Averill Park completes comeback, beats Shaker 57-46
AVERILL PARK, NY » The first half of Monday’s Suburban Council playoff game between Shaker and Averill Park told one story. The second half, a completely different one.
“They got off to a real hot start. They made some shots and a lot was falling for them early in that first quarter,” said Averill Park Head Coach Sean Organ. “We were getting to the rim but didn’t see it in. They extended there lead to 10, to 13, I think maybe even 14 at one point and we made a nice run there to close out the first half and bring it to 10.”
Despite trailing by double digits early, Averill Park was able to mount a comeback and complete the first round win over Shaker, 57-46.
“Our talk at halftime was that we have to be better defensively,” said Organ. “We are allowing them to be first down the floor for loose balls, we have to get those loose balls. They are getting too many second chance opportunities. We weren’t as physical and they were super physical. We had a tough time keeping them off the glass.”
Shaker led 27-17 at halftime. Shaker had seven different scorers including Emily Satterday, who scored six in the first half anf finished with 12.
“Our shots in the first half weren’t falling. We knew not to give up,” said Averill Park leading scorer Anna Jankovic. “It was going to be a four quarter game not a two quarter game. We came out strong in the second half. We
really played well together and stayed strong during those rough moments.”
Averill Park scored just eight in the first half, four of which were off of free throws. A 23 point third quarter was the different maker in the game which gave the Warriors a one point lead going into the final frame.
For Averill Park, Jankovic scored 20 points.
Amelia Woods contributed 16 and Taylor Holohan added 11. What’s impressive about Wood’s stats is that she was neutralized in the first half by Shaker’s Satterday and Maddisyn Mahoney.
For Shaker, Satterday led the charge from the paint with Kaelah Carter adding seven in the loss.
Averill Park learned a lot from their last matchup with Shaker. What makes it easy was it was just this past Saturday when the Warriors fell to the Blue Bison 57-49.
“We learned what we needed to make adjustments on and we got into practice Sunday morning and we really worked hard,” said Jankovic. “We came in and executed our game plan perfectly and I think we did really good today.”
Averill Park will continue on in the Suburban Council playoff as they host Saratoga Wednesday night.
“I expect them to play like the Class AA finalists that they were last year,” said Organ on what he expects from Saratoga Wednesday night. “They are extremely well coached. They are extremely disciplined. Chudy is a total warrior. She doesn’t stop fighting, she plays with that fire.”