Sports Archives — The Altamont Enterprise, February 17, 2011
Holy Names’ offense too much for Voorheesville
By Jordan J. Michael
VOORHEESVILLE –– The girls from Holy Names, all sporting identical bright pink sneakers, came to Voorheesville on Friday night with a 14-game winning streak. The team left with another win after sinking many types of shots from all over the floor.
The Lady Birds couldn’t keep pace with Holy Names’ offensive waves, losing 66 to 48. It was by far the most points Voorheesville had given up to a Colonial Council opponent this season.
“When they get a look, they sink it,” Blackbird Head Coach Bob Baron said of Holy Names after the game. “Finishing is their strength.”
Voorheesville had plenty of looks at the basket as well, but many fewer shots went through. “We didn’t finish our shots tonight,” said Baron.
After being down 12 points at halftime, Brittanie Denman made a three-pointer to get the Birds within six points at 39 to 33, but Holy Names went on a 10-to-2 run to close out the quarter. Bernadette Jordan capped off the run by stealing the ball at mid-court and racing the other way to make a lay-up at the buzzer.
“They made a lot of shots,” said Jane Pritchard, who had six points for Voorheesville. “I’ll never question our effort though. We played as hard as we could. Shots just weren’t falling.”
Holy Names and Voorheesville used to play against each other twice per season, but the Colonial Council split into two divisions after Fonda and Ichabod Crane joined this year. Friday was the only meeting between the neighboring schools.
“Their one of the best teams around,” Pritchard said of Holy Names. “It’s better to beat a quality team like them.”
The game got off to a quick start and remained a quick affair, but the Lady Birds were already shorthanded coming into Friday. Junior Jennifer Cillis, who usually starts each game, suffered a season-ending knee injury in a win against Schalmont on Feb. 8.
“When you lose a player like Jen, it’s so different,” said Denman, who scored nine points on Friday. “She’s so dedicated, and losing her just made this a lot tougher. We lost some chemistry.”
Baron told The Enterprise that he had to use a different rotation with Cillis out, and that made some tasks hard for Voorheesville. “She works extremely hard and usually sets the pace,” Baron said of Cillis. “We count on her, so her absence hurts the team.”
The praise for Cillis continued: “She’s an amazing teammate,” said Pritchard. “It’s hard missing the lift that she brings.”
With Cillis on the bench, Anna Feller and Sarah Madden combined for a nice one-two punch of scoring. Feller finished with 13 points and Madden had 11, and often the two players would assist each other. However, Holy Names’ Sarah Agan, Mary Kate Murray, and Chrsitina Spicer pooled for 52 points. Agan led all scorers with 21 points.
“We have a great offensive system,” Pritchard said. “We’re always getting open shots, but we have to finish them off.”
“A lot of drama tonight, but we’re ready to move on,” said Denman, after the game.
On Tuesday, the Lady Birds hosted Cohoes in the final game of the regular season, winning 51 to 46. Denman had 17 points, including five three-pointers. Voorheesville is 11-7 as it waits for a Class C sectional seed.
“This team always plays hard, but sometimes not so smart,” said Baron on Friday. “We have to get back in sync and be able to finish. We’ll be very dangerous if we can.”