Panther Girls Hoop Team Gets Long Awaited Win

by Gary Danforth
Well, on Senior Night, last Thursday, February 11, the Hoosick Falls Central School Panther girls basketball team sent their seniors out with a win. Led by a 25 point effort by senior guard Jen Priore, HFCS beat a good Stillwater Central School team by a 62-55 margin. Other Panther seniors contributing on this night were Erin Shea, Emily Wilwol, Becka Laporte and Melody Mentiply. The win was only the Panther girls’ second of the year and first in WASAREN League play. HFCS is 1-12 in league action and 2-15, overall.
The Panthers fell behind 13-10 after one quarter but rallied to lead by a 29-24 margin at the halftime break. Hoosick Falls fell behind, 41-38, entering the final eight minutes. HFCS rallied and outscored the Warriors by a 24-14 margin in period four to win and walk off their home court with their first league win of the 2009-10 season. The only other win to date for the Panther girls was a victory over Berlin Central School in the opening round of the Hoosier Holiday Tournament in December.
Priore with 25 points, Wilwol, 6, Shea, 5, juniors Shelby Jones, 9, and Samantha Skott, 7, along with freshman Frankie Pearson with 10 points scored for HFCS.
Rebounding from Afar: At press time, whether the Panther girls were going to compete in the Sectionals was still up in the air. The Sectionals is a new season and is a reward for the team, at least another game for the seniors and a learning experience for the underclassmen. Here’s hoping HFCS enters the Sectionals. You never know what might happen until the game is played. In 1993, a 3-17 Stillwater boys hoop team won three straight and lost in the Class C final to Greenwich. That’s why the games are played.