GUILDERLAND — With so much on the line and in front of a large crowd, the Guilderland girls’ basketball team struggled on offense for three quarters.

But a stout defense and an explosive fourth quarter gave the Lady Dutch the Gold they have been searching for.

The Lady Dutch beat Bethlehem, 41-29, on Tuesday night to clinch the Suburban Council’s Gold Division. The win also showed the plethora of younger kids in the stands celebrating Guilderland Basketball Club Night just how dynamic a program girls’ basketball teams are at Guilderland.

The win put Guilderland in the Suburban Council Tournament of Champions starting today (Thursday) at Averill Park. The Dutch will take on rival Shenendehowa at 6 p.m.
"We changed the offense and went to more of a down screen to get Mary Kate on the block," said Guilderland Coach Frank Cacckello. "It opened things up a little bit. We won the first four minutes of the quarter. We were on a 16-2 run, which surprised me. We played really relentless in the fourth quarter. They had their goals in mind."

One of those goals was to win the division and they accomplished that by winning nine of their last 10 league games. The only loss during that stretch was to Blue Division co-champion Shenendehowa. The Dutch moved from the Blue Division to the Gold with a smaller enrollment this year, switching spots with Colonie.

Guilderland also won 11 of 12 games overall and hadn’t lost, before last Tuesday, since Dec. 15 against Columbia.
"This was huge tonight," Cacckello said of Tuesday’s win. "Any time you have a chance to win something is nice. It was important to win it outright tonight."

But winning the title wasn’t easy.

"A lot of energy"

The game was tied, 19-19, at halftime and the Dutch were up, 26-24, at the end of the third quarter.

Then Guilderland turned up the offense.

Danielle Burns made two foul shots and then, after Tricia Loux stole a pass, Kristin Pezze made a jump shot to give the Lady Dutch a six-point lead, 30-24.

Bethlehem got two foul shots from Keirsten Swete to cut the lead to four points, but it would be the only points the Eagles would get until the game was decided.

Mary Kate O’Connell made an inside basket with 3:38 left in the contest. Loux made back-to-back baskets — the first a jump shot, the second inside — and the Dutch were cruising.

Guilderland was able to seal the win by making five of six free throws in the final minute-and-a-half. Pezze made four consecutive foul shots and Jen Madsen added one. Bethlehem’s only field goal of the quarter came on a three-point shot with 16 seconds left in the contest.
"We were able to find the open player," Cacckello said. "And we were giving them just one shot. We were rebounding the ball. They had no second chances and that was the difference. Then we were able to put the ball in the basket."

Pezze led the Dutch with 15 points. O’Connell added seven, Burns chipped in with five, and Branchini scored six points.
"We take up a lot of energy on defense," Pezze said. "We used some of that aggressiveness on offense. That will keep us going at the level we’re playing."

"A lot of goals"
"The seniors wanted to win the division," Cacckello said. "We talked about that when we fell behind and Columbia had that hot start. I said that we could do something special. They could look at the banner and the trophy and they can never take that away from you. This is coming from a Guilderland graduate who never won anything. That is a big thing."

Guilderland finished the regular season with a 14-4 overall record and a 11-3 record in the Suburban Council.

With the regular season over, the Dutch will focus on the Suburban Council Tournament and then the Section II Class AA tournament.
"We play the season, into three different seasons," Cacckello said. "The first season is the regular season, the second is the Suburban Council Tournament, and the third is sectionals. We’ve completed season one."
"We have a lot of goals for the team," Pezze added. She is looking to play at Ithaca College or to go to Siena College, where she won’t play basketball.
"We wanted to get 14 wins and win the division," she added. "The other is to win sectionals. We realized a couple of those goals."

With their stout defense and senior leaders — O’Connell, Pezze, Branchini, Loux, and Meghan Carroll — the Dutch could continue their success.
"You can’t beat senior leadership," Cacckello said. "We have players that know what to expect. But sometimes we have players that try to take over too much. We have one of the most unsung players in Tricia Loux. She made two crucial baskets. That’s what happens when we run our offense. It’s nice to have players with senior leadership."

That leadership shows in hotly-contested games.
"The kids never get that nervous feeling," Cacckello said. "They never get rattled. You can see it in the kids. It’s just another quarter and they definitely responded."
"Out of the spotlight"

The Dutch players responded after losing to Shen last week. They came back to beat Columbia, 49-42, in a game they needed to win to earn the Gold Division crown.
"We played with a lot of energy, losing against Shen," Pezze said. "We played our hearts out. With our season on the line, we didn’t want to lose another in a row."

The Dutch wanted to avenge a home loss to Columbia, which they had suffered earlier in the season.
"They beat us on our home court," Pezze said. "We wanted to do it to them."

Pezze said that her team might be slightly overlooked compared to rivals Colonie and Shen. But she doesn’t mind.
"I think we like being the underdogs," she said. "We’re out of the spotlight. We don’t get much press. We’re starting to get recognition for our defense and that’s good."

The Dutch have made themselves a successful team, but they need a little help as well.
"The way we are playing on defense, we’re taking that aggressiveness to our offense," Pezze said. "We’re playing well as a team. That will take us down the final stretch."