BERNE — The Berne-Knox-Westerlo girls’ basketball team might have gotten the win that shows they belong with the top teams in the Western Athletic Conference.

The Lady Bulldogs beat previously-unbeaten South Division front-runner Schenectady Christian in resounding fashion on Friday night.

The Lady Bulldogs got defensive in the second half to bite the Falcons, 51-31.
"We played very well," said BKW Coach Tom Galvin. "It was tied at halftime, 18-18. We outscored them, 15-5, in the third quarter and 18-8 in the fourth"I think that will get us over the hump a little bit. Last year, we played them tough and had chances to beat them. They beat us on a buzzer-beater at our place. This gets us over the hump and headed in the right direction."

BKW was competitive with Schenectady Christian, even though the Bulldogs had lost the first game of the season to the Falcons.
"This year, we put the hammer down in our victory," Galvin said. "But both games it could’ve been a flip of the coin. Either one of us could have won it. That’s a sign of a good team. We are evolving into a good basketball team. We’re playing good ball at the right time."

Tough defense on the perimeter aided in the win even though the Falcons’ best player, Sarah Child, had a good game inside.
"Child is their best player," Galvin said. "We knew she would score her points. We conceded that she would score points. But we limited their guards on the perimeter. They only had four players score and that was key. It was hard for them to penetrate most times. They wanted to play slow and bang inside. We wanted to speed up and play a full-court game. And we were successful."

"Balanced"

Andrea Van Dyke led the Bulldogs with 21 points. She scored 16 of those points in the second half.

Brittany Krimsky, Anna Kusler, and Lauren Ford each scored eight points. Child led Schenectady Christian with 16 points and was the only Falcon in double figures.
"It’s been our m.o. lately to be balanced," Galvin said of his scorers. "We have five starters that have 100 points [for the season] and different players have stepped up in the past three games. Anna Kusler has been scoring points for us lately. And C.J. Vincent, it looks like her numbers are off, but she does a lot of other things. She plays good defense and she is dishing the ball and running the offense. She makes our motor go and then we’re tough to stop."

Galvin said that his team was able to solve a special defense designed to stop Vincent and Van Dyke.
"They used a triangle and two on Andrea and C.J.," Galvin said. "But they were out of that by halftime. Other kids were hurting them. When we are able to do that, we are tough to beat.
"This is a team without a star," Galvin added. "And that is fine with me. Everyone chips in and we have a different star each game."

Fight for the top

The win on Friday and a 55-34 win over Duanesburg last Wednesday bumps the Lady Bulldogs record to 7-2 in the WAC and 8-5 overall. The Bulldogs are in a fight for the top two spots in the South Division of the WAC with Schenectady Christian and Schoharie. If the teams end up in a three-way tie for first place, BKW will have an advantage.
"It will go to a points system and one of the criteria is overall difficulty of schedule, which would favor us," Galvin said. "We played four tough tournament games and then we play Fonda and Galway and they are two of the better teams in the North Division [of the WAC]. We played some tough teams in our non-league games."

The Bulldogs will face North Division leader Fonda on Friday and then play Galway on Monday.
"Fonda is undefeated," Galvin said. "It would be great to upset another undefeated team. We just want to prepare ourselves for the WAC cup and possibly match-up with them. And Galway is a good team. It’s at their place and they are well-coached."

The Bulldogs got a week off to savor their big win and prepare for the final stretch of the season.
"It’s nice," Galvin said on Monday. "I’ll give them the day off tomorrow and they need that this time of year. We play every Wednesday and Friday. It’s hard to believe that we’re in the final eight games of the regular season."

Galvin sees his team as being confident as the sectional playoffs approach.
"It’s done wonders for them," the coach said. "I say to them that, if they listen to me, they can do this and this. I say it to them all year. They did this and this and we won. So now they believe that they can do this and this and be successful."
He concluded of the victory over the Falcons. "That win was a confidence booster. In the past few years, they’ve been our rival more than any other team in the league."