HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
Garnet Raiders hand Shenendehowa girls first loss of season
By JEFF SCOTT
CLIFTON PARK — After starting the season with three straight wins, the Shenendehowa girls basketball team figured to have to really work to make it four when it hosted Gold Division power Colonie on Friday night.
The Plainsmen (3-1, 3-1) stayed with the Garnet Raiders for most of the first half, and made a game of it after being down by 12 in the third quarter. But in the end Shenendehowa could not match Colonie’s strength inside. They also could not match the scoring power of Sydnie Rosales ( 25) and Nicole Riddick ( 12), who combined for 37 points. The final was 56-41.
Alyx Gleason, the Plainsman’s lone returning starter from last season, was high for the home squad with 18. All of Gleason’s points came on three- pointers – several from well beyond the arc – including five in a row during one stretch.
“Colonie is an experi- enced team, and they’ve got two of the better players in the area,” said firstyear Shen coach Joe Murphy. “They were more physical than us, and they killed us on the boards. Defensively we did a good job until the shot went up, but second- chance points were big for them.”
Gleason’s five threes kept the Plainsmen in it in the first half. The fifth, from deep on the left side with 3: 15 left, gave Shen what turned out to be its last lead of the game at 2219. The Raiders then ran the table, scoring the last 11 points of the half to take a 30-22 advantage into the locker room.
In the opening minute of the third quarter, Riddick converted a put- back and then found Rosales underneath to finish off a 2-on-2 break that put the visitors up by 12.
But the Plainsmen still had some fight in them. Freshman Carly Boland (9 points) scored in the paint and Alyssia Marsal worked her way inside for a layup. When Gleason drained her final 3-pointer of the night from the left wing, Shen was only down five (34-29) with 4:20 left in the period.
“Alyx is a great shooter and she has confidence in her shot,” said Murphy. “I told her before we came out that she was going to have a good game. She was on fire. She also played great defense. She did everything she could.”
Colonie (3-2, 3-2) got the lead back up to nine to lead, 38- 29, with a quarter to play. At that point, Rosales more or less took over, erupting for 14 points in the final stanza, including a pair of threes and 6- for- 6 shooting from the foul line.
Boland, showing a couple of nice moves inside, and Madi Shea had two buckets each for Shen in the fourth quarter.
“This was a good test for us,” said Murphy. “The girls played hard. We saw what it takes to be one of the best teams – diving for loose balls, boxing out, holding teams to one shot. The girls are determined to get back in the gym on Sunday and keep working.”