Sports Archives — The Altamont Enterprise, December 2, 2010
Pieces still in place for Lady Bulldog’s basketball
By Jordan J. Michael
BERNE –– The Berne-Knox-Westerlo girls’ basketball team pleasantly surprised itself by getting all the way to the Class C final last season. The 10 returning players are eager to get back to the same game in 2011 because they have something to prove after losing by 38 points last time.
“It’s the fact of losing so badly that really bothered us,” Head Coach Tom Galvin said of the last game the Bulldogs played against Greenwich. “If you lose by one or 10, then OK, but 38 was tough. That game left us with something to prove.”
After practice on Tuesday, senior co-captains Sam Harvey, Tuesday Bishop, and Marian Bates all agreed on one goal: a Class C championship. The three girls have been playing next to each other since seventh-grade summer league.
“We all owe it to ourselves,” Harvey said. “I just hope we’re the team winning by 40 points this time.”
Joining Harvey, Bishop, and Bates back on the court are seniors Tiara Conklin, Victoria McCormick, and Nena Ruiz; juniors Christina North and Jean Farnam; and sophomores Mary Salo and Liz Harvey, who is Sam’s younger sister and the leading scorer from last season. BKW also added juniors Kristen Bassler and Anna Lease, a transfer student from Watervliet.
“Everyone knows each other’s strengths and weaknesses,” Bishop said.
“Another year older and another year smarter,” Galvin said. “Last year, we were young, but experience should be the difference this time around.”
Already, the Lady Bulldogs have done well in scrimmages against Voorheesville, Mohonasen, Cohoes, Maple Hill, and Fonda. Its first game of the season is this Saturday at the Fort Plain Tournament.
“Those tough scrimmages proved that we belong with any team that we face,” said Galvin. “But, we can’t just go through the motions. We didn’t really show up for Maple Hill, so we have to be mentally and physically ready every night.”
During practice on Tuesday, the girls were working hard and picking up on directions almost instantly. Galvin, who has been through a lot in his 16 years of coaching at BKW, almost feels guilty because practice is so easy for his players.
“I say something and then they pick it right up,” Galvin said. “They’re kind of spoiled in a way, but that’s fine because I deal with a lot less stress. We get right into the nuts and bolts. It’s nice having such a smart bunch.”
Galvin told The Enterprise that Bishop, Bates, and Sam Harvey are great at realizing every aspect of the game. “They’ve been around me a long time and we’ve built a solid relationship,” Galvin said.
“We beat each other up sometimes, but we never take it personally,” said Bishop. “We love winning and love making memories.”
In a lot of ways, BKW snuck through the Class C field last year. However, Galvin thinks that his team always has a “target” on its back because it’s routinely competitive in the Western Athletic Conference.
“Some seasons are made by beating us,” Galvin said.
“This won’t come easy,” added Sam Harvey.
“Opponents are out to get us,” Bishop said. “Got to take this step by step.”