Once the Colonie girls basketball team started running, the Lady Raiders didn’t stop.
Colonie (2-0) went on a 15-2 run from the midpoint of the first quarter to the early stages of the second quarter on its way to a 54-30 Suburban Council victory over Guilderland Friday.
Not that the Lady Dutch (0-2) didn’t make it difficult on the Lady Raiders. Guilderland matched Colonie’s defensive toughness throughout the game. It just couldn’t match Colonie’s offensive efficiency.
We did a nice job of defending them in the half court when we got them there, said Guilderland coach Frank Cacckello. `But they got a lot of points in transition off our turnovers.`
`Frank’s a great coach. He prepares his teams well,` said Colonie coach Heather Fiore. `They’re young, and they’re learning.`
The heart of Colonie’s offense Friday was the duo of senior Tehresa Coles and sophomore Sydnie Rosales. Both players scored 15 points, with Coles getting most of her points driving to the basket and Rosales getting most of hers on jump shots.
`Having Tehresa and Sydnie on the court at the same time, obviously you have to defend them,` said Fiore. `That leaves the rest of [the players] open.`
Rosales’ presence has meant a lot to Colonie’s success since the middle of the 2009-10 season. She missed the first part of last season to a back injury, but once she got on the court, she created a defensive dilemma for opponents that had originally focused on stopping Coles.
`I can’t even tell you how excited we are about having Sydnie healthy [to start the season],` said Fiore. `She handles the ball well, she passes the ball well, she can shoot the ball well and she can defend well.`
Meanwhile, Guilderland is still searching for an identity. The Lady Dutch roster is filled mainly with sophomores and juniors who are seeing their first significant varsity playing time.
`When you’ve got as young of a group as us, it’s going to take some time,` said Cacckello. `We’re definitely going through some growing pains right now.`
Erin Mossop — the lone senior on Guilderland’s roster — scored six points to lead a balanced attack. Four more Lady Dutch players scored five points apiece, but nobody could get into an offensive rhythm against Colonie’s defense.
`We knew what we were in for tonight, but we didn’t handle it well,` said Cacckello.
Colonie’s next game is Tuesday against undefeated Bethlehem, while Guilderland meets Columbia.
For video from Friday’s game, visit our new YouTube channel at
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