By Rob Potter
CALLICOON — January 5, 2001 – The Roscoe girls’ basketball team used a second half rally to gain a victory over former Western Sullivan League rival Sullivan West/Delaware Valley Wednesday night.
The visiting Lady Blue Devils won their Orange County Inter-scholastic Athletic Association (OCIAA) Division V opener with a strong second half performance. Roscoe (5–2, 1–0 OCIAA Division V) erased a two-point halftime deficit and opened a comfortable lead of its own en route to a 43-35 victory over SW/DV (3–4, 1–1 Division V).
Roscoe outscored SW/DV by a 14-8 margin in the third quarter and held its lead throughout the final period. The Lady Blue Devils took the scoreboard advantage for good when Kelly Ahart rebounded a teammate’s missed shot and put the ball in the basket with two minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Although Roscoe could not stretch that lead to double figures, the Lady Eagles could not cut into the advantage as the final minutes ticked away.
“It was a good ball game,” Roscoe coach Becky Ahart said. “My girls really worked hard for this one. (Sullivan West) DV has a nice ballclub. It was a tough one, but we did what we needed to do and played together.”
While the Roscoe offense picked up in the second half, Ahart noted that a defensive plan was also a factor in the win.
“The key was switching from a zone to man defense,” Ahart said of the change in defensive strategies she implemented at the end of the first quarter. “Switching out of the zone really paid off for us. We were able to pressure their shooters more.”
Roscoe also made the most of its trips to the foul line, sinking seven of 11 attempts. The Lady Eagles, however, made only one of five free throws in the contest.
SW/DV coach Patti Roche was disappointed that her team didn’t play as well in the second half as it did in the first two quarters. The Lady Eagles opened the game with a 5-0 run and grabbed a 17-11 advantage at the end of the first period.
“That second half was tough,” Roche said. “We weren’t connecting on passes and seemed to be rushing our shots. And we didn’t control the tempo.”
Part of SW/DV’s troubles stemmed from Roscoe’s aggressive man-to-man defense.
“Roscoe really played better in the second half,” Roche explained. “You have to credit Becky (Ahart) for that, she knows x’s and o’s like no one else. She’s a great coach.”
Danielle Austin paced the Roscoe offense with 18 points, while Kelly Ahart and Crystal Evans each netted eight points.
SW/DV’s Calley Sander was the top scorer for her team. She hit four three-point shots in the game and finished with 18 points. Teammate Megan Moran added eight points.