51.0°,
Partly Cloudy Lady Colts dial long distance
Hit eight threes in win over rival Kennedy
Posted
Calhoun's Meghan O'Sullivan drives against Kennedy's Taylor Kruter during a Conference AA-II game won by the Lady Colts on Jan. 14.
Jeff Wilson/Herald
Trailing Kennedy by two games in the Conference AA-II girls’ basketball standings and by seven points after just 65 seconds in their first of two meetings on the season Jan. 14, Calhoun couldn’t have responded better to first-year coach Dave Radtke’s timeout.
“I think we came out a little too pumped up,” Radtke said. “I just told them to breathe and relax.”
The 30-second break spurred the Lady Colts to a 16-point opening quarter, and they led the rest of the way of a well-played 53-37 victory. Sophomore Danielle Losee (18 points) and senior Katie Berghorn (11) combined for eight three-pointers—seven in the first half—and junior Meghan O’Sullivan (16 points, 12 rebounds) went 10-for-12 from the foul line to lead Calhoun, which improved to 3-3 in conference play and 4-7 overall.
“It was a nice win,” said senior Erin Green, who chipped in four points and 12 rebounds for the Lady Colts. “Danielle and Katie were on right from the beginning and Meghan had another big game. We’re starting to work well as a team.”
Kennedy (4-2, 6-5) got 13 points from junior Carly Thea and eight from junior Allie Keller.
“They’re a tough team to defend,” Lady Cougars coach Cipolla-Minafo said. “We started in a zone to contain O’Sullivan, and when you do that you have to hope their outside game is a little cold. But they didn’t miss too many three-point shots, especially in the first half.”
After a basket by senior Steph Roney gave Kennedy a 9-3 lead, Losee got the three-point party started by hitting consecutive shots from behind the arc to tie it. Down by three late in the first quarter, O’Sullivan hit two free throws and Berghorn sank her initial attempt from long range to provided Calhoun with its first lead at 16-14.
“This is the first game we didn’t let the opponent intimidate us,” Radtke said. “We were just as physical as they were.”
With Kennedy’s defense still showing zone, Losee and Berghorn came out firing to start the second quarter and each hit a pair of treys to cap a 17-point run that gave the Lady Colts a 28-14 lead. The margin was cut to nine by halftime and was 34-32 late in the third quarter after three straight baskets by Thea. Then Green, sophomore Jessica Ruggiero, O’Sullivan and Berghorn scored during an eight-point spurt that upped the difference to 10 with 6:38 remaining.
“I was a little concerned when the lead was cut to two,” said Radtke, “but we never let them back in front.”
Though Kennedy’s hopes of leapfrogging Great Neck South for the conference top spot were dealt a considerable blow, Cipolla-Minafo said she was pleased with the results of the season’s first half. “The outlook would be better if we won today, but we’ve had our share of strong games,” she said. “We have to keep working hard.”
Calhoun visits Kennedy in the regular-season finale on Feb. 8.
Report an inappropriate comment
Comments