The Colonie girls basketball team kicked off its 2012-13 season with a win, but Mohonasen didn’t make it easy.
The Garnet Raiders (1-0) led the Mighty Warriors 32-28 midway through the third quarter before pulling out a 48-39 victory in last Friday’s Suburban Council season opener.
`I thought they played extremely well,` Colonie coach Heather Fiore said of Mohonasen, which returned one starter and has a new head coach in Kelley Urbano. `They’re going to have a good team. They do some nice things out there.`
`The No. 1 thing is to build that mentality that they can be competitive with anybody in this league,` said Urbano, who takes over for Paul Brosious at the Rotterdam school. `When they buy into that, they play like that.`
Mohonasen (0-1) led Colonie 9-7 after the first quarter, but seniors Sydnie Rosales and Jaclyn Welch soon got the Garnet Raiders going. Rosales and Welch each hit critical layups off Mohonasen turnovers during a 21-11 second quarter to help Colonie build a 28-20 halftime lead.
`We had a slow start, and then in the second quarter we picked it up defensively,` said Fiore. `Offensively, we were getting good shots (in the first quarter). They just weren’t falling.`
Colonie’s offense slowed down in the third quarter, which helped Mohonasen pull within four points with less than four minutes left. But three consecutive three-pointers by the Garnet Raiders allowed them to build a 41-28 cushion.
Rosales hit two of her team-high five three-pointers during that stretch, and the Marist-bound guard finished with 22 points. But Rosales wasn’t happy with her performance.
`I didn’t really feel (like I scored 22 points). I wasn’t as efficient as I wanted to be,` said Rosales.
Mohonasen kept the game respectable in the fourth quarter thanks to Saeeda Abdul-Aziz. The eighth-grader dropped a pair of three-pointers to help the Mighty Warriors remain within striking distance.
Abdul-Aziz and Maddie Egan each scored 12 points for Mohonasen in Urbano’s coaching debut.
`They handled themselves very well, and to have two of our younger players step up and lead us in scoring is great,` said Urbano.
Welch contributed 16 points for Colonie, which is going through a reloading phase of its own after graduating three starters from last year’s Sectional championship squad.
`I think we’re just as talented as last year,` said Fiore. `We have some new kids who are working hard and can fill in the spots on this team.`
`I think it was a good first game for us,` added Rosales. `It was good to see how everyone works together going against other people.`
Colonie travels to Averill Park (0-1) Tuesday to face the defending Class A Sectional champions, while Mohonasen hosts Columbia (0-1).