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Streaking Tigers Poised for Class B Hoops Run
Put Valley girls build on 4-game win streak
by Ray Gallagher
 | | P.V. sophomore Nicole Scott making play for loose ball in Tigers' win over Pleasantville last week |
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It wasn't all that pleasant in Pleasantville last Wednesday for Coach Kelly Thompson's Putnam Valley girl's basketball team. Yes, the Tigers (6-5) did add to their modest four-game winning streak with a 51-36 victory behind a 19-point effort from senior point guard Christine Kemp, who swished four from downtown, but the physical level of play left the already undermanned Tigers bruised and battered.
"It was incredibly physical and I was happy to get out of there without anything more than bumps and bruises," said Thompson.
The Panthers, who carry eight seniors and beat the Tigers by seven last year on the road, set a physical tempo from the getgo. Picks were set late and hard, at times; which put many a Tiger to the floor. But the Tigers responded by pushing the tempo and playing sound defense, senior Kim Kastuk (8 points) in particular. The co-captain held Pleasantville hotshot Kristen DeCandido to 10 points below her season scoring average and took the senior out of her game for the most part. Kemp, who drops a team-high 18.4 PPG, did her part at each end, adding five assists on offense, plus four boards and five loots on defense. Defense has been a strong point for the Tigers, who held unbeaten, stateranked (No.18 and climbing) Lakeland to just 43 points. The Hornets average 61 a game.
"I thought Kimmy did a great job holding Decandido down," said Thompson. "I was very proud of my girls for being able to match the physical play without retaliating with any cheap shots. My message before and during the game to my kids was to just keep playing hard and don't let them bring you down to that level. Kemp played her normal, great all-around game. Last year she ended up with bruised ribs in the P'Ville game, but she didn't let that affect her play at all last night. I told her she can't play worrying about getting hurt, although that didn't stop me from worrying about it."
P.V. center Jylan Mayo played outstanding on the low blocks, scoring 11 points and pulling down 13 boards. Had she dropped her foul shots more consistently, she might have gone for a new career-high. Sophomore Nicole Scott added seven points for the Tigers, who called freshman Amanda Dechent up from the JV.
"I thought Jylan Mayo played very well," Thompson said. "If she had shot a bit better, she could have scored 25. We were only 5-of-15 from the line as a team, so we need to improve on that, but overall it was a very good game for us."
"We are starting to believe in ourselves and our ability to go somewhere in sectionals," Thompson said after the Tigers made short work of Byram Hills with a 52-36 win last Friday.
Freshman Amanda Dechent scored a career-high 11 points and dished four assists off the bench. Meaghan McCrudden scored eight points and yanked six boards in the win for the Tigers, who saw Kemp and Kastuk nail seven points and seven rebounds apiece.
"We will continue to push the girls to work hard and keep working on our teamwork and hope to get better each game," Thompson stated. "I still believe the Class B race is wide open. Magnus is currently the favorite and they deserve to be with their performance so far. I believe there are eight legitimate teams that could win it all if they are playing well down the stretch and I feel we are one of them."
Weekly Wrap:
The Haldane Lady Blue Devils, ranked No. 4 in NYS Class C polls, improved to 6-1 with a 53-36 win over Dover. In addition to a game-high 17 points, seven steals and 10 caroms from All-NYS forward Brittany Shields, the Blue Devils saw the coming out party of forward Averyann Zuvic, who knocked down 15 points while grabbing seven rebounds. Brittany Fleming added nine points for the Blue Devils, who were awaiting a Tuesday night league challenge from unbeaten, stateranked (No. 15) Pawling (11- 0), which looks like a major Class B player this season. The winner will have a leg up on the chase for the league title.
"We are still not playing at an elite level," Haldane boss Rich Desiderio said. "We are a good team but not a championship team, yet. Zuvic played well offensively, but her defense still needs a lot of work, and that is the story for just about every player on my team. I do think we are ready to break out in a big way. I sense everything is coming together and the girls have been working really hard in practice. I am anxious to play a bunch of games in the next two weeks before exam week. We need to be playing games at this point because you just can't simulate game speed in practice or even scrimmages. We have some good competition the next two weeks and by next Friday (1/19) night we will know better where we stand."
The PV boys nearly shocked the Class B hoops world last week, missing a last-second shot that would have knocked off state-ranked Pleasantville (9-2). The Panthers eked out a 40-39 win over the Tigers (2- 8), which left P'Ville coach Bob DelleBovi scratching his head.
"Let's be honest," he said. "Those kids from Putnam Valley may not be the most talented team we see this year, but they gave us everything we could handle. They played us as tough as anyone has. They forced my hand. I'm sure they were proud of the effort they gave. My kids thought they had won the game before we took the court."
Tiger Nicky Ivezec pounded the paint for 15 points and Hugh O'Gorman added 11. Vinny Decosta added seven in his return to the lineup. The Tigers also fell to state-ranked (No.10) Byram Hills, 69-35, on Friday. Ivezek's 10 points led the way.
The Haldane boys (3-8) may have played their best quarter of the season in last Friday's 49-41 win over Dover. Using a 17-11 second-quarter run, coach Joe Virgadamo's Blue Devils chalked up their third win of the season behind 17 points from Nick Nastasi and 15 from Billy Campbell.
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