To quote a Beatles song title, it was A Hard Day’s Night for the Shenendehowa and Bethlehem girls basketball teams in Sunday’s Suburban Council Division I Tournament final at Albany’s Washington Avenue Armory.
The two teams engaged in a hard-fought defensive battle before Shen pulled away for a 44-33 victory.
`It was not our best game, but you never want to go into Sectionals with a loss,` said Shen coach Ken Strube.
`No one had a really good game, and it hurts to lose,` said Bethlehem coach Mark Nealon. `But we know we can play with the best in the league.`
What did in Bethlehem (13-1 league, 18-2 overall) was poor shooting, especially in the second half. The Lady Eagles made only 25 percent of their shots from the field ` a percentage that was dragged down by a 3-for-23 effort in the last two quarters.
`They did their very best, but the ball didn’t go in,` said Nealon. `I’m still proud of them, and they need to know that.`
Bethlehem had the early momentum, as it scored the first six points of the game on its way to a 10-5 first quarter lead. Shen (13-1, 16-1) hit only one shot from the field, which came midway through the quarter.
The momentum shifted in the second quarter as the Plainsmen applied a full-court press on Bethlehem, which led to five Lady Eagle turnovers. That helped Shen erase the deficit and take a 20-18 halftime lead.
The turnovers were only one problem Bethlehem had to contend with as Shen held leading scorer Meg Olsen without a point in the first half. Alex McCullough took up some of the scoring slack, but she sat out the final minute of the second quarter after being whistled for her third personal foul.
`We tried to keep the ball out of Olsen’s hands,` said Strube.
Once it had the lead, Shen never let go of it. The Plainsmen opened the third quarter with a 9-2 run and limited Bethlehem to one field goal in the period.
Bethlehem had opportunities to get back in the game in the fourth quarter, especially after Shen’s leading scorer, Barb Shea, sat on the bench with her fourth foul early in the period. But the Lady Eagles kept missing their shots, which helped Shen maintain its lead.
Shea led all scorers with 14 points, while Carey Turner contributed 12 points for the Plainsmen. Strube said the two guards led the team `nicely and with composure.`
McCullough had 12 points, and Olsen added seven points for Bethlehem.
Shen and Bethlehem took different roads to the Division I final. Shen handled Columbia 50-32 in its semifinal game Thursday, while Bethlehem fended off a late Niskayuna surge for a 48-44 victory.
Shea led a balanced Shen attack with 11 points as the Plainsmen pulled away to the 18-point win. Marissa Ray and Meg Goodwin each added 10 points.
Olsen had a big night for Bethlehem against Niskayuna. The junior guard drained five three-pointers on her way to a 26-point performance.“