The Bethlehem girls basketball team picked up a big divisional victory last Friday, thanks to its defense.
The Lady Eagles (6-2 league, 8-4 overall) limited Colonie to 17 points over the final three quarters to pull out a 38-27 victory in a Suburban Council South Division showdown in Colonie.
Bethlehem’s offense was more effective than Colonie’s attack in the defensive battle. The Lady Eagles scored 21 points in the second half to put some distance between themselves and the Lady Raiders (2-5, 4-7).
Meg Olsen scored 17 points to lead Bethlehem, which swept the two-game season series against Colonie. Tracey Koch contributed seven points, and Alex McCullough added six points.
Shayla Madden’s 10 points paced Colonie.
Guilderland had its own offensive problems in a 50-30 loss to Averill Park last Friday.
The Lady Dutch (3-5, 7-5) kept pace with the Warriors (6-2, 10-2) through the first quarter, but things fell apart after that. Averill Park outscored Guilderland 19-9 in the second quarter and 15-7 in the third quarter to take control.
Katie Duma scored 21 points for Averill Park, which remained in a second-place tie with Bethlehem in the South Division standings, one game behind Mohonasen. Melissa Winne’s 10 points led Guilderland.
In other girls basketball action last weekend, Voorheesville kept pace with Holy Names in the battle for first place in the Colonial Council with a 70-64 victory over Cohoes, while Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk suffered a 70-61 loss to Albany Academy.
Things didn’t look good for Voorheesville (8-1, 9-2) early on against Cohoes, as the Tigers (5-4, 6-5) jumped out to an 18-7 lead. But the Blackbirds chipped away and tied the game at 52 by the end of the fourth quarter. Voorheesville outscored Cohoes 18-12 in overtime to pull out the win.
Kelly Glath netted 20 points, and Casey Becerra chipped in 15 points for Voorheesville, which is one game behind first-place Holy Names. Meg Keeler’s 21 points paced Cohoes.
Amanda Cioffi scored 33 points for Albany Academy (2-8, 2-8) in its nine-point win against R-C-S.
Alivia Richter had 14 points, and Kayla Hotaling contributed 13 points for the Indians (2-8, 2-9).`