GUILDERLAND — If it weren’t for the second quarter, the Guilderland girls’ basketball team would have been in contention for a win on Tuesday night.

Instead, Colonie turned the quarter into a fright fest and transformed Guilderland’s home court into a house of horrors as the Garnet Raiders used that frame to propel themselves to a 49-26 win.
"Our execution wasn’t there," said Guilderland Coach Frank Cacckello. "We knew what we had to do. But, like my assistant coach Jim Mazzone said, they played like champions. They being Colonie."

The score was 9-7 in favor of Colonie at the end of the first quarter. When the horn sounded to end the second period, Colonie led 22-7.

The Garnet Raiders outscored the Lady Dutch, 13-0, in the frame and set the tone for the rest of the game.
"We couldn’t knock their defense," Cacckello said. "They came at us in every aspect of the game. We tried to make adjustments. But they were in our guards’ faces every possession and it seemed that the shot clock was going under 10 seconds every possession."

It was a killer pressure defense that haunted the Dutch in the second quarter. Colonie forced Guilderland to commit eight turnovers in the stanza.

The second half was more even between the teams, though Colonie called off the dogged defense. Still Colonie outscored the Lady Dutch, 16-7, in the third frame — led by Logan Pintka’s 11 points — to answer any questions about the outcome.

"Biggest positive"

Guilderland did outscore the Garnet Raiders, 12-9, in the fourth quarter, using mostly players off the bench.
"The biggest positive was how hard the kids played in the final three minutes," Cacckello said. "I put in kids that haven’t seen a lot of time and they played well. They might be playing a lot more."

Cacckello was pleased with how one of those players did down the stretch.
"Jen Madsen, in the second half, played well," Cacckello said. "She is a tough kid and got some rebounds and blocks. She did things that we were supposed to."

Pintka led all scorers with 14 points. Ola Shajuyigbe added nine points for the Garnet Raiders and Stephanie Sweeney chipped in with seven.

The Lady Dutch were led by Kristin Pezze’s seven points. Madsen scored six points, but Guilderland’s next top scorer was Mary Kate O’Connell with four points.

With the score close after the first quarter, it was shocking to Cacckello how the second period unfolded.
"After they made a run earlier," the coach said, "we were able to cut into the lead. I thought, now we’re into it. They usually take control in the first quarter. But we had too many turnovers."

The Lady Dutch came into the game with a unbeaten league record, though they lost to Colonie in the Bethlehem Tournament to open the season. Colonie is considered one of the best teams in the Suburban Council.
"We were 2-0 in the league," Cacckello said. "We understood, that we had to play our best game to beat these guys."

The loss dropped the Lady Dutch’s record to 3-2 overall and 3-1 in the Suburban Council. The Dutch will have to make a turnaround if they don’t want to fall into an abyss.

Guilderland will play Friday at home against Columbia, and then host Niskayuna on Tuesday. The Dutch then will host their Holiday Tournament on Dec. 27 and 28. The Lady Dutch will take on Bishop Maginn on Wednesday and then take on Horseheads of Section IV (Binghamton area) on Thursday.
"We’ll find out Friday what kind of team we are," Cacckello said. "I hope they remember tonight and Wednesday in the gym we’ll get tough and get ready for Friday. We’ll find out a lot about this team on Friday."