GUILDERLAND — The team put themselves in a hole that they couldn’t get all the way out of on Friday.

The Lady Dutch fell behind, 11-0, with 3:51 left in the first quarter against Suburban Council leader Shenendehowa and couldn’t catch up in a 47-41 loss.
"I called two time-outs in that quarter," said Guilderland Coach Frank Cacckello. "I called the time-outs so we could get back to what we practiced and go back to what we are capable of doing. And we did, and they got rattled fast and we didn’t get rattled."

Guilderland scored six straight points in the opening stanza to get back into the game before Shen’s Erin Gray made two foul shots to make the score 13-6 at the end of the first frame.

Kristin Pezze made two jump shots and Jessica Tice added another for Guilderland’s points in the quarter.

Again Shen built a lead, scoring the first five points in the second quarter, which made the score 18-6. But the Lady Dutch didn’t quit; they outscored the Lady Plainsmen, 11-4, for the rest of the quarter.

Pezze made two free throws and Tice made a jump shot to make the score 18-10 with 4:24 left in the frame.

After two free throws by Shen’s Barb Shea, Tice scored after grabbing a rebound, which made the score 20-12.

Rachel Rabbin hit a three-pointer with 1:06 left until halftime and Meghan Carroll made a lay-up to cut the lead to three points, 20-17.

Two foul shots by Gray with 22 seconds left made the halftime score 22-17, but the Lady Dutch had regained their confidence and had the momentum.

On the move

Guilderland carried that momentum into the second half and tied the score early in the third period.

Nicole Branchini scored on an inside basket and Mary Kate O’Connell made a free throw to make the score 22-20.

Then Pezze made a steal and drove the length of the court for a lay-up to tie the game with 6:31 left in the third stanza.

But Shen took the lead back on a short-range jump shot by Kristen Dessingue and then proceeded to outscore the Dutch, 8-1, over the next couple of minutes.

After Rabbin made a free throw, Gray made two foul shots for Shen.

The Plainsmen then got a big play from Sarah Watersdorf as she broke up a lay-up attempt by Rabbin after Rabbin made a steal and had a fast break.

Gray later scored an inside basket and Dessingue added back-to-back jump shots to make the score 32-23.

O’Connell ended the Lady Plainsmen’s run with an inside basket with two minutes to go in the third quarter.

The third quarter ended with the Lady Dutch down, 35-28.

Again, the Lady Dutch would not go down without a fight.

Rabbin hit a three-pointer to start the fourth quarter and the Dutch were down by just four points, 35-31.

Shea, however, scored on a drive to the basket to build Shen’s lead back to six points.

Guilderland got a basket on a strong drive to the hoop by Branchini and got a jump shot by Pezze to cut the lead to two points.

But Shen again answered as Kerri Revesz made a three-pointer with 4:32 left to make the score 40-35.

Dessingue then made both ends of a one-and-one opportunity at the foul line with 3:10 left.

Guilderland got three consecutive foul shots — one by Pezze and two by Branchini — to cut the lead to four points with under two minutes to play. But Shen put the game away on an inside basket and foul shot by Bre O’Dell.

Danielle Burns and Pezze made foul shots for the Lady Dutch, but that was countered by a foul shot by Shea and O’Dell.

Pezze was the only Guilderland player to reach double figures in scoring. She led all scorers with 16 points. Rabbin scored seven and Tice and Branchini each added six points.

Gray, who battled a shoulder injury and earlier in the week thought her season might be over, led the Plainsmen with 13 points. Dessingue added 11 and Shea scored seven.

Double fist

But it was a defensive change that put the Dutch back into the game. Cacckello switched to a two-three zone defense after the Dutch’s early struggles.
"We watched their zone offense," Cacckello said. "We did not have much luck with our man-to-man, so we went to the double fist. It shocked everyone and against the double fist, they struggled. We got everything out of that defense we wanted."

The defense took the Lady Plainsmen out of their offensive flow.
"They had a rhythm going into their offense," Cacckello said. "The other thing was, we got in foul trouble. They didn’t move much and it was more of a match-up zone."

Cackello was pleased that his players put up an excellent fight after falling behind early in the contest, especially on a night when three of his players were honored.
"It was Senior Night," Cacckello said. "And to play well for them was our number-one priority. Jen Keefe, Rachel Rabbin, and Jess Tice have meant so much to our program. We wanted to put on a good showing for them on Senior Night."

The loss drops the Lady Dutch to 9-7 overall and 7-5 in the Suburban Council. The Dutch played in the league tournament that started on Wednesday and hosted Bethlehem. Guilderland will wrap up the regular season with a trip to Saratoga on Feb. 14. Then the sectionals will follow and the Lady Dutch will be near the Suburban Council half of the Class AA draw.

The Lady Dutch seemed pleased with Friday night’s effort. They had been blown out by Shen earlier in the season.
"We faced a lot of adversity," Cacckello said. "The kids responded. We were in foul trouble and we switched defenses. We came back and hit shots and did a lot of good things. There definitely was a sectional atmosphere."