GUILDERLAND — The Lady Dutch came out with intensity Tuesday night.

And the intensity was all the Guilderland girls’ basketball team needed to propel it to a 54-43 win over arch rival Colonie.
"For three quarters, we played tremendous," said Guilderland Coach Frank Cacckello. "We played great on both ends of the court. Every time they tried to come back at us, we threw a counter punch."

The Lady Dutch clamped down on the Garnet Raiders in the first quarter. Guilderland outscored Colonie, 11-6, in the first frame to set the tone for the contest.

Colonie got on the scoreboard first after Kelly VanValkenburg stole the ball and went in for a lay-up.

But the Lady Dutch were able to settle down against the vaunted Colonie pressure defense and got their first points on a foul shot and a jump shot by Nikki Branchini.

Colonie then tied the game on a foul shot by Amarando Taylor, but Guilderland regained the lead when Rachel Rabbin stole the ball on a pass and went the length of the court for a lay-up.

Taylor made another foul shot and Stephanie Sweeney made an inside basket to put Colonie up 6-5.

But Guilderland used its tough defense to shut out Colonie for the final four minutes of the frame and pulled ahead after beating the Garnet Raiders’ pressure defense.

Lead for good

Kristin Pezze made a steal and lay-up to give the Lady Dutch the lead again—this time for good.

Rabbin scored on a drive to the basket and Branchini made a jump shot to round out the scoring for the Lady Dutch in the quarter.

Guilderland outscored Colonie in the second quarter, 16-11, and held a 10-point lead, 27-17, at halftime.

Guilderland added to its lead in the third quarter.

The Lady Dutch outscored the Garnet Raiders, 15-8, in the stanza.

Guilderland got two three-point baskets from Rabbin in the frame and five points from Mary Kate O’Connell. Jessica Tice and Branchini also scored in the frame for the Lady Dutch.

Guilderland led, 42-25, at the end of the third frame.

But Colonie kept battling, and made things interesting in the fourth quarter.

Though the Garnet Raiders never cut the lead to less than the 11-point final margin, the game had the intensity of a closer match.

Pezze was the clutch player for Guilderland as she scored six points in the stanza — including four foul shots.

O’Connell also came up big with four points in the frame, and Rabbin added two points.

Colonie made the score 44-30 after a basket off of a rebound by Logan Pintka.

But, with 4:39 left in the game, Pezze answered with a lay-up to break Colonie’s mini-run.

Colonie came back with three points on an inside basket by VanValkenburg and a foul shot by Stephanie Sweeney.

But, again, Guilderland answered—this time on a jump shot by Rabbin.

Rabbin’s basket put the Lady Dutch up by 15 points.

Pezze then went four-for-four from the free-throw line and O’Connell banged in a jump shot with 48 seconds left to seal the win.

Starting to click
"The number-one thing we got through was we handled their press," Cacckello said. "We did not break the press; we beat it early. We had problems against the press in the second half, but that’s basketball. We were clock-watching at times. But, in five or six minutes, in the fourth quarter, they only had cut the lead by five points."

Cacckello said he wanted to attack the press but was happy the Dutch were able to build up the lead early.

Rabbin led the Lady Dutch with 14 points. Pezze scored 13 and O’Connell added 11. Tice and Branchini each scored seven for Guilderland.

VanValkenburg led Colonie with 15 points. Amarando scored 12 and Pintka added 11.

Cacckello was pleased with the job his team did defending VanValkenburg; Pezze guarded her most of the night.
"I thought we did a good job on Kelly," Cacckello said. "Kristin plays on both ends."

Cacckello was also happy with the way the team played in the halfcourt on offense and their ability to run some plays.
"We were able to spread out the floor and dribble penetrate," the coach said "We were able to score in tight and that was big for us. We’re starting to click."

Cacckello challenged his seniors to step up for this big Suburban Council showdown.
"I put it on the board," Cacckello said. "I wrote that this might be their only opportunity to beat these guys this year."

And the two seniors in the line-up — Rabbin and Tice — responded.

Guilderland also got strong minutes off the bench from Tricia Loux and sophomore Danielle Burns.

Holding court

The Lady Dutch won their own holiday tournament, posting resounding wins over Ballston Spa and Bishop Maginn.

Guilderland beat Maginn, 58-28, in the second round of the tournament on Thursday.

Rachel Rabbin led the Lady Dutch with 13 points. Kristin Pezze, who was named the tournament’s most valuable player, added 11 points.

Mary Kate O’Connell scored 10 points for the Lady Dutch and Nikki Branchini chipped in with nine points.

Guilderland opened the tournament by beating Ballston Spa, 40-17.

Pezze led all scorers with 13 points.

The Lady Dutch were the only team to finish with a 2-0 record. Ballston Spa beat Shaker in the second round, 48-34. Shaker had beaten Maginn in the first round of the tournament.

It doesn’t get any easier for Guilderland. After the big win over Colonie, the Lady Dutch have to face two of the other top teams in the league.

Guilderland plays Shenendehowa on Friday and Averill Park on Tuesday.