Saratoga, Shen to meet again
Plainsmen reach final with win vs. Colonie; Streaks defeat Albany
The girls basketball sectional final between these two Suburban Council rivals is set for Saturday afternoon at HVCC.
Cat Almeida did two distinctive things Thursday, yet only one met with approval. On the court, Almeida produced a superlative performance to propel the Shenendehowa girls’ basketball team into the Section II Class AA final. Almeida’s postgame wardrobe featured a pair of tan slippers.
“My mom is not a fan. She really doesn’t like them,” Almeida said. “They are just comfy. I wear them before the game and after the game. It is a thing. They get me in the right mood every game day.”
Almeida, Shen’s 6-foot-5 center, sure looked comfortable leading her team as she delivered 19 points and 15 rebounds to help rally the Plainsmen past 2018 champion Colonie 62-50 in the first of two semifinals at Hudson Valley Community College.
Saratoga standout guards Dolly Cairns and Kerry Flaherty each pumped in 25 points and the Blue Streaks outscored Albany 25-4 in the fourth quarter to secure a 6942 victory in the second game.
The sectional final, and rubber match in a three-game series this season between the Suburban Council rivals, is set for Saturday afternoon at HVCC. Game time is 2:30 p.m.
A year ago at Guilderland, Shen (20-2) was the No. 1 seed and dropped a 49-45 semifinal decision to fourth-seeded Bethlehem. Thursday, Shen trailed fourth-seeded Colonie (15-7) 15-5 after one quarter when it made only 1 of 9 shots.
Colonie senior point guard Aliyah Wright helped establish a solid flow, scoring 16 of her game-high 22 points in the first half.
Even though Shenendehowa took half as many shots (32-16) as Colonie in the first half, it made 5 of 7 shots in the second quarter to pull within 26-22.
“We did not do a good job in the first half on the boards. Their guards were getting rebounds on us,” Shen coach Joe Murphy said. “They really persevered and stuck with it. We settled down and hit some shots in the second half. Cat was absolutely huge tonight.”
Colonie sputtered in the second half, shooting 7-for-29. Almeida gave Shen its first lead at 34-33 with a 3-pointer and
Bella Stuart followed with another 3-pointer with 3:23 left in the third quarter.
“I think our energy level wasn’t as high as it was in the first half. I think that was mostly from fatigue,” Wright said. “Cat really played hard and gave us trouble.”
“It is a really big court, so we wanted to move the ball as wide as possible,” Almeida said. “I think the main thing at halftime was telling everyone to calm down. It is a lot of these girls’ first time in the playoffs. We got rid of the nerves and were playing for each other.
“I turned it on more in the second half. I didn’t want this to be how things would end, so whether it was on offense or defense, I tried to pull my load.”
The high point during the regular season for Albany (19-3) was a resounding 62-51 road win at Saratoga on Dec. 20.
The Blue Streaks remembered.
“That loss was a tough one for us and we have been thinking about it for a long time now,” Saratoga coach Robin Chudy said. “We knew if we played better, the outcome would have been different. We really did want a second chance. They were excited about this game and we had a lot to prove to ourselves.”
The Falcons led briefly in the first quarter, but Saratoga (17-5) never surrendered the lead after Cairns buried a 3-pointer for a 6-5 edge. The game remained tight until the fourth quarter when Cairns and Flaherty completely took over.
“Weknewwhatwehad to do to this time. Obviously, we are chasing that championship,” Cairns said.
Albany shooting guards Ahniysha Jackson and Jenna Citone combined for 23 points and six 3-pointers in the first meeting. The duo had four points Thursday.
“They played some good defense and we missed a lot of open looks as well,” Albany coach Decky Lawson said.