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Rob Potter | Democrat

Fallsburg’s Sheryl Pinder, left, tries to keep Port Jervis’ Shayna Reichert from passing the ball to a teammate in the first quarter of Monday night’s game.

Fallsburg Lady Comets rally for win

By Rob Potter
FALLSBURG — January 8, 2010 — Monday night’s nondivision girls’ basketball game at Fallsburg Central School proved to be an exciting game in which both teams played with a great deal of heart and determination.
Not surprisingly, the outcome was not decided until the final seconds of the contest.
Junior guard Shaina Swerdling made two free throws with just five second remaining to ensure Fallsburg’s 30-28 victory over the Port Jervis Lady Raiders.
Swerdling’s successful shots at the line gave the Lady Comets a 30-26 lead. Port Jervis sophomore point guard Tori Ostrom converted a layup off an assist from teammate Sara Beirne with two seconds left to account for the final points of the evening.
Beirne gave Port Jervis (2-7) a 26-20 lead with 4:26 remaining by swishing a baseline jumper after catching a pass from Ostrom.
But Swerdling answered with a 3-pointer just 20 seconds later.
With 1:54 to go, Jasmine James put back a missed shot to bring Fallsburg (3-5) within a point at 26-25.
Swerdling made another shot from beyond the arc to give the Lady Comets a 28-26 lead with 1:28 displayed on the scoreboard clock. It was the first lead for Fallsburg since early in the second quarter.
Swerdling finished with a game-high 10 points. She also blocked two shots.
Also leading the Fallsburg offense were Sheryl Pinder (six points), Cassie Orlan (five points) and Keyshawn Kennedy (four points).
James, a junior forward/center who was celebrating her birthday, had eight rebounds.
“It was a great team effort,” Fallsburg Coach Daniel Redmond said. “Everybody contributed and played hard. I am very happy about that.”
Redmond praised Swerdling for her clutch shooting in the fourth quarter and James for doing a great job of rebounding on both ends of the floor.
Ostrom, Stephanie Nicolette and Sally Santiago scored seven points apiece to lead the Lady Raiders.
“Both teams played well,” Port Jervis Coach Kyle Ross said. “They made some shots at the end when they needed to. We have a very young team and it was a good learning experience for us.”
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