‘WE REMEMBER’
Saratoga and Shen set for first rematch since last season’s sectional final
SARATOGA SPRUNGS, NY » In a traditional year, Shenendehowa versus Saratoga is a grand occasion.
Now, it feels like normal. The two teams are set to face off for the first time in 2021 on Tuesday evening at Saratoga Springs High School.
“We know that every time we play Shen, it’s going to be a good game,” said Saratoga Head Coach Robin Chudy. “It’s gonna be competitive. They have some really talented players, we have some really talented players and we all respect each other. It’s going to be a really good basketball game.”
During the 2019-2020 regular season, Saratoga topped Shen 57-54, in a crazy backand-forth contest last February in a packed house at Shen, as both teams were undefeated against Section 2 opponents coming in. The win for the Blue Streaks allowed them to claim the top seed in the sectional tournament, setting the stage with Shen as the #2 for a rematch in the finals.
“That was a game that we realized we had to work and
it wasn’t going to be easy to play them in the championship,” said Shen senior Rylee Carpenter. “We knew we had to do certain things and we could win. It was definitely a game that I reflected back on.”
The Plainsmen defeated the Blue Streaks a few weeks later in the Section 2 championship last March at Hudson Valley Community College in another close one, 60-56. The game turned out to be each team’s final one of the season due to the coronavirus.
That game now seems like it was an eternity ago. As a matter of fact, it’s been 347 days since the two teams have met.
“We remember,” said Saratoga senior Abby Ray. “Every single time I think about school basketball, it just always comes back to the Shen games. They are crazy, there’s so many people there usually, which is going to be different this year. All my friends are on that team and it’s such a good game. It could go either way every single year and it does.”
The Tuesday matchup will be each team’s third game of the 2021 season, with both squad’s winning in blowouts in their first two games.
“We did have the last
eleven months off and you usually prepare for months for your regular season to start,” Carpenter said. “I know going into the first few games, we all hadn’t played in awhile, so it was good that we weren’t just thrown right into this in the first game.”
Like last season, both will be undefeated coming into the game. This time, the stakes are a bit different.
“We find ourselves playing them in the games that matter and they’re always good. Last year we were going into championships and we were both highly ranked,” Carpenter added.
“This year I think we’re going into it just as competitive. This year we’re treating every game like that, just because you don’t know how many you’re going to play.”
For the Blue Streaks and Ray, it’s about getting back some of the season and her senior year that has been taken away and creating some new memories on the court.
“This will probably feel like the most normal game of the season. I feel like both of our teams are such loud teams and such big presences and I feel like that will fill up the gym,” Ray said.
“The energy is going to be there like it’s a normal game, it’ll feel good,” added Saratoga senior Katie Cleason. “It’s definitely been difficult with the time crunch, getting back on track with things, but I think we’ve done a pretty good job.”
This season, it’s about the journey, not the destination and that’s been Chudy’s message.
“I think coming into Tuesday we’re going to want to play as hard and as well as we can,” she said. “It’s not about what happens at the end. It’s about getting the chance to have every game.”