The Voorheesville girls basket-ball team is sound defensively.
Offensively, though, the Blackbirds have some work to do.
That last fact became clear Friday when Voorheesville made only eight shots from the field in a 44-32 Colonial Council loss to Watervliet.
They played great defensively, Voorheesville coach Robert Baron said of Watervliet, which raised its record to 8-1. `We had trouble putting the ball in the basket.`
Watervliet did a good job of containing Voorheesville’s leading scorer, Elizabeth Madden. The senior guard failed to hit a shot from the field and finished with four points.
The rest of the Blackbirds couldn’t bail Madden out. Amelia Martin and Emily Norris led Voorheesville (6-3) with six points apiece, while Melissa Bogart contributed five points.
Baron said the offensive woes from the Watervliet game have plagued the Blackbirds throughout the season.
`I think our offense has been inconsistent,` said Baron. `Our defense has been consistent, but our offense has not.`
Voorheesville’s defense was what helped keep it in the game with Watervliet. Trailing 22-11 at halftime, the Blackbirds limited the Cannoneers to six points in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 28-19. But every time Voorheesville thought it was back in the game, Watervliet came up with a short spurt to keep the Blackbirds at bay.
`They jumped out early, and we never really seemed to overcome it,` said Baron.
Nae White had 14 points, and Ailayla Demand chipped in 11 points for Watervliet, which remained one game behind undefeated Holy Names for first place in the Colonial Council.
Voorheesville has a chance to solidify its hold on third place in the league this week. After facing Schalmont (1-7) Tuesday, the Blackbirds travel to last-place Cobleskill-Richmondville (0-9) Friday.
`You can’t take anybody lightly, especially since we’re still inconsistent on offense,` said Baron. `So, we’re going to take it one game at a time and focus on getting more consistent on offense.“