By Ted Waddell
LAKE HUNTINGTON — December 7, 2007 — If you want to win a basketball game, you’ve got to put the ball in the bucket.
In Tuesday night’s opening round of the girls’ division of the 2007 Billy Moran Tip-Off Tournament at Sullivan West High School in Lake Huntington, the host SW Lady Bulldogs dominated The Family School Lady Falcons by the final score of 54-14.
It was the first game of the 2007-2008 season for both teams.
SW (1-0) outpaced the opposition in all four quarters: 12-0, 8-4, 16-7, 18-3.
At 1:28 of the second period, The Family School (0-1) got on the scoreboard as Yacaira O'Connor went 1-of-2 at the free throw line. O'Connor’s successful shot made it a 20-1 contest.
In the closing seconds of the first half, the Lady Falcons added three more points, including a hotly contested bucket under the glass.
Two Lady Bulldogs reached double figures. Katrina Graby scored a game-high 15 points and Lindsay Murphy had 11 points.
Betty Weaver led The Family School with six points.
Stats from the free throw line: SW shot better at the free-throw line, making 13-of-18 (72 percent) of its foul shots. The Family School was 5-of-13 (38 percent) at the line.
“We have a young team, we’ll need some rebuilding,” Family School Coach Carlton Williams said. “We’ll come around… I have a lot of confidence in them, [but] we have to work harder in practice and play harder.”
His take on the game?
“The ball wouldn’t go into the basket for us,” Williams replied.
The Lady Falcons’ roster has four returnees from last season – Mary Schmeider, Joanna Greb, Kaitlyn Slicker and Clair Meehan.
SW Coach Ron Bernhardt said he was looking for improvement in certain areas but it didn’t materialize in the game against The Family School.
Asked to define areas that need a bit of tweaking, Bernhardt played it close to the chest, as he didn’t want to tip off the competition.
“If we don’t address them, they will be our Achilles’ heel, we’ll be way more vulnerable against good competition than in a long time… we’re looking for more crispness and awareness,” Bernhardt said.
“We need more depth and versatility,” he added.
Returning to the floor from last year for the Lady Bulldogs are Katrina Graby, Rachael Houghtaling, Sarah Lander, Lindsey Murphy and Jennifer Pitz.
“The season is a work in progress,” Bernhardt said. “We have a long way to go.”