BERNE — The upset was oh-so-close.

The Berne-Knox-Westerlo girls’ basketball team came close on Saturday night to upsetting the number-one seed, Hoosick Valley, in the Class CC Section II tournament. In the end, BKW lost by just three points, 47-44.
"We put it all on the table," said BKW Coach Tom Galvin. "We played very well. We played great defense at times. We frustrated them and we made some big shots. With 1:40 left, we were up by two points and in position to win. I’m happy with the way the kids responded.
"We were the only ones that thought we had a chance," Galvin said. "Especially with the way we’ve been playing lately."

The Bulldogs used tough defense on Hoosic Valley and, as they have all season, got a big-time performance from Cara Swain on the defensive end.
"We played them a little bit with a box and one," Galvin said of the defense. "Cara was on their best player, who had been averaging in double figures, and held her to four points. She made a three-pointer and a foul shot."

Turnovers hurt the Bulldogs in the final minutes and gave the Indians the win.
"We turned it over a couple of times," Galvin said. "They were able to extend their lead a little bit. They had a couple of steals and went up by one. We were then forced to foul. We had a chance and got a rebound and got the ball, but turned it over. C. J. [Vincent] had a desperation shot but she had three girls on her. We had our chances."

Christine Sikule led the Lady Bulldogs with 19 points. She scored 12 of them in the first half on foul shots.
"She continued to step up in the second half and C. J. finished with 13 points," Galvin said. "All four of our big players had good scoring totals. They did a nice job of keeping it interesting."

Andrea Van Dyke added eight points and Brittany Krimsky scored four for BKW.

Galvin said that his players came in confident that they could play with the number-one seed.
"We knew we were able to play with anybody," Galvin said. "They were physical kids, but we weren’t intimidated. We can play physical basketball. Andrea came back to the bench during a timeout and said that they weren’t that good; we can beat them. I had a nice feeling throughout the game that we could win. It was nice; that’s what I wanted. We showed Hoosic Valley and the rest of Section II, that, even though we struggled early, that we were a much better team."

Crushing Corinth

The Bulldogs beat Corinth, 66-37, in the first round of the sectional tournament last Wednesday.
"We did a lot of the things we needed to do," Galvin said on Wednesday. "We had great defense. When they got off the bus, we wanted them to feel like they wanted to get back on the bus. We battled hard."

BKW used pressure defense to stifle any offense Corinth tried to use. The Tomahawks only scored seven points in the first quarter and did not get a field goal until 1:37 remained in the first quarter.

The Bulldogs scored 11 points to start the game and held an 11-1 lead with 4:52 left in the first quarter.

Sikule started the game with a three-pointer and VanDyke made two foul shots.

VanDyke scored on a drive to the basket and Sikule made two free throws after she was fouled after making a steal.

Brittany Krimsky made a jump shot and BKW had a 10-point lead.

The Bulldogs led, 16-7, at the end of the first quarter and 39-17 at halftime.

BKW kept the lead by outscoring Corinth, 12-10, in the third quarter and 13-10 in the fourth.

Every player, including the ones called up from the junior varsity, got into the game.
"We wanted them to walk out of here and say ‘I can’t believe they’re 8-12," Galvin said. "We underachieved at times and we finished 8-12, but I felt we dominated. We wanted to smother them early with the press. We kept doing that and the kids busted their butts. We smothered them. They were bigger than us but I knew we had an advantage with our guard play."

Vincent led the Bulldogs with 27 points. VanDyke added 16 and Sikule scored nine. Krimisky chipped in seven points.

Playing a game like Saturday’s will only benefit his young team, Galvin said. The Bulldogs will lose only two seniors — Sikule and Sarah Furman.
"We had our end-of-the-year meeting today," Galvin said on Tuesday. "The girls were still pumped up. They realize they are talented and we have good momentum heading into next year. Nine of the 11 players are back next year. I see only good things."

But Galvin will miss the seniors.
"Christine came to play," Galvin said. "We’ll miss her offense. And I’ll miss Sarah Furman. She did not play a lot but her attitude was great. She never complained about playing time and worked hard. Both are kids that are very valuable to the program. Furman never quit and never complained. I’ll definitely be sorry to lose them. It will be a challenge to fill their spots."