Sports Archives — The Altamont Enterprise, February 3, 2011
Harvey scores in bunches
Lady Bulldogs win seventh straight, take down undefeated Cougars
By Jordan J. Michael
BERNE –– With the scored tied at 22 to 22 in the third quarter against undefeated Canajoharie on Friday night, Lady Bulldog Liz Harvey scored 12 straight points in two minutes. Harvey, a sophomore, carried Berne-Knox-Westerlo on her shoulders, something she has done plenty of times before.
The Lady Bulldogs won the game, 58 to 49, handing the Cougars its first defeat of the season. The crowd at the BKW gymnasium, which will be rebuilt after this season, was ecstatic the entire night before the home team exited with its seventh victory in a row.
Harvey, who scored a game-high 25 points, was the catalyst for the win in the third quarter. In an astonishing sequence, with the game tied, Harvey put three consecutive three-pointers through the basket. Continuing her tour de force, Harvey drove the lane twice, making one lay-up and getting fouled on another.
“I was really quiet in the first half, so I decided to step it up and get into a groove,” said Harvey, who has scored 25 or more points in the past four games, including a season-high 30 points at Schenectady Christian on Jan. 10. “I got everyone motivated, but this was a team effort.”
The Dog Pound, as the BKW fans call the gym, was shaking with jubilant noise. Harvey had completed the unthinkable. The Lady Bulldogs now had a 34-to-24 lead.
“I do feel like I carry this team sometimes and it can be a lot of pressure,” Harvey said on Tuesday. “It helps when other teammates score.”
On Friday, Harvey got plenty of help from Mary Salo, older sister Sam Harvey, and Marian Bates, who has made 17 three-pointers for the season. Salo scored 12 points and grabbed plenty of rebounds, Sam Harvey had nine points, and Bates scored 10 points against Canajoharie.
“These players know their roles as a team,” Head Coach Tom Galvin said. “It’s all about winning for us. I don’t care if the bus driver comes in and scores 40 points, as long as we get the win.”
As for Liz Harvey, Galvin told The Enterprise that it’s just her being herself. “I tell Liz that she’s the best,” Galvin said. “I use positive reinforcement.”
Harvey, who classifies herself as superstitious, has noticed something over the seven- game winning streak. BKW started the season at 2-3 after being a Class C runner-up last year.
“It’s funny because ever since that bad start I’ve been wearing new shoes and straightening my hair,” Harvey said. “I’m going to keep with that.”
Harvey is making only 60 percent of her free throws this season, but she’s made 30 three-pointers, well ahead of last year’s pace. “I used to drive the basket more, but things have changed,” she said. “Maybe I’m growing, I don’t know.”
Big game
On Friday, before Liz Harvey had her explosion in the third quarter, things were intensely tight against Canajoharie. The Cougars ended up tying the game at 40 to 40 in the early stages of the fourth quarter.
Again, Harvey stepped up off a perfect assist from her sister, Sam, and Salo grabbed an offensive board and put the ball back in. The Lady Bulldogs were up by four points, but a three-pointer by Mackenzie Stahler got the Cougars within one point at 45 to 44.
“We remember the feeling of losing and we don’t want that again,” Bates said. “We put all our energy into winning. We can’t leave without a win.”
Jean Farnam made an excellent post move for BKW, and Harvey made a lay up while getting fouled to widen the lead for the Bulldogs, 50 to 44. The Dog Pound was shaking yet again and all the home team had left to do was make its free throws down the stretch.
Salo, who Galvin said was “beat up” by Canajoharie’s starting center earlier in the season, came up big for BKW on Friday by owning the glass. Galvin said that he had challenged Salo to do a better job in the rematch.
“We really wanted this win and I wasn’t going to let that girl beat me down this time,” Salo said. “We wanted to show them what kind of team we were. We came here to prove something.”
One Canajoharie fan was holding a sign that read, “Beauty + Skills = Undefeated.” Liz Harvey said after the game that the “ignorant” sign bothered her and her teammates. “That made us mad, that sign,” she said. “They’re a good team, but beatable.”
Galvin said that BKW was “very humble” early on in the season, but dealing with some adversity has changed things for the better. “We worked hard and found an identity,” he said.
The Lady Bulldogs have four Western Athletic Conference games remaining –– Sharon Springs, Schenectady Christian, and two against Middleburgh –– with each opponent below in the standings. At 9-3 and riding a seven-game winning streak, the hope is vivid.
“We don’t take losing lightly,” Bates said. “We’re a great team that works together.”