaupack’s success in the frame was its distribution of the basketball as evidenced by the scoring balance. Brown had six points, Tereschak had five, Moit had four as did Antony Bouselli.

Monticello answered with four from Gray, Holman and Ben Kapito, two from Riley and one from Djombalaj. Wallenpaupack led 38-31 heading into the final frame wherein they outscored the Monties 9-4 to ice the 47-35 win. Brown was selected as Tounament MVP. He had 24 points in this outing netting him 50 for the tournament. Rob Riley was selected to the All-Tournament team along with Adam Gillis from Western Wayne, Joel Madas from Mountain View, as well as Moit and Tereschak from Wallenpaupack.

Buckhorns’ coach Rich McGinnis was visibly pleased with his team’s accomplishment. “Monticello is very quick. They can be very exciting in the open court when they get the ball in transition. We knew that coming in. I give credit to my seniors, the guys who have been here before and made it an objective to bring this trophy back to the big lake. I give them credit for the poise that they showed,” he noted.

McGinnis talked about Brown. “Jake is a special player. He’s phenomenal. But the kids have to realize that he’s not a one-man show and that we’re going to need other kids to fill certain roles. Some kids emerged in this tournament including sophomore Anthony Bouselli. He got rebounds, put backs and defended.

Everybody is starting to settle into their roles and that’s what the pre-season is about.

Asked about his expectations for the year, McGinnis noted. “We play in a very tough league but my hope is that each night these kids come out and find a way to compete. I think if we keep our poise good things will happen. Team chemistry is important and I’m not worried about that,” he averred.

McGinnis noted that his 5-18 team of a year ago struggled against the daunting competition. We’re hoping to learn from our experiences last year, compete and stay in games. Wallenpaupack is on the low end of the quad-A school. They have just over 500 boys from grades 9-12 and less than 500 girls. “We’re competing against schools that have upwards of a thousand boys or even 1200 once you get into the larger districts. Scranton won the league and district last year. “They’re absolutely electric. But we’re going to play some schools that are similar to us like Delaware Valley, North Pocono and Honesdale. It should be exciting,” he noted.

Russo noted “Our early foul trouble hurt us. What we said to the guys was we didn’t respond to the runs that they made at us and when the game got sloppy and physical we kind of took a step back. That’w what ‘s disappointing that we didn’t put that fight in. We got into too much one on one and people got away from what we had practiced doing,” he offered.

“This is a young team. We have as many sophomores as we have seniors and one of our seniors never played before. We have to adjust and go back and re-teach to make sure guys are in the right spot because when they’re not that’s when we get in trouble. It was disappointing because we didn’t’ execute or defend the way we should.”

Russo went on to say, “We did get a bit too concerned about things which are outside of our control. We wrote that on the board at halftime. We were focusing on some of those things he noted. In the locker room after the game Gray took a lot of the responsibility on his own shoulders for losing his focus and promised the team that things would be different from here on out.

“That’s a sign of maturity,” noted Russo who reminded the team that it was a collective onus, not just on one person.

Needless to say the entire conversation with Russo and the demeanor of the team was a far cry from the night before when the Monties overcame some early defensive lapses to overwhelm Western Wayne 61-39 after trailing 16-15 at the end of the first quarter. Outscoring the Wildcats 32-20 in the second quarter was a product of great defense and running effective offensive sets. Playing at that level, Monticello looks highly competitive. Riley had 15 points in that win while Gray had 13. Djobalaj chipped in 12. That win was Monticello’s sixth consecutive victory on the Buckhorn’s floor. The first one had come while Russo was still an assistant to Dick O’Neill three years ago.

Russo effusively praised the hospitality extended by Wallenpaupack. “They treat us great here,” he noted.

Monticello (1-1) host Sullivan West (1-2) which is coming off of its 45-29 championship game loss to Fallsburg in the Hambletonian Classic tourney in Chester.

Comets Defeat Sullivan West In Hambletonian Classic Final

Scenes from Fallsburg's Hambletonian Classic Tournament championship over Sullivan West (clockwise) Rakkir Watson scores two in the early going. Sullivan West's Sawyer Erlwein defends as Fallsburg's Jim Bertholf looks to pass. Erlwein was selected to the All-Tournament team. Suliivan West's John Masten goes up for two. All-Tourney team member Braiden DeGraw and tournament MVP Michael Robinson. Sullivan West gathers in a huddle in the pregame. Sullivan West's Matt Cardona goes up to score. He led the Bulldogs with seven points. Fallsburg Comets pose with tournament trophy and plaques.

For the second time this season Class B Sullivan West faced off against Class C Fallsburg, this time in the championship game of the Chester Hambletonian Classic Tournament. Fallsburg defeated Chester while Sullivan West had easily downed Chapel Field in the prior weekend’s opening round tilt. Fallsburg had come from behind in their prior fray with the Westies at the Walton Tournament for the 61-57 victory.

This time out it was far less competitive. Fallsburg scored the first four points as Rakkir Watson and Michael Robinson connected but Sullivan West put on a 9-0 run with four points from John Masten, three from Andrew Parsons and two from Matt Cordona. Watson’s three pointer at the buzzer allowed the Comets to come within two at 9-7.

From then on Fallsburg blanked Sulllivan West entirely in the second quarter while scoring 13 of

their own for the 20-9 halftime lead. Robinson had seven in the stanza, while Watson, Jarrett Madison and Jimmy Bertholf had a bucket apiece. That said, Fallsburg’s shooting was off as well as they were only 9/30 from the floor in the first half and had accrued a trio of offensive fouls.

Sullivan West (1-3) had major shooting issues as the third quarter progressed as they managed only eight points in the third quarter to Fallsburg’s 13. The Comets led 33-17 after three quarters. Each team scored 12 in the final frame. Robinson ended up with 16 and was named the Tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Braiden DeGraw was quiet with seven points in this game but his prior game onslaught of 27 points enabled him to be selected to the All-Tournament team along with Sullivan West’s Sawyer Erlwein who had five points in this outing. Erlwein played well defensively and stood in to take a couple of charges.

The Bulldogs travel to Monticello on December 15 to take on the Monties in “The Pit.”

Fallsburg coach Pete Dworetsky felt his team played well defensively. “When we played up at Walton we made some bad decisions and mistakes but today to give up only nine points in a half is impressive. We didn’t give up a basket in the second quarter. We did miss a lot of shots. Shots that were falling the other night in close didn’t go in. Basketball is like that.”

Fallsburg is off for the next 11 days before they play Livingston Manor. “They’re a tough team and they’re well-coached. Fallsburg’s one-point loss to Chester in the last game of the regular season last year cost them a share of the Division V championship. They beat Seward at home but lost to them in Florida and again in the sectionals. The Comets bring their entire team back this year and look to make a serious run in Class C.

Sullivan West first-year coach Bruce Nober had this to say about his team’s subdued performance. “We just couldn’t put the ball in the basket today. We shot terribly from the foul line too (2/9=22%). Nober noted that Fallsburg outrebounded his team.

We’ve just got to compete. We competed the first quarter today and then we didn’t compete the rest o the game.” Nober noted that it’s been a few years since Sullivan West has won (last year they won just one game) and we’ve got to get over the hump.” Reflecting on this game, Nober noted “if you hold a team to 45 points you should be able to win.”

Lady Comets Garner Consolation Game Win Over Sullivan West In Hambletonian Classic

Scenes from Fallsburg's 40-23 consolation game win over Sullivan West in the Hambletonian Classic Tournament at Chester (clockwise) Sullivan West's Erika Stauch scores from the wing in the early going. She was named to the All-Tournament team. Fallsburg's Sheryl Pinder was also an All-Tournament Team honoree. Sullivan West's Marianne Durkin dribbles the ball up the floor. Fallsburg's Shanice Mack is guarded by Sullivan West's Stephanie Hauschild and Fallsburg freshman Diana Presti scores in her debut.

Sullivan West schemed to contain senior guard Sheryl Pinder and they did just that holding the fiery shooter to just two points in the first half and seven overall. But as it would turn out Pinder was the least of their problems as they were physically bested by the Lady Comets who out-rebounded and out-muscled the young Lady Bulldogs to the tune of 40-23 in the Consolation Game of the Chester Hambletonian Classic.

Fallsburg led 7-3 at the end of the first quarter and extended the lead to 20-13 by the half. Like it did in its prior loss to Eldred, Sullivan West struggled to score. With his entire starting team graduating in June, Sullivan West Coach Pat Donovan knew this team would be young and inexperienced. “We’re just not strong,” he noted following the loss to Fallsburg that put his team at 0-2.

While Pinder was relatively quiet, Kelsey Moody was anything ut. She had 11 points and nine rebounds in the win despite playing on a very sore ankle. Pinder had eight assists but for Coach Daniel Redmond, better news was the debut of freshman Diana Presti who scored eight points along with the performance of Paige Seletsky who was playing in only her fourth varsity outing. Seletsky and Shanice Mack each recorded nine rebounds. Mack scored nine points.

Pinder and Sullivan West’s Erika Stauch were chosen to the All-Tournament Team. Tournament MVP was Chester’s Mardelle Jean who scored 20 points in Chesters 48-20 Championship game victory over Eldred. Chester is now 2-0, while Eldred fell to 1-1.

“We got great rebounding today,” said Fallsburg Coach Daniel Redmond. “We really attacked the boards. Kelsey Moody has been hurt but she’s fighting through the pain. Even though Sheryl struggled when we have our two bigs (Mack and Moody) working down low we can make a lot of good things happen,” he added.

Fallsburg made it to the playoffs last year before losing to Eldred. The Lady Comets hope to go even further this time around.

For an album of photos visit www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com

Open Fire

Basketball Action Ignites At Chester’s Sixth Annual Hambletonian Classic and S.S. Seward’s Spartan Invitational Tournaments; Chester Girls and Fallsburg Boys Advance To Finals; Seward Downs Liberty In Consolation Game Of Spartan Tourney Won By Millbrook

Girls: Chester 42, Fallsburg 23; Eldred 32, Sullivan West 22; Liberty 28, S.S. Seward 23

Boys: Fallsburg 61, Chester 47; S.S. Seward 55, Liberty 39

By RICHARD A. ROSS

rross@sportsinsightsny.com

Scenes from a pair of vibrant tournament venues. Left side clockwise: Chester's Lawrence Young looks to dribble around Fallsburg's Rakkir Watson in the early going. Fallsburg's Michael Robinson sinks a free throw as part of his 15-point contribution to the Comets' win over Chester. Fallsburg players gather in a pre-game spirited ritual. Fallsburg's Paige Seletsky rises up for two points. Chester's Mardelle Jean dribbles as she is defended by Fallsburg's Celia Garcia. Right Side clockwise: Sewards Shawn Howells and Anthony Bailey receive the plaque for the Spartans' third place in the tournament. Liberty's Joe Franke rises to the rim. Seward guard Kevin Smith brings the ball up the floor. Smith led all players with 19 points in the win over Liberty. Liberty's Eddie Byrd soars aloft to receive a pass. Byrd was named to the All-Tournament team.

ORANGE COUNTY, NY—It’s only early December but the rock is already rolling as it did at a pair of basketball tournaments at Chester and S.S. Seward. These tourneys featured a number of area teams anxious to throw their hats in the ring as Section Nine contenders in the crowded and talented fields of Class B and Class C.

When it comes to hardwood encounters, it’s where you finish by the end of the season that matters. By that time, these early clashes will be a distant memory but that said, every game in an 18-game regular season schedule matters.

To some, the fiery March games of the Section Nine tournament may seem light years away but truth be told, the basketball season goes by in a New York minute and these early games while providing great game experience also count in teams’ records, especially for those who will need to rely on achieving at least a .500 record overall in order to qualify for sectionals.

Boys Action

Intensity was far from lacking in the Sixth Annual Chester Hambletonian Classic tournament which came right on the heels of the Walton Tournament that had featured the participation of both Fallsburg and Sullivan West. That first week encounter had yielded mixed results for the Class C Comets as well as for the Class B Bulldog boys. Fallsburg lost a 51-49 squeaker to Walton in the opening round of that tourney before edging Sullivan West 61-57 in the Consolation Game.

Sullivan West (0-2) had lost the opening game to Unatego by the score of 55-35 and was anxious to get its first win of the season at the Chester tourney as it got set to face Chapel Field early on December 3. The Bulldogs prevailed against the Lions 50-34 to match their win total from the 2010-11 campaign. They were paced by 12 points from E.J. Franskevicz. They move on to face Fallsburg (2-1) in the tournament title game next weekend in a rematch of their encounter at the Walton Tourney.

Fallsburg returns its entire team minus Russell Corley who is sidelined due to a late season football injury. A year ago Corley suffered a fracture to a bone in his face at this very same tournament so once again, the Comets will have to be without him for an indeterminate amount of time.

The Comets jumped on Chester from the get go as they went on to an impressive 61-37 win over one of their Division V rivals. Braiden DeGraw led all scorers with 27 points and Michael Robinson had 15. Chester’s Lawrence Young had 12 points for the (0-1) Hambletonians who will host Chapel Field in the Consolation Game next weekend.

Robinson had poured in 30 against Sullivan West at Walton to go along with 12 rebounds. In that win he was assisted by guard Rakkir Watson who had 12.

Leaving the Hambletonian Tournament after watching the entire game between the Chester and Fallsburg girls and the first quarter of the boys set-to (More on the girls game shortly), I hastened to Seward to watch the second half of the Consolation match up of the Spartan Invitational Tournament between host Seward and visiting Liberty.

Seward lost its opener to O’Neill 55-54 despite having a late four point lead and with standout Andrew Bailey at the line. A pair of missed free throws, an O’Neill rebound, basket and foul cut the lead to one. The Raiders won the game on a final shot by Jordan Baskerville with 4.5 seconds remaining.

In the other tourney opener, Millbrook downed Liberty 58-31 in a game that first year Liberty Coach Mike Salvia would like to soon forget. The Indians vowed to play better in the consolation match versus Seward and they did, but it was just not good enough as the Spartans prevailed 55-39 led by guard Kevin Smith’s 19 and Bailey’s 18.

Liberty standout Eddie Byrd was relatively quiet with 14 points. He had posted 19 against the Blazers in the tourney opener. Byrd was named to the All-Tournament team along with Bailey. They were joined by O’Neill’s D.J. Dalition and Jimmy Ripa and Millbrook’s Daniel Blayney and MVP Tyler Dahlin. Seward (1-1) will travel to Warwick for its next early season challenge. Liberty has a two-week respite before its next game to work on its offensive struggles.

“It’s early in the season,” said Salvia. “Hopefully we can get back to work and back to basics. We didn’t have much time to prepare,” he said following the pair of losses to two really good teams. “Millbrook came in and jumped us and Seward wore us down the whole way,” he added. “We have Port Jervis on the 17^th so we have time to regroup. Our zone offense and our rebounding are what needs the most work. We’re not rebounding the basketball well. It seems like we’re not hungry for the ball,” he averred. “That’s something we’ve got to fix.”

Seward Coach Rob Gravelle said “I thought in the O’Neill game we played really well. We didn’t convert our free throws at the end. We were two-for-eight in the last four minutes. We got a good look to win the game but it didn’t go down. O’Neill is bringing back some good players. I was upset for my kids because they didn’t get a win and I thought they deserved it but I was proud of what they showed in that opener.”

Gravelle gave credit to Jordan Baskerville for making O’Neill’s winning shot.” Seward lost two standout players in David Oliver and Scott Glowaczewski from his team that lost a heartbreaker to Pine Plains in last year’s Class C Sectional final.

But with Bailey and Shawn Howells returning, as well as Isaac and Isiah Rodriguez, to go along with the immensely talented Kevin Smith, Seward looks to be competitive among the “Rough C’s.” “We lost a lot as everyone knows. Anthony Bailey is a great player and there is no kid I would rather go to battle with than Kevin Smith. He’s a gritty, tough and talented player.”

I give credit to my assistants Sal Mineo and Bill Steele. While I’m coaching Little League in the spring they’ve got our kids in AAU tournaments getting them extra games for getting them playing time together.” Seward faces a big challenge as it heads to Warwick on December 6. “You want to build your team and playing these kind of games is how you do it,”said Gravelle who led the Spartans to a state championship title win over Moriah in 2003.

By Gravelle’s estimation, “Fallsburg is the clear-cut favorite this year in Class C. They return their whole team and they beat my team last year which was a very good team. They were all juniors and we were all seniors,” he noted in response to the reminder that Seward beat Fallsburg twice including in the sectionals. “They’ve had a lot of time to play together and I had a chance to coach Michael Robinson in the summer and he’s just a quality kid with a motor that never stops. He’s a great leader for that team. I have the utmost respect for them and they are the favorite,” said Gravelle who realizes that Class C will be a dog fight again. “It always is,” he added looking forward to the Comets’ visit just after New Year’s. “That game is on my birthday,” said Gravelle smiling.

Chester Girls Garner A League Win With A Commanding Dominance Of Fallsburg

In order for Fallsburg to run on all cylinders, it needs its spark plug Sheryl Pinder to be firing smoothly. Pinder had 32 points in the consolation game 53-33 win over Downsville at the Walton Tournament that included eight three pointers. The 1-1 Lady Comets looked to carry that success forward as they faced Chester in what would be their first league encounter. Since Chapel Field is not fielding a girls team this season, Fallsburg coach Daniel Redmond agreed to have this game serve as Chester’s home outing of their regular season two-game league series.

After watching his star emerge with a mere seven points in the lackluster Fallsburg showing that resulted in a 42-23 Chester win, Redmond was sorry he had agreed to the arrangement. Chester jumped out to a 15-1 first quarter lead early on led by Mardelle Jean who would go on to post 11 points, five steals and five rebounds.

Fallsburg outscored Chester in the second quarter as they made it closer at 30-17 but they managed to score only two points in the third quarter to trail 38-19 heading into the final frame. Ashley Georges had 10 points and seven assists and Amanda Shembri had 10 points for Chester (1-0, 1-0 OCIAA) which will face Eldred at 3:00 pm on December 10 in the tournament championship game. Eldred (1-0) bested Sullivan West 32-22 in the first semifinal of the day. Fallsburg (1-2, 0-1 OCIAA) will play Sullivan West (0-1) in the consolation game at 10:00am on December 10.

Chester Coach Peter Rickard was proud of his team’s first outing. Even without his point guard Leanne Jankelunas who is sidelined for a couple of more games, he felt his team played well. “I’m looking forward to playing Eldred in the championship game. They played well,” he noted referencing one of his team’s Division V rivals. Since the game with Eldred will not be a division game, Chester and Eldred will end up playing each other three times in the regular season and could conceivably meet again in sectionals if both teams make it and depending on seedings at that time.

Liberty defeated S.S. Seward 28-23 in the opening round of the Spartan Invitational Tourney behind Olivia Baum’s ten point contribution. The Lady Indians will square off against Goshen in the title game on December 5. Goshen defeated James I. O’Neill 41-22 in the other semifinal.

For an album of photos visit www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com

The Great Divide

In A Rare Day Of Home And Away Sectional Border Wars Fallsburg’s Boys Defeat Neighboring Tri-Valley In Quarterfinal Clash While Tri-Valley Girls Prevail Over Lady Comets In The Nightcap; Teams Expend Enormous Effort In Riveting Two-Act Drama Of Advances And Noble Exits

Fallsburg Boys Prevail: The Comets’ Tale

The Kids Are All Right: Stamina And Crisp Execution Fuel Lady Bears Victory

Full Throttle

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What Tri-Valley Girls Lack In Size They Make Up For In Speed, Unity of Purpose, Grit and Stifling Defense; Post Jakki Pugh Era Begins With Undefeated Tear As Lady Bears Hammer Fallsburg To Garner Fourth Straight League Win And Sixth Overall

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Fallsburg Holds Sway Over New Array Of Lady Spartans In First League Match Up Of the New Year; Seward Hurt By Five Veteran Opt-Out As Former State Contender Goes To War Without Fire-Tested Platoon

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Comets Defeat Sullivan West In Hambletonian Classic Final

Lady Comets Garner Consolation Game Win Over Sullivan West In Hambletonian Classic

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Basketball Action Ignites At Chester’s Sixth Annual Hambletonian Classic and S.S. Seward’s Spartan Invitational Tournaments; Chester Girls and Fallsburg Boys Advance To Finals; Seward Downs Liberty In Consolation Game Of Spartan Tourney Won By Millbrook

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Chester Girls Garner A League Win With A Commanding Dominance Of Fallsburg

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Voters approve 2012-2013 LCSD Budget, cuts on the way

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Voters approve 2012-2013 LCSD Budget, cuts on the way

Categories

In A Rare Day Of Home And Away Sectional Border Wars Fallsburg’s Boys Defeat Neighboring Tri-Valley In Quarterfinal Clash While Tri-Valley Girls Prevail Over Lady Comets In The Nightcap; Teams Expend Enormous Effort In Riveting Two-Act Drama Of Advances And Noble Exits

Fallsburg Boys Prevail: The Comets’ Tale

The Kids Are All Right: Stamina And Crisp Execution Fuel Lady Bears Victory

What Tri-Valley Girls Lack In Size They Make Up For In Speed, Unity of Purpose, Grit and Stifling Defense; Post Jakki Pugh Era Begins With Undefeated Tear As Lady Bears Hammer Fallsburg To Garner Fourth Straight League Win And Sixth Overall

Fallsburg Holds Sway Over New Array Of Lady Spartans In First League Match Up Of the New Year; Seward Hurt By Five Veteran Opt-Out As Former State Contender Goes To War Without Fire-Tested Platoon

Comets Defeat Sullivan West In Hambletonian Classic Final

Lady Comets Garner Consolation Game Win Over Sullivan West In Hambletonian Classic

Basketball Action Ignites At Chester’s Sixth Annual Hambletonian Classic and S.S. Seward’s Spartan Invitational Tournaments; Chester Girls and Fallsburg Boys Advance To Finals; Seward Downs Liberty In Consolation Game Of Spartan Tourney Won By Millbrook

Boys Action

Chester Girls Garner A League Win With A Commanding Dominance Of Fallsburg

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