By Benito Vila
“That’s the way you do it,” is a line made famous once by Dire Straits in their song, “Money For Nothing”. It’s also a refrain heard coming from the home crowd more than once Tuesday as the Lady Whalers ran up a 46-34 win over Shelter Island in the Pierson gym.
Junior co-captain Sam James set the tempo at the start, taking the tip and sinking a jump shot less than 10 seconds into the game. Just seconds later, on the next Pierson possession, James banked a running shot in the lane and the hometown ladies were up 4-0.
But not everything came so easy on Tuesday.
The Lady Indians used their height to get second-chance baskets and keep pace with the Lady Whalers. The score was 10-8 Pierson after the first quarter and 18-17 at the half, the Lady Whalers never relinquishing their lead.
That changed in the third quarter, Shelter Island scoring two baskets in a row and taking a 21-18 lead.
The Lady Whalers broke through finally, an Annie Osiecki bucket and a Sarah Barrett jumper on either side of a James block, giving Pierson a 22-21 lead. With a minute left, Shelter Island regained the lead, but then Amanda Busiello sparked a 6-0 run that gave the Lady Whalers the lead for good.
In that run, Busiello hit a shot and then intercepted an up-court pass and dribbled the length of the floor for a lay-up to put Pierson up 26-23 with 50 seconds left. Teammate Emily Hinz took notice and stole the next Shelter Island pass at mid-court and finished off the rally with a lay-up of her own, the Lady Whalers leading 28-23 at the buzzer.
A Convincing Finish
In the fourth quarter, the Pierson girls made the most of their quickness and passing to add to their lead. Guards Hinz, Barrett and Busiello led the way, but it wasn’t until the last two minutes that the game finally went the Lady Whalers’ way.
When Lady Indian Kelsey McGayhey scored the last of her 18 points, the score was 39-34 Pierson with 1:48 remaining. A rebound on a free throw gave Pierson possession, and Barrett rolled in a two-pointer to put the Lady Whalers up with under a minute left.
That was not enough of a lead for the Pierson girls, Barrett hitting a three-pointer in the closing seconds to give her 21 points and Osiecki scoring another bucket for the 46-34 final. There were hugs and high fives as the Lady Whalers came off the court, their coach, Dennis Case, relieved in seeing the team close out its first win.
Best Ball of the Season
In re-capping the game, Coach Case said, “The key moment was the 6-0 run to end the third quarter and then in the fourth quarter we played our best ball of the season.”
Describing individual contributions, Coach Case added, Sami shut down Kelsey McGahey in the second half. She had 14 of their 17 points in the first half. Sarah had the best game of her career, Annie grabbed 14 rebounds and Amanda was on her passing game. She sees the entire floor and always seems to hit the open girl. Emily did a great job too. It was a team effort; everybody made a contribution in that second half.”
Looking ahead to tomorrow’s game in Southold, Coach Case expects the Lady Whalers will need to “control the boards and push the ball up the court,” predicting, “It will be a good game.”
A Complete Effort
The Lady Whaler JV prevailed 31-14 in playing their Shelter Island counterparts before the varsity match-up. Coach Kevin Barron described the difference in the score as coming from a focused and up-tempo effort on the part of his players.
“This was the most aggressive we have played all year. We took the ball to the basket on offense and applied constant pressure on defense. We had key performances from Kasey Gilbride, Katherine Matthers, Abby Ruiz, and Rachel Saidman.” Gilbride, Matthers and Ruiz each scored six, with Saidman adding in five.
Coach Barron also cited the standout play of Maricarmen Chavez, Holly Zappola, Alissa Clermont, May Evjen, Jenna Chase, Sol Varela, and Sydnee Mckie-Senior, who all saw time on the court in what he called “a complete team effort.”
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