Shen girl’s top ‘Toga in first match of season Tuesday night, 65-53
For not having any fans in the crowd, Shenendehowa and Saratoga’s first meeting of the year was a fairly intense one, though the Plainsmen were never in any real trouble.
Meghan Huerter, who didn’t have any plans of missing a shot, was able to draw the bulk of attention from Blue Streak defenders, opening up opportunities for her teammates.
“I think for us it was about spacing out the floor and finding those open shots to kick out,” said Shen senior Rylee Carpenter. “Every single girl on this team worked so hard during the past eleven months and I think it was really awesome to see it all come together.”
Shen was able to take home a 65-53 victory, taking advantage of a strong second quarter, both offensively and defensively, and they never looked back.
Huerter hit six three-point
ers in the game; to go along with two free throws and a field goal, she totaled 22 points. Three of those were in the second quarter, when Shen went on a 19-8 run. Many were from well beyond the arc.
“She has the green light. I tell her all the time, you have the green light but she does a great job of getting the other kids involved. When she’s on, she opens up everything else for the other shooters,” said Shen coach Joe Murphy. “You can tell she’s feeling good when she’s pulling up from five feet behind the arc.”
Asked if she’s found a limit to her three point depth, Huerter is still testing out what she can do.
“I haven’t found that limit yet,” she joked. “Maybe halfcourt.”
“It’s pretty hard to defend her,” Saratoga’s Natasha Chudy said of Huerter. “We had to get up on her and she was doing so well. You can only do so much when you’re defending her.”
Chudy had quite a game herself, leading all scorers with 29 points off of twelve buckets from the field, including two threes. During her 20-points second half, many of her points came off defensive stops up front and open lanes to the hoop.
“I think our defense really does lead to a great offense and we can definitely get better at that for next time,” Chudy said. “If we keep working hard and doing what we need to do, I think we can do even better if we see them again.”
For Shen, Carpenter added 13 points, Jillian Huerter scored 12 and Bri Carey scored 11. For Saratoga, Abby Ray scored seven points and Carly Wise scored six.
“It felt like a sectional final to be honest,” Murphy said. “The intensity was pretty good for not having any fans here.”
For the Blue Streaks, Chudy knows they have room to improve after the sudden start to the season a couple of weeks ago.
“We really have to focus on finishing plays and that will come as the season goes on,” she said. “We tried our hardest and we missed some shots, but that’s okay, we’ll get it back.”
FINAL: SHENENDEHOWA 65, SARATOGA 53
Saratoga Springs High School
Saratoga Springs, NY SHENENDEHOWA 1819-14-14 - 65
SARATOGA 13-8-15-17 53
Shen (3-0) Points: Jillian Huerter 12, Rylee Carpenter 13, Bri Carey 11, Meghan Huerter 22, Sam Lee 4, Emily Delisle 3
Saratoga (2-1) Points: Ella Spain 5, Abby Ray 7, Katie Claeson 2, Natasha Chudy 29, Carly Wise 6, Lauren Patnode 4
GIRLS BASKETBALL ROUNDUP
FINAL: SARATOGA CATHOLIC 57, WATERFORD 34
SARATOGA CATHOLIC 26-8-13-10 - 57
WATERFORD
-34
Saratoga Catholic: Molly O’Reilly 13, Ashley Upson 15, Ryleigh Dempsey 12, Megan Cornell 4, Kara Wengert 2, Allison Motler 6, Katie Cronin 4, Ryan McDonald 1
Waterford: Sophia Belonat 7, Meghan Paul 4, Natalie Rich 4, Piper Morris: 8, Maddy Atwood 7, Kylee Pitcher 2, Max Forutilli 2 5-4-11-14
FINAL: SOUTH GLENS FALLS 71, SCHUYLERVILLE 24
SOUTH GLENS FALLS 15-14-26-16 - 71
SCHUYLERVILLE 5-2-512-24
Glens Falls: Hart 26, Brown 19, McDonough 12
Schuylerville: Pflieger 10, Barton 5
FINAL: AVERILL PARK 63, SCHENECTADY 24
AVERILL PARK 13-18-1715-63
SCHENECTADY 8-0-9-7 -24
Averill Park: Wood 22, Gelder 13, Holohan 9, Jankovic 9, Lombardi 8, Burdick 2
Schenectady: Jones 11, Hernandez 6, Washington 5, Bigelow-Smith 2
FINAL: NISKAYUNA 57, TROY 39
NISKAYUNA - 17-10-1218-57
TROY 4-17-11-7 - 39 Niskayuna: Gasco 2, Schmidt 11, Birmingham 3, Olsen 34, Endres 5, Meally 2
Troy: Chapman 9, George 8, Alarcon 14, McNall 2, Brown 2, Dewer 4
BOYS BASKETBALL ROUNDUP
FINAL: WATERFORD 57, SARATOGA CATHOLIC 48
WATERFORD - 10-1523-9 - 57
SARATOGA CATHOLIC 12-18-12-6 - 48
Waterford: TJ Kelley 22, Jake Houle 20
Saratoga Catholic: Robbie Bolen 22, Hayden Day 12
FINAL: SCHENECTADY 48, AVERILL PARK 37
SCHENECTADY 11-9-1612-48
AVERILL PARK 11-7-613-37
Schenectady: Holder 21, Gomez 10, Mayfield 7, Haggray 6, Edge 3, Johnson 1
Averill Park: Clemenzi 9, Galuski 6, McCue 6, Romer 5, Sullivan 4, Carter 2, Carbone 2, Apfel 2, Hansen 1
FINAL: HOOSIC VALLEY 60, BERNEKNOX 52
HOOSIC VALLEY 11-1318-18 - 60
BERNE-KNOX 14-14-915-52
Hoosic Valley: Rafferty 5, Eddy 9, Carner 5, Reilly 15, Eckler 12, Finkle 6, Rowe 8
Berne-Knox: Pulliam 21, Edwards 2, Toomey 8, Brink 7, Lefkaditis 14
FINAL: SHENENDEHOWA 63, SARATOGA 41
Shen: Dzikas 26, Courtney 11
FINAL: MECHANICVILLE 63, STILLWATER 54
Mechanicville: Devin Garland 16, Luci D’Ambro 13