GUILDERLAND — The Guilderland girls’ basketball team got into trouble in Saturday night’s game against Amsterdam.

Foul trouble, that is.

The Lady Dutch saw senior Jessica Tice foul out after picking up her fifth foul in the third quarter and other players played close to the limit as Amsterdam was able to pull away for a 48-37 win in a Class AA quarterfinal game played at Shenendehowa High School.
"We were in foul trouble all game," said Guilderland Coach Frank Cacckello after the game. "I told [assistant] Coach Mazzone that the difference in the game will be who stays out of foul trouble and we didn’t today."

Guilderland led at halftime, 21-19, and the game was close until Amsterdam went on a 9-0 run that started at the four-minute mark of the stanza. Guilderland scored again on a foul shot by Tice with 1:50 left in the frame.

The Lady Dutch trailed 37-27 at the end of the period.

The foul trouble took away some of the aggressiveness on defense the Dutch have used all season — especially from Tice. Junior guard Nikki Branchini was also in foul trouble for most of the contest.

When Tice fouled out, the Dutch lost depth as another player had been sidelined earlier in the game due to an injury.
"We lost Tricia Loux, who as our backup [forward] gave us production off the bench," Cacckello said. "We had to change things and they beat us in the second half. They took advantage of our weaknesses in the second half."

Defense struggles

The Dutch defense struggled to defend Amsterdam’s inside players, Mallory Nelson and Brittany Stahura. Nelson led the Rams with 22 points and Stahura added 14.
"Tice and O’Connell had difficulty with their two post players," Cacckello said.

Guilderland saw its halftime lead evaporate as Nelson scored six consecutive points to give Amsterdam the lead. She then scored on a three-point play to give the Rams a seven-point lead, 28-21, with 5:45 left in the third quarter.

But the Lady Dutch would not go away; they got back-to-back baskets.

Kristin Pezze hit a jump shot and Megan Carroll made an inside basket to pull Guilderland within three points, with 5:04 left in the quarter.

But Stahura scored an inside basket for Amsterdam to end the Dutch’s mini run.

The Rams would score seven more points to open up a big lead.

Foul shots by Tice and Melanie Ostrowski cut the lead to 10 points at the end of the third quarter.

Guilderland was outscored, 18-6, in the third stanza.

Any comeback attempt was thwarted in the fourth quarter as the Lady Dutch were outscored, 11-10, in the frame.
"Our press took some things away from them," Cacckello said. "But it is hard to play from behind."

The Dutch were also missing one of their weapons in Tice as she sat on the bench late in the third and for all of the fourth quarter.
"She knows enough not to foul," Cacckello said. "Without her, we weren’t going at full strength at all. But what are you going to do" She is smart enough not to pick that fifth foul up. And that took away a lot of the things we need to do on offense and defense."

Tice finished the game with seven points as did Pezze. Rachel Rabbin, playing in her last high-school game, led the Lady Dutch with 12 points.

Tice and Jen Keefe are the other seniors on the team.
"I hate losing seniors," Cacckello said. "But there is a finality in basketball. I hope they take all they learned through the program. They gave a lot to the team. I see [graduated] kids at games. They had a big role on the program without a doubt."

The Dutch do return a lot of players, including Pezze who led the team in scoring this season. She scored 26 points in the Dutch’s first-round win over Schenectady. Branchini, who like Pezze is a junior, added 17 points in the 61-41 victory.
"We had a good year," Cacckello said. "We have a good nucleus coming back. I had an unbelievable time coaching these kids. The saddest things about losing is that I won’t see these kids in the gym. That’s how special they were to me."