The Niskayuna girls basketball team had one of those nights where nothing went right.
The Silver Warriors’ first four possessions ended in turnovers, and it didn’t get any better for them as Columbia pulled away for a 47-31 victory in Saturday’s Division I consolation game at the Suburban Council Tournament at Albany’s Washington Avenue Armory.
It seemed like every time we got something going, there would be something a foul or a turnover ` that kept us out of a rhythm,` said Niskayuna coach Sarah Neely.
Even when Niskayuna (12-2 league, 14-6 overall) successfully got a shot off, it wouldn’t fall. The Silver Warriors made only 11 shots from the field, none of which came in the first quarter when they were outscored 12-3.
`My scorers were shooting, but nothing was falling. They couldn’t even hit layups,` said Neely.
Columbia (8-5, 10-9) was hitting from the field in the first half, as it jumped out to a 22-13 halftime lead. The lead would have been larger, though, if the Blue Devils had made their free throws. They made only three of their nine shots from the foul line.
`We definitely dug ourselves a hole in the first quarter by only scoring three points,` said Neely. `Columbia played tough defensively and played a great game. We never got into an offensive rhythm.`
Niskayuna had one shining moment early in the third quarter. Lindsay Mayo scored off an offensive rebound, and Emily Bayly drained a long three-pointer and added a foul shot on the next Niskayuna possession to pull the Silver Warriors within three points of Columbia.
That was as close as Niskayuna got. Columbia closed the third quarter with a 9-2 run to build a 31-23 lead, and the Blue Devils never looked back.
Gabi Regan scored 13 points, and Lucy Tremblay added a pair of three-pointers as part of an eight-point night for Columbia, which finished second to Bethlehem in the Suburban Council Gold Division standings. Beth Halayko had 12 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out for Niskayuna, the White Division champions.
Niskayuna opened the tournament last Thursday with a 48-44 loss to Bethlehem at Shenendehowa High School. The Silver Warriors rallied from a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter to pull close to the Lady Eagles, but a pair of three-pointers from Megan Olsen helped Bethlehem seal the victory.
Olsen finished with 26 points including five threes. Halayko had 14 points, and Bayly contributed 13 points for Niskayuna.
The Silver Warriors are off until the start of the Section II, Class AA playoffs next week. Neely said her team will use the time to regroup from its Suburban Council Tournament performance.
`I told my girls that they worked so hard to get to the Tournament of Champions (Division I), and we have to play up to the level of the top teams,` said Neely.
In other Suburban Council girls tournament action last weekend, Mohonasen bounced back from an opening round loss to Shaker to defeat Ballston Spa 59-28 in Saturday’s Division III consolation game at the Washington Avenue Armory.
The Mighty Warriors (4-10, 7-12) broke the game open by outscoring the Scotties 16-4 in the second quarter and sealed the win with a 21-5 fourth quarter.
Nicole Adach had 13 points, and Michelle Aviza contributed 10 points for Mohonasen. Alaina Greco’s 12 points paced Ballston Spa.“