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Ladies Sports a Hot Topic in PCN&R-Area
by Ray Gallagher
 | | Haldane's Brittany Shields moved to within 282 points of Jen Moran's all-time scoring record after knocking down 11 more in a 45-39 win over Hamilton Monday. |
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Some of you have asked Editor in Chief Brian O'Donnell or myself why I haven't given the varsity boys of the PCN&R-region the type of coverage I gave the girls during the past year or so. Truth be told, there are many reasons. First off, the girl's sports programs at both Haldane and Putnam Valley High have been spectacular since I started writing for the PCN&R last September, and long before that, in fact. The Haldane girls have been inspiring, winning a state volleyball championship this past fall and playing in three Section 1 championship games last year. The Lady Blue Devils are the story in and about the Cold Spring area the past year or so.
Yeah, the Haldane football team made a remarkable run to the state quarterfinals this past fall, and it was so extraordinary that nobody on our planet saw it coming. What'd they have, two wins against five losses going in to the Class D playoffs? I caught them against Eldred and Ticonderoga, jumping on the bandwagon in time to know that they'll be a great story next year if they continue to improve like they did throughout the year and follow the lead of super soph Derek O'Dell, who fell just short of a 1,000-yard season.
Same thing can be said over the Valley. The girls are the story most of the time (emphasis on most). Between field hockey, softball and basketball, the PV girls have rocked the Section 1 sports landscape since coming aboard at the turn of the century. The boys have had an impact, particularly in lacrosse (1 sectional title and 4 sectional final appearances) and to a certain extent on the gridiron, but it's the girls who are filling the trophy cases, taking a state field hockey title and a sectional championship in softball, plus a pair of trips to the County Center as part of the Section 1 Final 4 the past three years.
Don't get me wrong. I'll take a good boys game most any day, but I've got to go where best stories are. And if the girls are the story, then, by golly, I'll be there for them; same for the boys, just as soon as the worm turns.
We could use a little cooperation, too. I'm just one guy, freelancing for a local paper. I can't do the whole varsity scene myself; not with two full-time gigs and a baby boy en route on New Years Eve. I need your help. Any items of interest can be emailed to yourdirectrays@aol.com and varsity coaches are encouraged to reach out weekly each Monday.
For now, you can expect a major dose of Lady Blue Devils basketball, what with Brittany Shields, Avery Zuvic, Scotti King and the rest of the cast off to a terrific 3-0 start. The Blue Devils answered any questions about their toughness with a 45-39 win over visiting Hamilton Monday night. Shieldsy knocked down 11 in the win after dropping 27 in a 44-42 win over Class AA Yorktown last week and now sits just 282 points shy of the school's all-time scoring record held by Jen Moran (1,776).
Down six at the half, Haldane rallied behind 5'10" freshman Liz Milner, who had the best game of her budding career, hitting a career-high 12 against Hamilton. King hit two big treys and Zuvic added nine in the well-rounded effort.
Unfortunately, Haldane's game against defending Section 1 Class C champion Blind Brook last Friday was cancelled on account of snow, which means the Blue Devils will have to wait until later in the season for the makeup. Still, the victory over highly-regarded Hamilton suggests the Blue Devils are legitimate favorites to get back to the title game for perhaps another crack at the Trojans, who have already lost once (to Irvington) without the services of graduate Karlyn Adler.
Haldane is not a lock, not by any stretch of the imagination, but the early favorites; so don't go reading, believing and getting all full of yourself over there.
The Putnam Valley girls pulled a rabbit from their, er, uh, hats by advancing to the finals of the Ardsley Tournament over the weekend where they were humbled by 2006 Class B champion Nanuet, 56-35, in the finals.
Putnam Valley's (1-2) Amanda DeChent (13 points) hit two big 3's and Ashley Morgan hit another before Jackie Gallagher (20 points) hit the biggest trey of her career with five seconds left to ice the 56-53 win over host Ardsley, erasing a 15-point deficit along the way.
"For three quarters, we had no business winning that game," Coach Kelly Thompson said while taking a break from a morning film session. "We had some kids step up and hit some big shots in the end, none bigger than Jackie's. That three was good from NBArange."
Meanwhile, both the Haldane (0-1) and Put Valley (1-3) boys are off to inauspicious starts, each of them having lost to Solomon Schechter; not exactly a basketball juggernaut. Billy Campbell led the way with 20 points in Haldane's 53-42 loss to Schechter.
Ryan Foshay dropped a dozen in Putnam Valley's 49-42 loss to Schechter. The Tigers did win on opening day, taking out Keio, 52-42, behind a career-high 20 from Hugh O'Gorman…
Please visit www.yourdirectrays.com to view Section 1 spots photo galleries.
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