Tamarac takes down Cohoes in B semis
AVERILL PARK, N.Y. >> In a game that started evenly, Tamarac used a strong second quarter, smart play calling and a deep bench to pull away, and ultimately clinch, a 60-52 victory over Cohoes.
Tamarac head coach Curt Bailey said his team creates runs to get wins.
“All year long we would put an eight or 10-0 run together and we knew we would do that if we settled down,” Bailey said. “This team (Cohoes) makes you play fast, we can play fast, but we have to make them play at the half court, which we got set up in the second half and I think it was working for us. We broke them down a little bit.”
The win advances No. 2 seed Tamarac to the Section II Class B Final against No. 1 Glens Falls scheduled for 12:45 p.m. Saturday at Hudson Valley Community Col-
lege.
Senior Hannah Kreiger said she was impressed that her team was able to come back and play strong after the tough first round matchup against Johnston.
“It was a tough game on Saturday, so to come back and play like we did, it just means so much to me,” Kreiger said. “It is my senior year and I wouldn’t have it any other way, so I’m so excited for Saturday.”
One of the big advantages that Tamarac had in the game was the strong play from their bench. Tamarac got into foul trouble early in the game and had to rely on bench players to keep them in the game.
“We had foul trouble the whole game and the kids who came off the bench stepped up big time, I think that was probably the determining factor,” Bailey said. “When you get a point guard in foul trouble and you get a shooting guard in foul trouble, it could have spelled a dismal end result. Liz Machnick came off the bench (and) Amani Henderson. They have been doing they have been doing that all year. We told these kids, you got to step up when somebody else is injured or whatever. It was a good victory for our kids, they earned it, and they worked hard.”
Machnick and Henderson both had five points in the game, but came up big defensively to stop Cohoes’ big scorers in Nerea Brajac and Sam Dayter from getting their team back in the game.
Another big thing for Tamarac was playing smart basketball. Even when the Bengals weren’t scoring, they were moving on defense to get stops.
Cohoes head coach Morgan Blizinski said turnovers and free throws were an issue for her team.
“I think small errors, like throwing the ball away or unlucky passes, just things didn’t go our way,” Blizinski said. “And the free throws. If we make our free throws it is a different game.”
Tamarac took advantage of Cohoes’ struggles at the free throw line throughout the game. Cohoes had 23 free attempts and only made 12 shots.
Bailey said that the final will be a challenge for his team and Glens Falls, the reigning champs, will be a tough matchup but his team will be ready to fight and work for the victory.