Ray steps up for Streaks in win
Sophomore’s 3-point basket with 3 minutes to play proves pivotal
Abby Ray, given a “shoot or sit” edict by Saratoga girls’ basketball coach Robin Chudy before and during Thursday’s night game against Shenendehowa, picked the proper time to connect on the biggest shot of her young varsity career.
The visiting Plainsmen had just pulled within three points on Meghan Huerter’s fifth 3-pointer. Undaunted, Ray responded with a 3-pointer of her own with three minutes left. It proved to be the last basket of the game from either squad as the Plainsmen missed on their final nine attempts.
Ray provided a quality third offensive threat to go with veteran guards Dolly Cairns and Kerry Flaherty in helping the Blue Streaks open their Suburban Council campaign with a 62-53 victory over Shenendehowa.
Ray, a sophomore who admitted she was shaking with excitement before the game, delivered a solid all-around performance with nine points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists.
Shenendehowa focused the bulk of its defensive efforts in trying to deny Cairns and Flaherty the basketball. Following Huerter’s fifth 3-pointer of the second half that brought the Plainsmen within 59-56 with 3:20 remaining, Ray did not hesitate in draining her only 3-pointer of the evening to help the Blue Streaks (1-0, 1-0) beat the Plainsmen (0-1, 0-1) for the second straight year at home.
“I thought that I am open anditisclose,soibetterhit this,” Ray said. “In the moment, you just don’t think.”
“The biggest shot of the game was Abby Ray with that 3-pointer,” Shenendehowa coach Joe Murphy said. “We went hard man-to-man, denied (Cairns and Flaherty) the ball. The kids got a little
gassed. It was a tightly called game in the first half and they got their rhythm at the foul line. As the game went on, we were less aggressive, being in foul trouble.”
Ray, along with eighth-grader Natasha Chudy and senior Caroline Lafountain, played with four fouls during the fourth quarter.
Chudy was thrilled to witness Ray taking the offensive initiative for herself.
“Of course, we are blessed with Dolly and Kerry, who can shoot the lights out of it,” Chudy said. “Abby is so fast and so quick and distributes the ball so well. She’s got a great shot . ... I looked at her and said, ‘If you don’t shoot, you are sitting on the bench’ and she started shooting. She has a great shot. She really does.”
Shenendehowa survived a woeful first quarter on offense (2-for-4 shooting and 10 turnovers) with sterling defense as it double-teamed off screens in guarding Cairns and Flaherty, who entered the game 24 points shy of 1,000 for her career.
“We knew it was coming. We practiced through it and try to simulate it in practice,” said Cairns, who finished with 18 points. “I think we did a really good job at trying to stress on the rest of the team that they needed to get their shots so it would free us open.”
The Blue Streaks led 26-20 at halftime, but the team’s foul situation forced Chudy to switch to a 3-2 zone to open the third quarter. Huerter, who led Shen with 17 points, hit a trio of 3-pointers to open the second half and gave the Plainsmen their first lead at 29-28.
“They left her open a couple of times in the zone and she hit some shots,” Murphy said of Huerter.
The lead switched three straight possessions before Saratoga closed the third quarter by making eight straight shots — by four different players — to establish a 48-37 advantage. Flaherty tallied eight of her game-high 19 points in the third quarter.
“I was content with our defense, except for that little stretch in the second half,” Murphy said.
Ray, in seeing that the game was getting tight again in the fourth quarter and remembering what Chudy told her, decided to hoist away following Huerter’s shot.
“I thought I should probably step up,” Ray said.