GUILDERLAND — With tears in their eyes, they walked to the middle of the court. Their dreams had been vanquished, but they accomplished more than a lot of people thought they could.

The seniors on the Guilderland girls’ basketball team walked as a group to get the runner-up plaque of the Class AA Section II tournament. And, without hesitation, the seniors took the award and walked back to their bench. They were filled with disappointment as just a few feet away, the victorious team was celebrating.

The Lady Dutch were relegated to second place after losing a hard-fought 41-34 game to Colonie at Hudson Valley Community College on Saturday evening.

Coach Frank Cacckello sent out the seniors to pick up the runner-up plaque instead of doing it himself, which is typical for coaches.
"Their leadership has been important to the basketball program," Cacckello said. "They’ve been in it since the GBC [Guilderland Basketball Club] and SMS [Saint Madeliene Sophie]. The seniors ran this team to the point where it was a tight game. They got us to this point."

Good defense
"I thought we played well defensively," said Guilderland Coach Frank Cacckello. "On offense, we had to make some adjustments. We didn’t hit shots early in the third. But that game was in doubt all the way to the end."

Colonie led for most of the game, but couldn’t shake the Lady Dutch. The Garnet Raiders had beaten the Dutch twice during the regular season, both times in December. On Saturday, Colonie led, 14-10, at the end of the first quarter and 21-16 at halftime.

The Lady Dutch kept the game close, but were outscored, 10-7, in the third quarter to fall behind, 31-23, at the end of the third frame.

Kristin Pezze, a senior, scored to start off the fourth quarter for the Lady Dutch. But Guilderland was only able to trade baskets for the first minutes of the final stanza and couldn’t catch up.

The Lady Dutch got a jump shot by Nikki Branchini, another senior, and an inside basket by classmate Tricia Loux. But those baskets were offset by four points from Colonie senior and the tournament’s most valuable player, Ola Shajuyigbe, that kept the Garnet Raiders’ lead to six points.

Shajuyigbe made a foul shot to put the lead to eight points. And, even though Guilderland’s Mary Kate O’Connell scored on a hook shot, Shajuyigbe continued to hurt the Dutch with two more foul shots.

Colonie got three more foul shots in the final minute while Guilderland got only a three-point basket from Pezze, which made up the final margin.
"They are a tough defensive team," Cacckello said. "We started creating or own shots and that’s what you want. We just couldn’t get them to drop."

Shajuyigbe led the Garnet Raiders with 24 points. She was the only Colonie player to reach double figures. Logan Pintka added eight points.
"You just pick your poison with them," Cacckello said of Colonie. "We shut down the best player in Section II [Pintka] and Ola burned us."

Guilderland was led by Pezze’s 14 points. Loux added 10 for the Lady Dutch and O’Connell chipped in with four.
"They really dogged Kristin a lot today," Cacckello said after the game. "We made some adjustments, but they made it really hard for her."

Shajuyigbe was named the Class AA tournament’s most valuable player. Pintka joined her on the all-star team. Pezze and Loux represented Guilderland on the all-star team.
"She is a special kid," Cacckello said. "To see her face as they called her name on the all-star team was great. She was shocked. She’s an underestimated kid. She called me the other night, before our semifinal game and she wanted to know what she needed to do to help the team. She was nervous. I’ve known all along that she is a pretty good basketball player and, without her help, we wouldn’t be here."

Semifinal

Guilderland beat Bethlehem, 37-31, in the semifinal contest last Wednesday.

Pezze led the Dutch with 14 points. Loux scored six and Branchini added five. Meghan Carroll and Danielle Burns each scored four.

It was a great run through the sectionals for the Lady Dutch. They were the number-three seed from the Suburban Council, and after beating Schenectady in the first round, they upset Big 10 second-seed Catholic Central in the quarterfinals.

Bethlehem knocked off Suburban Council top seed Shenendehowa to set up the semifinal match with Guilderland.

On Saturday, the Guilderland players had a hard time realizing what they had accomplished this season and in the recent weeks. And they weren’t looking into what they did for the future of Guilderland basketball.
"I think they’ll enjoy the whole weekend," Cacckello said. "There is nothing I would change, nothing. It will settle in a few weeks from now how special a time this is."

Pezze, O’Connell, Branchini, Loux, Carroll, and Melani Ostrowski played their final games for the Lady Dutch this season. Pezze and O’Connell, who was named Guilderland’s scholar-athlete for the tournament, have an opportunity to play basketball in college. Branchini will be playing lacrosse at the University at Albany next year.

The Lady Dutch had made three trips in the past four years to the final four. They have been in the final two the past three years.

There has been support for one of the best programs at Guilderland High School and Section II girls’ basketball.
"Coach [Jim] Mazzone] and I were driving down Western Avenue and there were 100 or so fans at Robinson Hardware, cheering for us as the bus drove by," Cacckello said. "It was kids from fourth grade to eighth grade and from freshmen and junior-varsity teams. They’ve been watching us for so long. And these girls [varsity players] are the number-one role models for the younger kids. And they know what kind of work it takes to reach this point.
"Guilderland basketball does not die tonight. It’s here to stay."