The fast start came a bit later for the Shaker girls basketball team.
The Blue Bison opened the second half with a 24-7 run on their way to a 63-30 non-league win against Troy last Wednesday.
Shaker (6-1) built a 27-18 halftime lead before firmly taking control in the third quarter and coasting to its sixth consecutive victory.
I think we were able to settle down and play our brand of basketball [in the third quarter], said Shaker coach Emily Caschera. `That hadn’t been the situation in our previous games since our first game against Shenendehowa [a 47-35 loss]. We had been building big leads in the first quarter.`
Shaker’s primary scoring source against Troy was not one of the usual suspects ` Lauren Woods, MacKenzie Rowland or Erica Houle. Reserve forward Mallory Dickson poured in a career-high 18 points, as she made nine of her 11 shots from the field.
`Mallory Dickson was on fire,` said Caschera. `She was definitely a spark off the bench for us.`
Houle contributed 13 points, and Rowland added nine points for Shaker, which was still recovering from a round of injuries and illnesses that left it short-handed in the days leading up to the Christmas break.
`It’s been good to have almost everyone back again,` said Caschera. `We were down to eight players at one point, and we dressed 10 players for the Troy game.`
The injuries and illnesses didn’t slow Shaker down. The Blue Bison downed defending Section II Class AA champion Bethlehem 60-34 and beat Guilderland 62-54 in their final two Suburban Council games of 2009, which raised their league record to 4-1.
The team’s recent success is in stark contrast to last year, when Shaker lost nine consecutive games to finish Caschera’s inaugural season as its coach.
`We ended last season with a nine-game losing streak, but by no means were we out of any of those nine games,` said Caschera.
Shaker’s confidence level received a boost following its season-opening loss to Shen this year when it defeated Syracuse’s Nottingham High School 45-35. After surviving a 60-54 victory over Niskayuna Dec. 8, the Blue Bison started rolling with convincing wins against Saratoga Springs and Bethlehem.
Woods, Houle and Rowland have been a big part of Shaker’s success. The veteran trio are all averaging between 10 and 11 points per game.
`I really think these girls are coming into their own,` said Caschera. `Obviously, the more people who can score [points], the better the team will be.`
The other factor is that the players are more comfortable in Caschera’s system, having played it last year.
`I think it makes a tremendous difference,` said Caschera. `I spent most of last year teaching the girls what I wanted to do and what zones I wanted them to play. Now, they know what to do, and it helps a lot that they know the system.`
Shaker has some key league games coming up. After traveling to Columbia Tuesday, the Blue Bison host crosstown rival Colonie Friday in what could be a showdown of two one-loss teams. Colonie (4-1, 6-1) hosted Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Tuesday in a Suburban Council game.
`Obviously, I know Colonie is off to a great start, and there is a big rivalry between north and south Colonie,` said Caschera. `But we’re focusing on Columbia right now.`
Colonie is coming off a productive holiday break. The Garnet Raiders defeated Albany 54-44 and Catholic Central 57-47 in last week’s Colonie Tournament. Tehresa Coles led Colonie with 18 points and 13 rebounds against Albany last Monday, and she followed that up with a 12-point performance against Catholic Central last Tuesday.“
