By Steve Bradleyand Doug La Rocque
The Cambridge Lady Indians outlasted a determined Mekeel Christian Saturday afternoon, March 3 at Hudson Valley Community College to advance to regional play. The #1 seeded Indians spent most of the first half watching the Lions pull away. By the time the first half came to an end, the Indians were in a ten-point hole at 33-23.
The third quarter found Cambridge chipping away at the Lions lead. It was five points, 41-36, at the two and one-half minute mark and one minute later the Lions lead had turned into a tie at 41-41. Number two-seeded Mekeel was playing tough.
At the fourth quarter, five-minute mark the Lions had a four point, 49-45 lead. With 41 seconds to go the score was knotted at 56 each. Both teams scored three more points to take the score to 59 each. With four seconds to go Cambridge was awarded the ball in their end of the court but a perfect setup for a layup saw the ball roll off the wrong side of the rim and the game headed into overtime.
That overtime started with the Lions leading scorer immediately going down with an ankle injury.
Cambridge outscored the Lions 6-3 in the overtime to grab the win and delight the large number of fans that attended the game.
Sophie Phillips scored 19 points, Helen Moody chipped in 14 and Lilly Phillips added 11. Cambridge plays Section VII’s Seton Catholic of Plattsburgh on Thursday, March 8, at Saratoga High School. The game was set back one day because of a snowy weather forecast for Wednesday. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 pm.
Tamarac Girls Lose Heartbreaker
The Voorheesville Lady Blackbirds opened the game on an 8-0 run, but Tamarac fought back and held a 13 to 11 lead at the end of the first quarter. From there the lead continually changed hands, with both squads tied at 29 at the half and at 40 all at the end of the third quarter. Things just didn’t go the Lady Bengals way in the final stanza, with several shots falling into the “woulda, shoulda, coulda” category, but in the end rolling the wrong way off the rim. Conversely, Voorheesville’s shots all fell in as the Lady Blackbirds posted the 51 – 46 win to claim the Section 2 Class B title.
Disappointment aside, the outcome of Saturday’s game does not diminish what was a great season for Tamarac’s Girls Basketball. A point not lost on coach Kurt Baily who told The Eastwick Press following the game, his job now was to make sure his team realizes “that one loss doesn’t invalidate what was a great effort all season long.”
The Lady Bengals finished their year with a 21-3 record. Emily Erickson and Renna Poulin each had 14 points for Tamarac, while Kayla Doody added another 10. Ms. Erickson and Ms. Doody were also named to the All Tournament Team.
The Eastwick Press extends its congratulations to Hoosick Falls, Tamarac and Cambridge Basketball.