BERNE — Heart, hustle, and desire.

Those are the three words that each member of the girls’ basketball team at Berne-Knox-Westerlo write on their hands before each game. It is a reminder of how they want to play every game.

And it was definitely the way they played in Friday’s 48-47 loss to Schenectady Christian.
"I can’t ask for more from my kids," said BKW Coach Tom Galvin after the game. "At 4-10 or whatever we are, we could’ve gotten kicked in the teeth by an unbeaten team tonight. I’m so proud of the girls. We could’ve tanked so many times."

The Lady Bulldogs appeared to have the game won. But they could not convert on free throws in the final minute and fell victim to a last-gasp desperation shot.

After BKW missed a free throw, Schenectady Christian got to the loose ball and pushed it up the court.

Rosa Pardee got the ball in the right corner and shot a high-arcing three-pointer over the BKW defense, which dropped in with eight seconds left.

BKW had one more shot as C.J. Vincent pushed the ball up the court but her lay-up fell short and Schenectady Christian kept its unbeaten record intact.
"They keep coming back," Galvin said of his team. "They just want to know who we are playing next. They do all I ask of them. I told them I was so proud of them. They could go south and I could have parents calling the school, but they don’t do any of that. I’m proud of all of them. We were in a position to win. It shows how good we can be."

Battling back

Schenectady Christian led, 36-33, at the end of the third quarter and scored the first basket of the final frame.

But BKW battled back.

Vincent nailed a three-point shot with 6:28 left in the game to pull her team within two points, 38-36.

Pardee answered with a three-pointer for the Falcons to make it 41-36 with 5:44 left in the contest.

BKW’s Brittany Krimsky scored 10 seconds later on a jump shot to make it a three-point game.

Then Andrea VanDyke made it a two-point contest with a foul shot. Then, again, Christian added to the lead when Katie Kaidas made a three-pointer.

But the Lady Bulldogs would not quit.

Vincent made a jump shot, bringing the score to 44-41 with 4:28 left in the contest.

The Bulldogs then took advantage of a Falcons’ turnover to cut the lead to one. VanDyke made a lay-up after the miscue.

BKW took the lead with 3:04 left in the game on a jump shot by Vincent.

Van Dyke made it a two-point game with a free throw with 2:10 left.

Schenectady Christian got a foul shot of its own to cut the lead to one with 1:50 left in the contest.

Vincent made another foul shot for BKW to build the lead back to two points with just over a minute left in the game.

Missed shots

Then neither team could make a foul shot.

Schenectady Christian missed three consecutive free throws and BKW missed two.

Two of Christian’s foul shots were soaked with controversy.

After Ashlyn Slater missed her first of the two attempts she was awarded, she was ready to shoot the second when the referee’s whistle blew.

One ref called a violation on the Falcons for having too many players on the rebounding lines. But the other referee said that he had told the Schenectady Christian players they could have that many players and, after a delay, Slater was awarded her second shot.

Slater missed the shot and the ball was rebounded by BKW’s Alysha VanDyke.

VanDyke, who hadn’t seen much time and was a replacement for Andrea VanDyke, was fouled and went to the free-thow line to shoot a one-and-one. Alysha VanDyke missed the first attempt and Schenectady Christian got to the ball and passed it to Pardee for her heroics.
"We shot six of 13 from the free-throw line," Galvin said. "If we hit those big shots toward the end, but it’s not just one person. We had a lot of missed shots and that hurts when you play against a good team. And the ones you miss at the end get magnified."

Dogged defense

The Bulldogs were victimized by Sarah Child in the first half. Child scored 19 points in the contest, with 13 coming in the first two stanzas.

But they made adjustments in the second half to hold her to just six points.

BKW — in particular Cara Swain — did an excellent job on Kaidas, one of the top players in the Southern Division of the Western Athletic Conference. They held her to just six points in the game.
"Cara Swain scored just two points but she had the biggest impact on the game," Galvin said. "Defense wins big games and her defense on Kaidas put us in a position to win this game."

Slater added 12 points for Schenectady Christian.

Vincent led the Bulldogs with 15 points. Andrea VanDyke scored 13 points and Christine Sikule chipped in 11 points.
"It was the C.J. Vincent that I know and love," Galvin said. "She is the headiest and the gutsiest kid I know. She was cool under fire. She is just a great leader and she showed that tonight," he said after the game.
"Christine also had a good game," Galvin added of Sikule. "She made the big shots when she had to. She played great with rebounding and defense."

Sikule and Vincent went to a leadership conference with Galvin and got the idea of writing heart, hustle, and desire on their hands and shared it with their teammates.

The Lady Bulldogs are now 4-10 as they head into the final stretch of the season. BKW will play at Fonda-Fultonville on Friday and then at Schoharie on the following Tuesday. BKW wraps up its regular season at Sharon Springs on Feb. 3 then plays at home against Middleburgh on Feb. 7.