By Rob Potter
HANCOCK — The visiting Fallsburg Lady Comets outscored The Family School Lady Falcons 17 to 4 in the third quarter of Thursday night’s non-league basketball game.
By doing so, the Lady Comets expanded what had been a nine-point lead at halftime into a 36-14 advantage entering the fourth period.
Fallsburg (7-5) went on to record a 44-18 victory.
Leading the Lady Comets to the win were Sheryl Pinder and Mayana DeCosta. Pinder scored a game-high 12 points, while DeCosta had 11 points.
Jasmine James and Celia Garcia added seven points and six points, respectively, for Fallsburg.
“I’m very happy with the win,” Fallsburg Coach Daniel Redmond said. “Our overall record is 7 and 5 now and we need one more win for sectionals. It would be the first time a Fallsburg girls’ basketball team made it to sectionals since 1993.”
Redmond noted that the Lady Comets improved their defense in the third quarter, which helped them push their halftime lead into double digits.
He also credited the Lady Falcons for the way they continued to play hard throughout the game no matter the numbers which were displayed on the scoreboard.
“Coach Carlton Williams does a great job with the team,” Redmond said of the Lady Falcons.
Emilee Rubin paced the Lady Falcons offense with six points and teammate Jillian McClintock added four points.
“In the first half, our defense was good,” Family Coach Carlton Williams said. “In the second half, Fallsburg got some better looks at the basket and made those shots. Fallsburg played well tonight.”
While the Lady Falcons’ record dropped to 0-16, Williams is encouraged by the fact that they are continuing to work hard in practice and games.
“The girls are playing much better now than at the beginning of the season,” Williams said. “We are still looking for that first win of the season.”
Notes: With their 52-41 victory over Monticello on Friday night, the Lady Comets clinched a spot in the upcoming Section IX Class C girls’ basketball tournament.
The Lady Falcons have two more opportunities to register their first win of this season. They were slated to host the Chapel Field Lady Lions last night in an Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association (OCIAA) Div. VI game.
This Saturday, Feb. 19, the Lady Falcons will play the Hancock Lady Wildcats, a Section IV, Class D team, in a non-league game at the Hancock Elementary School.