Bears Press to Victory Over DV

	Democrat Photo by Rob Potter UP FOR GRABS: Delaware Valley’s Theresa Bauer, Tri-Valley’s Julie Donovan, T-V’s Rachel Altbach and DV’s Christina Head (clockwise from bottom right) all try to get a hand on the basketball in Tuesday’s game. Watching the scramble in the background is DV’s Calley Sander.

By Rob Potter
CALLICOON — February 11, 2000 -- Visiting Tri-Valley turned up its defensive intensity in the second half to knock off Delaware Valley 49-37 Tuesday night in a Western Sullivan League (WSL) girls’ basketball game.
Following a back-and-forth first half in which both teams held small leads, Tri-Valley used its press to gain control of the game in the third quarter.
An example of that came with DV leading 21-19 with 3:30 left in the third period. Lady Bear forward April Nash stole the ball and scored on lay-up.
A few seconds later, teammate Heather Krom made a lay-up. Krom then stole the ball in near the T-V basket as the Lady Eagles attempted to break the press and move the ball up court. That theft led to Krom’s second lay-up in a handful of seconds and a 25-21 lead.
The defensive pressure continued into the fourth quarter. Following a short jumper by DV’s Christina Head that tied the score at 30-30, T-V ran off seven points in the next two minutes. Another steal and layup by Nash gave the Lady Bears a 37-30 advantage with just under four minutes remaining in the game.
Despite two 3-point shots by DV’s Calley Sander on consecutive possessions in the game’s final minute-and-a-half, the Lady Eagles could not cut the Lady Bear lead to less than eight points.
“We were able to get some steals off the press,” said T-V coach Karen Furman. “And towards the end of the game they came back at us a little bit, but we made some outside shots.”
Furman noted that Nash, who finished the game with 15 points, nine rebounds and seven assists was one of the Lady Bears who had a great game.
“Megan Sheeley did a good job tonight,” Furman said. “She was all over the floor the entire game. And Heather Krom had some key shots.”
DV coach Patty Roche explained that the contest was another learning experience for her relatively young team. The majority of the Lady Eagle roster consists of sophomores and juniors.
“I think my girls got a little tired,” Roche commented. “And we’ve had problems with the press all year, so that’s nothing new.”
Though the DV record might not indicate it, Roche is seeing some bright spots from her team.
“We’ve improved every game this year,” she said.
Sander, who swished four 3-point shots on the evening, finished with a game-high 16 points. Head added eight points and Megan Moran netted six points for the Lady Eagles. Head also grabbed 10 rebounds and Liz Hubert snared 12 boards.
As Furman noted, Tri-Valley was led by Nash, Krom and Sheeley. Krom finished with 13 points and Sheeley recorded seven points and nine rebounds.
It was a total team effort for T-V as all nine Lady Bears saw playing time and each of them scored at least two points.