Saratoga girls go up against Averill Park in high school hoops action.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — For 24 minutes Friday night at Saratoga Springs High School, the Blue Streaks played a very even g am e with visiting Averill Park.
The other eight minutes of the Suburban Council matchup, though, cost the home team dearly.
The visiting Warriors went on a 19-0 run to kick off the second half, and that spurt was the difference in a 45- 36 Averill Park victory.
“Had we played ( hard) the whole game,” Saratoga Springs head coach
Colleen Belanger said, “there might have been a different outcome.”
The first half saw both teams struggle to get going on the offensive end. While Saratoga Springs was bitten by the turnover bug, Averill Park had trouble converting their shots for the first 16 minutes.
The Blue Streaks, though, seemed to gain some momentum with a 9-4 run to end the second quarter, one that reduced the visiting team’s halftime lead to just one point ( 18- 17).
“We really needed to step up on defense,” Belanger said. “They like to run the floor in transition, and we did a nice job of getting up and staying in front of the play. When we’re playing good defense, it helps us settle a little offensively. I thought we played really good basketball in the first half.”
However, Averill Park couldn’t have had an easier time on offense in the third stanza. The Warriors scored most of their 21 third- quarter points in transition, and turned their slim edge at the break into a 39-21 margin going into the fourth quarter.
“We knew that they came with a very strong man- to- man press,” Belanger said. “Unfortunately, we let it get to us. They got in our heads, we got in our own heads, and then we stopped playing the whole game.
They flustered us offensively, and defensively, we shut down as well. Really, we didn’t play any of the game at that point.”
The Warriors built their lead to 45- 26 midway through the fourth quarter, but the Blue Streaks weren’t quite done yet. Though Saratoga Springs couldn’t fully close the gap, the team finished on a 10- 0 run that cut the final deficit to single- digits.
“It was nice to see them play again,” Belanger said. “Like I said, had we played the whole game, I think there could have been a different outcome.”
Madeline Klotz led Saratoga Springs with nine points. Rachel Signor added eight, while Madison Stanley came off the bench to record seven points and three assists.
Meanwhile, Lauren VanRoy led Averill Park with a game- high 13 points. Caraline Wood was also in double- figures with 10 points, and Kelly Donnelly added six.
Saratoga will finish the 2012 calendar year at 3- 3 overall and 2- 3 in Suburban Council play. The Blue Streaks return to the court on Jan. 2 for a non-league tilt at Queensbury.