GUILDERLAND — Guilderland girls’ basketball coach Frank Cacckello and his team reached an epiphany after suffering their second big defeat.

After a loss to Columbia on Dec. 15, Cacckello and his team had a talk. They talked about what had happened in the past two games — the Lady Dutch suffered a hugely disappointing loss to Colonie on Dec. 12 — and where to go from there.
"I told them that it was partly my fault," Cacckello said. "I told them it wasn’t fair to compare them to other teams we’ve had here. Especially some of the successful teams that we’ve had. They each made an individual sacrifice.
"I learned something," Cacckello said. "As a coach, you have to care for them and they’ll care for you and they’ll do anything for you. You have to show them that you care. I see change, and we’ll carry this on absolutely."

The Lady Dutch have won three games since that heart-to-heart talk, including winning their own tournament last week.

Guilderland beat Bishop Maginn, 53-23, on Wednesday and beat Horseheads of Section IV, 43-34, on Thursday.
"We’ve come a long way," Cacckello said after Thursday’s game. "We’re playing really outstanding the last couple of weeks. We spoke a couple of weeks ago about making the team better. They played for one another. In my six years of coaching, I’ve never come across a team like this. I’ve coached some great teams, but I’ve never had one that played for each other like this one has the past two weeks. And that showed tonight."

Commanding lead

Guilderland used a tenacious defense in the first half against Horseheads to build a commanding lead.

The Lady Dutch scored the first 11 points of the game and did not allow Horseheads to score until 1:29 remained in the first quarter.

Nikki Branchini made a three-point basket to get the Dutch rolling. Mary Kate O’Connell scored on a hook shot and made two free throws to give Guilderland a 7-0 lead.

Kristin Pezze made a jump shot and O’Connell added one of her own to give the Dutch the big lead.

Horseheads got on the scoreboard on an inside basket by Missy Loughlin. Loughlin was fouled on the play and made the foul shot to make the score 11-3.

Horseheads started to come back but baskets by Alicia Bowman — off a rebound — and O’Connell gave the Lady Dutch a 15-8 lead at the end of the first stanza.

Guilderland tightened up the defense in the second quarter, giving up just one point in the frame. The Dutch only scored four points in the frame, to hold a 10-point advantage, 19-9, at halftime.

"Enjoyable game"

Horseheads, which is ranked 13th in the state, put together a run in the third quarter and chipped at the Guilderland lead.

The Raiders went on a 7-2 run to cut the lead to five points. A three-pointer by Amanda Rothstein made the score 21-16 with 5:19 left in the third frame.

Pezze’s jump shot scored the only points in the run for the Dutch.

Guilderland built the lead back to nine points on a jump shot by Tricia Loux and two foul shots by O’Connell.

Horseheads kept battling, with back-to-back baskets to cut the lead back down to five. But Guilderland took a six-point lead at the end of the third quarter after Bowman made a foul shot.

The teams traded baskets for most of the fourth quarter but Horseheads could not cut into the Dutch lead. Guilderland was able to pull away late in the quarter by making four consecutive foul shots.
"We held them to nine points in the first half," Cacckello said. "But we knew that we would have to handle their press. They are a team that goes up and down the court. And, in the second day of a tournament, we were lucky to face a team that relies on the fast break. It took a toll on their legs. But they are a great team. They’re ranked 13th in the state."

O’Connell led the Lady Dutch with 17 points. Branchini scored nine points and Pezze and Loux each scored six.

Loughlin led Horseheads with 13 points. Rothstein added nine for the visiting team.
"They are very well coached," Cacckello said. "They mixed up their defenses and we couldn’t adjust. But every time they came down the floor, we made them work for what they got.
"We took their best shot in the second half," Cacckello added. "They came at us early. This is one of the most enjoyable games I’ve ever coached. In the fourth quarter, we had a chance to close it out; the kids acted like it was still the first quarter. We continued to play hard and they had no response for us."

"Getting better"

The wins were something the Dutch wanted to accomplish at the beginning of the season.
"We had eight goals for the season," Cacckello said. "One of those goals was to win our Dutchmen Classic. I thought we had a tough field. We played a very talented Bishop Maginn team and we handled them very well. Playing in a tournament like this will get us ready for sectionals."

Against Bishop Maginn on Wednesday, the Lady Dutch dominated in the second half to open up a close game.

Guilderland led, 10-6, at the end of the first quarter and 23-14 at halftime.

The Lady Dutch then held the Golden Griffins to three points in the third quarter and scored 16 points themselves to take a 39-17 lead into the final frame. Guilderland’s defense then held Bishop Maginn to six points in the fourth quarter to cruise to the win.

Bowman led the Lady Dutch with 11 points. Jen Madsen and Danielle Burns each added seven points and Pezze, Branchini, and Loux each scored six points.

Horseheads beat Shaker, 57-31, in its first-round game of the tournament. Shaker beat Maginn, 54-41, in the final game of the tournament.

Guilderland will celebrate the new year before it plays again. The Dutch will travel to Saratoga on Jan. 5.
"It’s midseason and we keep getting better," Cacckello said. "The kids want to get better. This is what you want, heading into the second half of the season. We feel we can play with anybody though we know how tough the Suburban Council is. We can’t wait to get on the court on January 5."