Foul trouble costs Lady Mules

Early foul trouble spelled doom for the Malverne Lady Mules as they fell to Conference B-C rival Wheatley in last Friday’s basketball season-opener, 44-37.

Ten of Malverne’s 21 team fouls occured in the first half, including two each whistled against senior forwards Amanda Masson (14 points) and TionTaye Noel, a defensive standout.

The dicey foul situation gave Lady Mules coach Michael Pelan no choice but to rest Masson towards the end of the second quarter to preserve her for the stretch run. “We lost Masson, our top offensive threat, in the beginning of the game, and Noel, our best defender, at the end,” Pelan said. “[Masson] had two fouls before the half, so I had to take her out.”

When Masson returned to the court after halftime, she helped Malverne erase a 23-15 deficit by scoring six points in the third quarter. She pulled the Lady Mules to within six with 5:24 remaining in the third frame, as she made a crafty move past two Wheatley defenders and connected on a highlight reel layup.

But foul trouble once again caught up to Malverne after Lady Mules senior guard Karen Ulysse tied the game at 31 on a layup with less than six minutes left in regulation. Noel fouled out in the third minute of the fourth quarter, leaving the Lady Mules without their best defensive player for most of the final frame. “Alexis Lopez, my best shooter, also had four fouls,” Pelan noted. “[Masson, Noel and Lopez] each had four fouls by the early point of the fourth quarter, so that kind of changes things.”

Wheatley took advantage of its newfound space in the paint, as it went on a 10-1 run in the waning minutes of the final frame to open up a 41-32 advantage, its largest lead of the game. With 41 seconds left in regulation and trailing 41-35, Pelan and the Lady Mules forced Wheatley to beat them at the foul line. Rebecca Braito connected on a free throw with five seconds left to seal the outcome.

After losing to Wheatley twice last year, Malverne’s plan of attack was to run a slow, walk-it-up-the-floor style of offense. “I knew Wheatley runs a 1-3-1 trap,” Pelan noted. “Last year, we would race up the court, get trapped and turn it over. We tried to slow it down and beat the trap by passing instead of dribbling, which they executed very well. My point guards are very small and tiny, so we’d be in trouble if they got trapped.”

According to Pelan, his underclassmen from last season are playing with confidence now with some seasoning under their belt and they took a lot of positives from the loss. “Everyone was young last year,” Pelan said. “We brought everyone back and they played hard. That’s all I can ask for. We played smart, showed patience and did a good job with the run-and-go style.”

Malverne hosts Oyster Bay Jan. 3 at 6:30 p.m.