By Jordan J. Michael

BERNE –– Basketball games can’t last forever, but on Friday night, the girls’ contest between Berne-Knox-Westerlo and Schenectady Christian was certainly long enough.

The Lady Bulldogs jumped out to a comfortable 28-to-16 lead at halftime. However, the Falcons, who were 6-0 in the Western Athletic Conference South, rallied back in the second half to tie the game at 41 and send it into overtime.

BKW Head Coach Tom Galvin told The Enterprise after the game that his young team has struggled to hold big leads so far this season. “We don’t have the confidence to put a good team away,” he said. “That’s how it is with a new team. A game like this helped the cause though.”

BKW and Schenectady were again tied after the first overtime, 47-47. Rachael Brush hit a big-time three pointer for the Falcons, only to be matched at the other end by freshman Elizabeth Harvey of the Bulldogs. The two teams couldn’t find the basket in the final 30 seconds, so a second overtime would have to decide the game.

It was a grueling contest ever since the ball was in bounded to start the second half, but a miss by Schenectady Christian’s Monica Compton opened a door for BKW in double overtime. Marian Bates drained a three and Tiara Conklin rained another three to put the Lady Bulldogs up, 53 to 47, with 1:40 left on the clock.

Bates and Harvey each made two free throws down the stretch and the excitable BKW crowd was happy to see its home team win, 57 to 49. It marked the first league loss for the Falcons.

“This was a lot of fun and everyone on the team pitched in,” said Harvey, who led BKW with 16 points and is second in Section II with 22.7 points per game as a freshman. “I think we got a little soft in the second half after we established a lead and that allowed them to come back. I’m just glad we pulled it out.”

Harvey has been a pleasant surprise for the Bulldogs this season. On Tuesday, Harvey set the school record for points in a game with 33 in a 69-to-48 win over Middleburgh at home. She had four three’s and shot seven of 10 from the foul line. Andrea Van Dyke set the previous record of 32 last year.

Galvin considered bringing Harvey up to varsity last season, but thought otherwise to let her develop. Galvin knew Harvey would score a number of points this year, but second in the section? She’s gone past expectations.

“She’ll be a very special player if she keeps after it,” Galvin said of Harvey on Friday. “She doesn’t get nervous and she uses her body better than anyone I’ve ever coached. She’s a great kid and I’m glad to have her around for four years.”

“I’m very proud of my little sister,” said teammate Samantha Harvey. “There is no reason for me to get jealous because she scores and I get all the assists.”

Gutsy game

The word “overtime” was the last thing someone would have mentioned after the Lady Bulldogs opened up a 20-to-7 lead over the Falcons in the first quarter.

BKW got going when Nena Ruiz banked in a three-pointer from the top after Jean Farnam saved the ball from going out of bounds. Conklin later hit a three and followed that up with a bank shot from the foul line on an assist from Sam Harvey, who stuck with the rebound. Then, Bates added another three-pointer and Farnam found Christina North for a catch and shoot as the buzzer sounded.

The Bulldogs got into foul trouble in the second quarter, but Schenectady Christian couldn’t hit any free throws. The Falcons ended up shooting only five of 25 from the foul line.

Bank shots seemed to be the theme for BKW in the first half. Sam Harvey and North put in consecutive shots off the window to push the lead to 25 to 11. The Lady Bulldogs ended the second quarter with another buzzer beater. Sam Harvey picked up a loose ball and put it up to beat the clock.

“We chuck up buzzer beaters in practice all the time because you never know when you’ll need to sink one in a game,” said Galvin. “We have certain plays for those situations.”

Everything looked fine for BKW until the team went on a dry spell in the second half. The Falcons outscored the Bulldogs, 25 to 13, in the second stanza and BKW could only muster four points in the third quarter.

Compton had a block of Bates and that led to a three-pointer from Brush. Compton put in two successive lay-ups and the Bulldogs’ lead was cut to three at 28 to 25. Heidi Frazer put Schenectady Christian up by one and the home fans were restless until Conklin hit a three to put BKW back on top, 31 to 29.

Compton was very impressive in the third quarter and she tied the game at 31 before sending Conklin to the free-throw line with a foul. Conklin sunk a foul shot and the third quarter was in the books, with BKW up by one. Liz Harvey tried another buzzer beater, but no luck this time.

“We’re a good team now, but we can be great if we learn how to put teams away,” Galvin said. “The back-and-forth play of tonight did a lot for their maturity.”

Sam Harvey gave the Bulldogs a five-point lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter when she was resilient on the offensive glass, pulling down three rebounds before scoring and racing to the other end for a block. She added another rebound put back on the next possession. Sam Harvey ended the game with eight points before fouling out.

Liz Harvey put a three-pointer though the netting as play was starting to get more intense. Girls were falling all over the court. Compton made her presence felt again by scoring two consecutive baskets and tying the game at 39 with 1:22 left in regulation play.

With less than a minute to play, Bates drove the lane and threw up a prayer for BKW; the ball floated into the basket. The crowd went wild until Frazer grabbed the rebound off Brush’s missed shot and tied the game at 41.

It was an entertaining game and BKW was lucky in the end. Bates and Conklin finished with 13 points each and Frazer led Schenectady Christian with 15. Brush and Compton scored 14 and 12 respectively.

Coach Galvin said that games between these two clubs are always tight. “It was a gutsy performance from both sides,” he said. “There was no rhythm in that game at all. We really needed this win though.”

The Lady Bulldogs are 4-2 in the Western Athletic Conference and 8-2 overall after Tuesday’s win over Middleburgh. The team travels to Schoharie on Friday.

“I think we have the potential to win this league,” Liz Harvey said on Friday. “This game gives us better luck and a more positive attitude.”