By Doug La Rocque
Trailing the Bishop Maginn Griffins by three midway through the 4th quarter Friday night at Berlin, the Lady Mountaineers tied the game on a bucket by Haley Maxon, and pulled ahead to stay on a clutch driving layup from Senior Jewel Pietzrak, who followed it up with a pair of free throws.[private] The 35-30 win was the third this year for the young Berlin team and avenged a defeat at the hands of the Griffins earlier in the season. Parker Crandall led both rebounding and scoring, dropping in 10 points. Haley Maxon added another eight, while Amanda Despart recorded a five-point night. Coach Fleda Berschwinger said after the game her squad is starting to play well together, communicating and gaining confidence.
That game was followed by a high scoring affair between both school’s boys’ teams. The league leading Griffins came out on top 97 to 80. The Mountaineers stayed with the Albany school throughout the first half, but Bishop Maginn pulled in front in the 3rd quarter by 20, and held on as Berlin mounted a 4th quarter comeback. The speed of the Griffins team was too much for Berlin to handle. Coach Kasson Sauer told The Eastwick Press “they were too quick to the ball and too quick in transition.” The Mountaineers practiced for it, but still had a hard time breaking Maginn’s full court press. Roark Slattery again led the way for Berlin with 31 points on eight baskets, a three pointer and 12 free throws. Ryan Willis and Josh Hendricks each had 15. Berlin’s league record fell to 6-3, good enough though to keep them in third place in the Central Hudson Valley League.
New Lebanon’s Lady Tigers posted an easy win this past week over the Doane Stuart Thunder Chickens. The 61-23 win keeps New Lebanon in 5th place in the CVHL, one spot ahead of Berlin. Stephanie Feathers again led the Lady Tigers scoring attack with 18 points, with Ashley Tynan right behind with16.
The combined New Lebanon-Berlin swim teams traveled to Dalton, Massachusetts for a meet with the Wahconah Warriors. The Girls’ side of the match was back and forth, with Wahconah coming out ahead at the end by a mere two points, 46-48. Gigi French posted two wins for NL-B in both the 200 Freestyle and the 100 Breaststroke. Lindsey Smith also recorded a pair of victories in the 50 Freestyle and the 100 Butterfly. The team also recorded wins in the 200 and 400 Relays. Catherine Roden picked up a second place in the 100 Breaststroke. The Boys’ side was outmatched, while Jeff Miller did pick up a pair of seconds in the 200 Freestyle and the 100 Breaststroke. The final in that meet was 7-44 in favor of the Warriors. [/private]