Eagles set for first flight
Duanesburg’s initial state tourney game part of big schedule
The 2021-2022 girls’ basketball season for Duanesburg has featured a trio of firsts. In December, the squad from the Western Athletic Conference landed a No. 1 ranking in the Class C state poll. In March, the Eagles entered into the Section II final ranked No. 2 and faced fourth-ranked Greenwich. An impressive 64-47 victory over the Witches vaulted the team into the state playoffs for the first time.
Sunday, Duanesburg looks to achieve another first — winning a state quarterfinal contest to secure a berth in next week’s Class C state final four. The Eagles (22-2) return to Hudson Valley Community College’s McDonough Complex to take on Section VII champion Northern Adirondack (18-3). The game is scheduled for 4:15 p.m.
The Eagles performed extremely well and showed tremendous poise in their first sectional final against a Greenwich team that entered the game undefeated. The preparation for their next game found an added day as Saturday’s snowstorm pushed the five regional final contests at HVCC back to Sunday.
“It is definitely different with the girls just trying to get them in the right mindset,” Duanesburg coach Chris Herron said. “I just want them to stay focused. That was a very emotional win (last) Saturday. It took a couple of days. They were a little drained. I gave them a day off and they got refocused. They are ready to
go.”
Duanesburg is the fourth of five contests scheduled for HVCC. The day’s activities begin at 11 a.m. with the Class A boys’ basketball contest featuring Mekeel Christian Academy (22-5) against Section III representative New Hartford (21-2). The next game has Green Tech (19-2) taking on Liverpool (20-3) at 12:45 p.m. in the Class AA quarterfinals. Stillwater (21-3) plays the third contest against Section VII champion Moriah (22-1), the state’s topranked Class C boys’ basketball team.
After the Eagles face Northern Adirondack, Class AA champion Albany (17-6) meets CiceroNorth Syracuse (16-4) at 6 p.m. Duanesburg truly is operating in new territory as the other four area programs playing at HVCC all have previously earned a state title: Green Tech (2013), MCA (2018), Stillwater (1987) and Albany (1997).
The Eagles looked right at home at HVCC vs. Greenwich, opening a 17-7 advantage after one quarter and never looking back. Sophomore guard Allison O’Hanlon netted a game-high 26 points and tourney Most Valuable Player Madison Meyer, the team’s lone senior starter, tallied 19 points.
“Greenwich is a great team and Jason (Slatter) does a great job with that group,” Herron said. “We knew they would be ready. It was a great matchup. It was just our day.”
“That game raised our confidence level, but we’re going into every game like it is new and don’t think about the one we just played,” Meyer said. “We didn’t even look at Greenwich until we beat Corinth (in the sectional semifinals).”
Duanesburg brings a 15-game winning streak into its game against Northern Adirondack. The Bobcats have won 11 in a row. The Eagles dropped back-to-back contests in late December against Class A Walkill (73-60) and Class AA Albany (62-61) at the Amsterdam Holiday College Showcase.
“We looked for games where we would be tested,” Herron said. “I think we saw the benefit of scheduling those games when we played Greenwich.”
O’Hanlon and Meyer are tied for the team scoring lead at 17.2 points per game. The duo is followed by sophomores Alex Moses (12.7 ppg) and Hannah Mulhern (10.1 ppg). Those four players have also proven deadly from 3point range as they have combined to knock down 149 3-pointers.
The Bobcats are led by the trio of senior guard Alexis Belmore (15.0 ppg), sophomore forward Abby Peryea (12.6 ppg) and junior forward Isabella Gilmore (10.0 ppg).
The extra day of waiting has clearly upped the anxiety for the Eagles to get back to competition.
“Since I have never personally played in regionals or really even paid attention to them the past couple of years, I have definitely this week tried to give confidence to the team,” said Meyer, who will play her college basketball at Skidmore.
“They just want to go. They love to practice, but they really want to play,” Herron said. “They love playing basketball.”