Panther Girls Basketball Opens With A Loss

by Gary Danforth
Home standing Hoosick Falls Central School broke out to an 11-6 lead after eight minutes in their 2009-10 season opener against WASAREN League foe Hoosic Valley Central School but couldn’t hold their edge as the Indians won the game 46-30 last Monday evening, November 30, on the Panthers’ River Road floorboards.
Coach Kerry Branigan’s HFCS five used three, three-point buckets by senior Jenna Priore to jump out to their early 11-6 advantage with :05 left in period one. Hoosic Valley had taken a 2-0 lead before Priore hit her first bomb from the right side to give HFCS a 3-2 lead with 4:55 left in period one. But Cassidy Chapko hit the first of her six three-pointers for Hoosic Valley, about a minute later, to give the Indians a 5-3 edge. A bucket by the Panthers’ Shelby Jones tied the score at 5-5 with 2:55 remaining in the opening quarter. After the Indians took a 6-5 lead, Priore hit another trey from the left corner and then banged home another three-pointer from the right side to give HFCS a five point bulge, 11-6.
The Indians Jessica Lanoue scored inside to begin period two. Then Hoosick Falls freshman point guard Frankie Pearson knocked down a trey from the left side to give the Panthers their biggest lead of the evening at 14-8 with 5:30 left in period two. But the Indians Whitney Kugler and Chapko nailed three-pointers, the latter with 4:22 remaining in the initial half, to knot the score at 14-14.
Hoosic Valley was tightening up their defense and getting out on the perimeter to guard against more Panther treys. However, Priore was fouled on a three-point attempt and made all her free throws to push HFCS into a 17-14 lead. Ten seconds later, with 4:12 left in period two, Kugler hit a trey to tie the score for HV. Then the Indians’ Lanoue drove the lane for a left handed lay up to put HV ahead, 19-17, with 2:25 left in the period two. The Panthers’ Pearson knotted the score at 19-19 on a pair from the line. Hoosic Valley took a 22-19 edge into the break when Kugler hit a bucket and free throw to close out the first half.
Samantha Scott opened period three with a Panther trey to tie the score at 22-22. But Hoosic Valley kept bombing away from the outside. Kugler hit another trey to start an 11-0 Indian run to end the third quarter. Morgan Anderson scored on an Indian put back. Taylor Sullivan scored off the HV fast break. Chapko hit a trey from the right side. Chapko ended the Indian run with a free throw to push the HV led to 33-22 entering the final eight minutes.
After both teams turned the ball over three consecutive times to begin the fourth quarter, Priore hit another trey to get HFCS to 33-25. But Hoosic Valley was hitting their shots. They went on a 13-2 run interrupted only by an Emily Wilwol bucket for HFCS. During the run, Chapko banged home three more treys, the last of which came with about three minutes to play, giving HV a 46-27 spread. Pearson hit a runner along the right baseline, and Skott canned a foul shot to bring the final Panther deficit to 46-30.
Priore with 15 points, Pearson, 7, Skott, 4, Wilwol, 2 and Jones with 2 points scored for HFCS. For Hoosic Valley the scorers were Chapko with 21 points, Anderson, 3, Kugler, 14, Lanoue, 4, Sullivan, 2, and Rachel Moore with 2 points.
Rebounding From Afar: A pretty good sized crowd enjoyed a good effort by HFCS. Pearson and Priore flew around the court, and the Panthers got a good effort on the boards by their interior players. Once Hoosic Valley got untracked they rained three-pointers down on HFCS. The Panther girls next travel to Emma Willard in Troy, on Pawling Avenue, on Monday, December 7. The Panther girls played inspired basketball for a season opener.