SULLIVAN COUNTY — March 15, 2002:
Editor’s Note: Today we begin our look back at how Sullivan County’s scholastic basketball teams fared over the recently completed season. Please see upcoming issues for more team profiles.

FALLSBURG LADY COMETS

Overall Record: 0-20
League Record: 0-8 OCIAA Division IV
Team Leaders: Senior Amy Hobby led the Lady Comets.
“Our two leading players, as far as exemplars of motivation, were senior Shannon Horace and senior Michelle Hoefling,” said Coach Lee Smassanow.
Season highlight: “When we played together as a team we had the most fun,” said Smassanow.
Season lowlight: “Not winning a game was certainly a low point,” he noted.
Other comments: Smassanow said it was a good season because of the time the team got to spend together.
— Jeanne Sager

LIBERTY LADY INDIANS

Overall Record: 6-15
League Record: 3-9 OCIAA Division III
Team Leaders: Junior Andrea TerBush was a dominant force for the Lady Indians, averaging 11 points per game. Christine Waryha, also a junior, averaged just under 10 points per game before she went out with an injury 13 games into the season. Junior Keely Hamlin also contributed heavily to the Lady Indians’ offense.
Season highlight: According to Coach Ted Crowley, qualifying for the sectional tournament was the highlight of the Lady Indians’ year. Defeating Monticello’s Lady Panthers 57-39 at home was another high point, he noted.
Season lowlight: “We suffered some disappointing losses,” Crowley said. “We lost two games by two points.”
There were two games the Lady Indians played on the road where they were unable to score in the last four minutes of play, losing despite holding a lead earlier in the contest.
“We got blown out by some good teams,” he noted.
Other: “I was disappointed by the fact that we didn’t win four to six more of the close games we played,” Crowley said. “We hope to win at least six closer games next year through increased play over the summer.”

— Jeanne Sager

TRI-VALLEY LADY BEARS

Overall Record: 7-14

League Record: 6-4 OCIAA Division IV

Team Leaders: Sophomore point guard Amanda Krom was the Lady Bears’ leading scorer. She averaged eight points per game. Krom was also the team leader in three-point shots made (13) and assists (59).
Heather Bachmann, a junior center, was the team’s second leading scorer. She averaged 7.67 points per game. Bachmann also broke her own school record for blocked shots as she rejected 70 shots by opposing players in the 2001-2002 season. (In the 2000-2001 season, she blocked 38 shots.)
Bachmann was also the leading rebounder for the Lady Bears, pulling down an average of 9.57 a game. And she recored a team-best 52 steals on the year.

Season Highlight: “Qualifying for sectionals,” Coach Karen Furman said. “And the fact that we finished third in our division behind Sullivan West and Tuxedo.”

Season Lowlight: “We didn’t take care of the basketball as well as we needed to,” Furman said. “We had 739 turnovers as a team this season. I think a lot of that had to do with being a relatively young team – many times we were starting three or four underclassmen.”

Other: Several players were recognized at the team’s recent banquet. Bachmann was named the Lady Bear Defensive Most Valuable Player, while Krom was named the squad’s Offensive MVP. Senior guard Jessica Devore was recognized with a Leadership/MVP award. Junior forward Julie Donovan earned the Most Improved award.
For the third consecutive year, the Lady Bears were recognized with the New York State Scholar Athlete Team Award. The team had a cumlative 94.44 grade point average this season.

— Rob Potter