By Rob Potter
LOCH SHELDRAKE — January 4, 2002 – The Tri-Valley girls’ basketball team grabbed an early lead in last Saturday’s consolation game of the annual Sullivan County Community College High School Holiday Tournament.
Despite that fact that both teams committed numerous fouls and turnovers in those opening eight minuts of play, the Lady Bears managed to open a 19-9 lead over the Family School Lady Falcons in the afternoon contest at Paul Gerry Fieldhouse.
In fact, T-V’s Heather Bachmann scored a pair of quick baskets in the first minute of the game to give the Lady Bears a 4-0 lead.
And that was as close as the Family School (0-6) would be in the contest, as T-V (2-5) built a comfortable, double-digit lead to post a 51-36 victory.
Led by Bachmann, who finished with a game-high 15 points, and a defense that forced the Lady Falcons to commit numerous traveling violations, T-V caputured third-place honors in the tournament. (In the tournament’s championship game, Sullivan West hammered Liberty, 59-14. Please see full story of that game elsewhere in this issue.)
The Lady Bears maintained their offensive focus in the second quarter. Heather Bachmann, Melissa Bachmann and Jessica Devore combined for 16 of the team’s 19 points in those eight minutes. The defense held the Family School to only six points in the period, which allowed T-V to take a commanding 37-15 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
“We had balanced scoring and that was nice,” T-V Coach Karen Furman said. “In our last couple of games, we had some trouble getting the ball into the basket. But today, we were shooting pretty well and made our foul shots.”
The Lady Bears converted 15 of 23 free throws in the contest.
Melissa Bachmann netted 11 points and Devore added 10 points for the Lady Bears.
While Furman was pleased with how her team played offensively, she also liked what she saw on the other end of the court.
“On defense, we were able to use our press and put pressure on them and cause some turnovers,” she said.
Lori McLeod paced the Lady Falcon offense, scoring a team-high 12 points.
Following his team’s loss, Family School Coach Carlton Williams was already looking ahead to the next meeting between the teams. On Monday, January 14, the Lady Falcons are scheduled to travel to Grahamsville for a non-league game versus the Lady Bears.
“When we meet Tri-Valley again, hopefully it will be a better game,” Williams said. “We will work on having a better outcome.”