By Rob Potter
LAKE HUNTINGTON — December 10, 2004 – The Sullivan West Lady Bulldogs grabbed an early lead in Wednesday night’s basketball game on their home court and did not look back.
The Lady Bulldogs raced out to a 19-3 lead in the first quarter and went on to record a 65-17 victory over the Fallsburg Lady Comets in an opening round game of the Billy Moran Tip-Off Classic Girls’ Basketball Tournament at Sullivan West High School in Lake Huntington.
SW improved its record to 2-0, while Fallsburg is now 0-1 on the 2004-2005 season.
Thanks to an aggressive defense that caused some turnovers that in turn lead to layups and short jump shots, the Lady Bulldogs grabbed a 13-0 advantage in the first six minutes of the contest.
Fallsburg senior guard Toni Wilkerson swished a 3-point shot with 2:28 remaining in the opening quarter to put the Lady Comets on the scoreboard.
Wilkerson also made a shot from beyond the 19’ 9” arc early in the second period.
SW junior guard Kate Fanning made a pair of 3-pointers in the second quarter as the Lady Bulldogs took a commanding 35-8 lead into the intermission.
When the Lady Bulldogs needed points inside the lane, they often passed the ball to junior center April Ackermann. She finished the evening with a game-high 23 points.
Fanning and freshman forward Sarah Lander each netted 12 points for SW and senior forward Autumn Darder recorded 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
Wilkerson was the Lady Comets’ leading scorer with eight points. Sophomore forward Monique Mack added five points.
Fallsburg Coach Les Hyde focused on the positive aspects of the game.
“These girls didn’t give up, they kept playing hard,” he said. “We’ll be alright, it’s a long season.”
SW Coach Ron Bernhardt praised the efforts of all 10 Lady Bulldogs.
“This team works very, very hard in practice,” he said. “They like each other and really get along with each other. They are a wonderful group of kids.”
Notes: Fallsburg will look to record its first win of the season when it plays either Liberty or Livingston Manor at 6 p.m. tonight in the tournament’s consolation game.
SW will play either Liberty or Livingston Manor at 7:45 p.m. tonight in the tournament title game.
(Liberty and Livingston Manor were scheduled to play last night in the tournament’s other opening round game.)
• The event is a combination of the former Jeffersonville-Youngsville Tip-Off Tournament and the Delaware Valley Billy Moran Memorial Tournament.
Billy Moran, an outstanding student-athlete at Delaware Valley Central School, was tragically killed by a drunk driver in April 1981 in the state of Florida.
Last Friday night, the SW Bulldog basketball team won the Billy Moran Tip-Off Classic Boys’ Basketball Tournament at SWHS.
Proceeds from both tournaments benefit the Billy Moran Scholarship.