By Frank Rizzo
JEFFERSONVILLE—February 02, 2001 - Tri-Valley, otherwise a solid team, seems to resort to pre-season form when faced with Sullivan West/Jeff-Youngsville.
For the second time this season, the Lady Bears suffered a grievous loss to the Lady Trojans.
Host SW/J-Y scored the first 15 points on Monday night and led by as many as 33 before winning 49-27 in the Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association (OCIAA) Division IV game.
On December 20, at Grahamsville, the Trojans jumped out to a 12-2 lead and won 49-18.
“We have their number,” commented SW/J-Y coach Ron Bernhardt. “Our strengths match their weaknesses. They suit our style to a ‘T.’”
The Bears, he hastened to add, weren’t normally a pushover: “They beat Roscoe. They were up by five late against Tuxedo down there…”
The Trojans achieved “synergy” between offense and defense Monday night, at least for a half. Their trapping press generated a good number of scoring opportunities.
“They came out strong,” said T-V coach Karen Furman. “Their press and man-to-man defense were strong and they got a lot of steals.”
SW/J-Y’s outside shooting was sharp, and the guards were able to feed center Tiffany Hauser for some close-in baskets.
At the Bear end, the hosts put up an invisible curtain that at times reduced Tri-Valley to ineffectual outside desperation chucks as time ran down on the 30-second clock.
SW/J-Y led 19-2 after one quarter (the only T-V bucket, at 5:00, by Heather Bachmann on a pass from Amanda Krom) and 36-9 at the break.
With 5:03 left in the third Kristin Erlwein fed Hauser for a short corner bucket which gave the hosts their biggest lead, 42-9.
In the time remaining, with both coaches liberally substituting, T-V found its groove and outscored the Trojans 18-7.
“We’re pleased and proud of our effort, but at this stage of the season we need better focus,” Bernhardt said. “We’ve got to have 26 to 28 minutes of focus, and we didn’t.”
Hauser led SW/J-Y with 15 points and eight rebounds. Christina Winski shot 7-for-10 and netted 14. Aileen Semenetz added 10 points and had five steals.
Shelisa Duquette contributed eight rebounds, six assists, and four steals.
Bachmann led the Bears with 12 and Krom added seven, including two three-pointers.
Bernhardt’s study of the game video showed that his team deflected 18 Bear passes — a high for the year and key stat, according to the coach.
The Trojans also stole the ball 19 times and had a 38-23 advantage on the boards.
“This was the first time we noticeably outrebounded an opponent,” he said.