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Saranac Class B Girls Basketball game
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BY JESSICA COLLINS
Press-Republican
PLATTSBURGH — The Saranac Chiefs were unable to get anything going on offense against the Schalmont Sabres, Sunday, at Clinton Community College, and ended up on the wrong side of a 54-30 decision for the Class B regional.
Schalmont was led by Payton Graber with 19 points, closely followed by Haley Burchhardt with 18. Karissa Antoine also netted 10 points in the win. Graber, along with Gianna Cirilla, each hit a trey.
For the Chiefs, Brenna Ducatte led with 12 points and one three pointer, followed by Sydney Myers’ eight points. Molly and Lexie Denis each hit one three in the loss, along with Layla Pellerin.
THE GAME
The first quarter of the game was very low scoring, with both teams tied at six by the end of it.
First, the Sabres won the tipoff, and Burchhardt scored a quick two points. Then, Layla Pellerin secured a steal for the Chiefs, which led to Myers drawing a foul on a layup, but was unable to convert the free throw.
Two more points from each team came from Graber and Myers, with Burchhardt scoring once more. Ducatte then drew a foul from behind the arch with 0.3 seconds left, and made two out of three shots, tying the squads at six apiece.
Going into the second, Schalmont came out just a little hotter.
Antoine got a steal right off the bat, turning that into two points, and then next possession drew an and-one play, but failed to make the free throw. This gave the Sabres a 10-6 lead, which only increased through the quarter.
Saranac’s only points scored were on two foul shot opportunities. One, from Ducatte at around the 5:21 mark, which she made both, and the second with just 22 seconds left, for Molly Denis, who hit one.
Schalmont then finished the stanza with a free throw opportunity as well, with Burchhardt hitting both shots with 4.4 seconds left, making the score 24-9 at the half.
Saranac coach Tim Newell said he was still impressed with how his team played on defense.
“We executed pretty well defensively in the first half and held a pretty good team to 24 points. We just didn’t expect their defense to be as good as it was,” Newell said. “The kids had, I think, a little bit of fear in their eyes on offense, shortened our shots. Not one of our best offensive nights, that’s for sure, and credit to them.”
Schalmont coach Jeffrey Van Hoesen shared the sentiment, saying his team usually averages around 65 points per game, but Saranac held them back a little.
“That’s a really good defensive team. They’re quick and they do a good job defensively,” he said. “So, they made it tough on us, no question.”
In the third, Saranac seemed to get some good advice from the locker room, going on a quick fivepoint run coming out, cutting it to a 10-point game. The Chiefs almost evened the scoring in the third quarter, 12-11, making it a 37-25 game going into the final quarter. Nine of these Chief points came from treys, one each from Molly Denis, Pellerin and Ducatte.
To begin the fourth, Schalmont went on a 15-5 point run before Saranac’s Parker fouled out of the match, fouling Burchhardt, who converted an and-one play at 1:52. The score was then 51-30 in favor of the Sabres.
Saranac then emptied their bench, and Schalmont’s Graber put in the final two points of the game just under the one minute mark.
With the win, Schalmont will meet General Brown at 2:15 p.m. on Saturday at Hudson Valley Community College.
“The kids are going to be excited,” Van Hoesen said. “This is an unbelievable experience. We practice this week, glad to have another week of practice, and then we’ll be good to go.”
On the other hand, with the loss, the Chiefs will say goodbye to lone senior Lexie Denis, but hope to be back next year.
“I think this season, there were four or five teams that on any given night could beat anybody,” Newell said. “We got hot at the right time and knocked off a good Northeastern Clinton team.
“I’m very proud of my girls for getting to that point. We would have loved to move up from this but this is a great lesson. Besides, Lexie Denis, we’ve got everyone back. I think this left a little sour taste in our kids mouths, but we’ll come back and we’ll be a much stronger team next year.”
JOEY LAFRANCA/P-R Photo
Schalmont’s karissa Antoine (11) rises up for a shot in the paint against Saranac’s Sydney Myers during a NYSPHSAA Class B girls basketball regional final on Sunday at Clinton Community College in Plattsburgh.
— Schalmont 54, Saranac 30 Schalmont (54)
Halberg 0-0-0, Frank 0-2-2, Cirilla 1-0-3, Graber 8-2-19, Antoine 5-0-10, Kindlon 0-0-0, Brendon 1-0-2, Burchhardt 7-4-18, Boyd 0-0-0, Smith 0-00. Totals: 22-8-54.
Saranac (30)
M. Denis 1-1-4, Brown 0-0-0, Parker 0-0-0, Lay. Pellerin 1-0-3, Smith 0-0-0, Lau. Pellerin 0-0-0, L. Denis 1-0-3, Brault 0-0-0, Myers 4-0-8, Ducatte 3-5-12, Fay 0-0-0. Totals: 10-6-30. Halftime- Schalmont, 22-9. 3 point goals- Saranac (4) M. Denis, Lay. Pellerin, L. Denis, Ducatte. Schalmont (2) Cirilla, Graber.
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