By Lori Brown
LOCH SHELDRAKE — February 1, 2011 — The Sullivan West Lady Bulldogs took on the Tri-Valley Lady Bears on Friday evening at Sullivan County Community College’s Paul Gerry Fieldhouse as part of the third annual Coaches vs. Cancer Classic.
The event also featured junior varsity and varsity boys’ basketball games between the Liberty Indians and Monticello Panthers.
The T-V Lady Bears jumped out to a 12-2 lead during the first quarter and went on to post a 59-30 victory over the SW Lady Bulldogs.
Mareena DiMilia and Kaitlynn Greffrath both scored six points for the Lady Bears in those opening eight minutes of competition. Regina Nicoletti put the Lady Bulldogs on the board with a basket at the 1:19 mark of the quarter.
SW (5-4) came out playing strong in the second period and tried to cut its deficit.
Nicoletti swished two 3-point shots and added another basket to help her team.
T-V’s Jakki Pugh went 4-for-4 at the foul line during the quarter to help her team retain the lead.
At halftime, the Lady Bears held a 24-12 advantage.
In the last two quarters, T-V continued to play well on offense while limiting the Lady Bulldogs’ scoring. The Lady Bears scored 21 points during the third quarter, while the Lady Bulldogs had three points.
Helping Tri-Valley (10-1) extend its lead in those eight minutes immediately after the intermission were DiMilia, who scored eight points, and Greffrath, Pugh and Sabrena Smith – each of whom recorded nine points.
Nicoletti scored two points early in the quarter. Following a 17-point run by the Lady Bears, SW’s Jillian Fife landed a foul shot with 22.9 seconds remaining on the clock.
The Lady Bulldogs’ Lynnette Lacek started off the fourth period with a basket, but T-V responded by scoring six straight points.
But SW countered with a 9-0 run.
The Lady Bulldogs never gave up and played hard, but could not overcome their early deficit.
Leading the Lady Bears to victory were DiMilia, who finished with a game-high 14 points, Pugh (13 points) and Greffrath (10 points).
T-V was slated to slated to play S.S. Seward last night and will face Chester tomorrow night.
Nicoletti led the Lady Bulldogs with 12 points.
“We raised a lot of money [tonight],” SW Coach Pat Donovan said. “The girls have been fundraising and making ribbons for this good cause.”
“I give Tri-Valley credit, but we kept Jakki Pugh from scoring,” Donovan continued. “Our shots didn’t fall tonight.”
The Lady Bulldogs, who were scheduled to play Liberty last night, will also face James I. O’Neill and Tuxedo this week.
Throughout the three games of the Coaches vs. Cancer event at SCCC, many donations were collected for the Oncology Unit at Catskill Regional Medical Center in Harris. Thanks to the generosity of all the fans, a total of $3,205.45 will be donated to benefit local cancer patients.
The players, coaches and fans wore pink items of clothing to show their support for the worthwhile cause. In addition, the referees sported pink whistles.