Panthers claw back to win
Hoosick Falls rebounds from 14-0 first-quarter hole to top Hoosic Valley
The path to the offseason for the Hoosick Falls girls’ basketball team was being paved Wednesday evening at Hoosic Valley when the secondseeded Indians pitched a shutout during the first quarter and looked primed to secure a Class C semifinal berth.
As badly as the Panthers played throughout the first quarter, they rebounded to climb back into the game and proceeded to deliver a fabulous fourth-quarter performance to stun the Indians 49-36 in the quarterfinals.
Hoosick Falls (12-9) finished 0-for-12 shooting with five turnovers in the opening quarter and were fortunate to only trail 14-0 through eight minutes. Those struggles made shooting 8-for-13 from the field in the fourth quarter even more gratifying.
“After the first quarter, we just knew we had to go as hard as we can for the next three quarters,” Hoosick Falls senior guard Grace Wysocki said. “We knew that we can’t give up. We thought we could beat them.”
“This is crazy and so exciting,” said junior center Logan Thayne, who scored 15 of her game-high 18 points in the second half to go along with 12 rebounds and five blocked shots.
“We really showed some grit and resilience,” Hoosick Falls coach Ken Facin said. “We didn’t give up and stayed true to what we are capable of.”
Asked what she felt happened, Hoosic Valley junior forward Sami Dickinson said, “I don’t know. I think we just felt we were in the lead so much, we (let down). It is sad to see our seniors end on this one.”
The trio of Dickinson, Alex Rifenburg and Renee Serafin controlled things at both ends of the f loor until the final 90 seconds of the first half.
In that span, Thayne delivered a three-point play for her first points of the evening and Wysocki took a feed from the junior standout and drained a 3-pointer. The Panthers trailed 21-13 at intermission.
“Once we started scoring, we felt we could come back,” Thayne said. “Once we got close, we knew we could do this.”
“That definitely brought up our spirits,” said Wysocki, who finished with 14 points. “It knocked off any hostility we had. We went to halftime very positive.”
That positive energy continued for Hoosick Falls in the third quarter. Fueled by the play of Thayne and junior forward Madeline Walker (10 points, six rebounds), the Panthers surged into the lead when Thayne converted a backdoor cut for a 30-28 edge.
Wysocki buried two critical 3-pointers from the corner during the fourth quarter, both set up by passes from senior point guard Lauren Hickey. The second 3-pointer came just as the shot clock was set to expire that provided a 41-32 lead.
“I really didn’t know. I heard people say shoot, so I did,” Wysocki said.
“Grace has really blossomed into an effective 3-point shooter and defender,” Facin said. “We’re really proud of her. Grace, and the other seniors, really stepped up and did not want this to be their last game.”