By Kaitlin Carney
LAKE HUNTINGTON — January 28, 2011 — The Lady Bulldogs of Sullivan West hosted the Monticello Lady Panthers on Monday night in a non-league basketball game.
Monticello won the opening tip to put SW on defense immediately. After nearly two scoreless minutes of hard fought rebounding and defense by both teams, the Lady Panthers got on the board when Shamira Moore stole a pass and drove to the basket.
Shelby Grishaber opened the scoring for the Lady Bulldogs, tying it up at 2-2 at the 4:15 mark.
SW regained the ball after a Monticello foul and Gabrielle Humleker was able to capitalize by posting up for two points to give the Lady Bulldogs their first lead of the game.
It was a lead the Lady Bulldogs would not relinquish on their way to a 46-28 victory.
Moore answered Humleker’s basket with one of her own to tie the score at 4-4.
After working hard to grab a rebound, Humleker passed the ball to Grishaber for a basket and SW was back in front, 6-4.
Regina Nicoletti added a basket for the Lady Bulldogs, who closed the first quarter with an 8-6 lead.
SW (5-3) stretched its advantage into double figures in the second quarter and led 26-14 at halftime.
In the second period, Monticello (2-6) closed its seven-point deficit when Moore scored on a drive to the basket following a steal.
Moments later, Nicoletti knocked down a 3-point shot to push the Lady Bulldogs’ advantage back into double figures at 22-12.
The third quarter began with a faster tempo, good passing and some aggressive defense by both teams. Nicoletti opened the scoring with a field goal and swished another shot from beyond the 19-foot, 9-inch arc later in the stanza.
With 2.6 seconds left in the period, SW completed a tough inbound pass despite the defensive pressure of the Lady Panthers. Heather Puerschner drew a foul and made one of her subsequent free throws to give the Lady Bulldogs a 33-21 advantage going into the final quarter.
Those last eight minutes featured physical play and drives to the basket by players from both teams.
Monticello Coach Karen Atack was pleased that her team, which includes several younger players, continues to focus on the goal of improving every game.
“We did not give up this game; we’re proud,” she said. “Sullivan West is a fundamentally sound team.”
Atack added that decreasing turnovers and improving their foul shooting are issues the Lady Panthers will work on to prepare for their next two games, both of which will be non-league contests against The Family School Lady Falcons. The Lady Panthers are slated to play the Lady Falcons at 5 p.m. today in Hancock. At 5 p.m. on Monday, Monticello will host the Lady Falcons.
“We’ll keep plugging away,” Atack said.
Monticello’s high scorers were Moore with 14 points and Yami Reyes with seven points. Moore also recorded seven steals and Zequia Revell finished with nine rebounds.
SW Coach Patrick Donovan was proud of his players for earning what he described as “a good win, a win we needed.”
“Weather has kept the ladies off the court, and this was only their second game in a month,” Donovan said. “Monticello played hard, scrappy and physical. Our shots started to fall and it opened up [the lead].”
Nicoletti lead SW with 16 points, while Grishaber and Humleker finished with 11 points apiece.
The Lady Bulldogs are scheduled to meet the Tri-Valley Lady Bears today at 5:30 p.m. at Sullivan County Community College in Loch Sheldrake in a non-league game which will raise money for the Catskill Regional Medical Center Oncology Unit.