Patience was a virtue for the Shaker girls basketball team.
On a night where nothing came easily, the Lady Bison did just enough to fend off Guilderland 50-39 in Friday’s Section II Class AA quarterfinal game at Shaker.
Top-seeded Shaker (19-0) didn’t get its offense in gear until the fourth quarter, when it out-scored sixth-seeded Guilderland 16-10 to pull away for the double-digit victory.
“A big part of it was we could not put (the ball) … in the broad side of the ocean,” said Shaker coach Emily Caschera-Blowers. “We really struggled offensively and didn’t put it away until late in the game.”
Shaker knew it wasn’t going to be an easy game. Besides coming off a 10-day hiatus between games, the Lady Bison also had to contend with Guilderland’s perimeter shooters.
“They’re a really tough team for us to defend because they have a lot of three-point shooters. That’s a tough match-up for us because we can’t use our 2-3 zone (defense) that we like to use,” said Caschera-Blowers. “So we had to go to man (-to-man), which we haven’t done much of this season.”
The switch worked well for Shaker, though. The Lady Bison limited Guilderland (9-11) to four three-pointers and a total of 14 baskets from the field.
Still, Guilderland was within striking distance as it trailed Shaker 34-29 entering the fourth quarter. But, some clutch baskets down the stretch helped the Lady Bison gain some breathing room.
Jenni Barra had 12 points, while Sierra Mayo and Becky Rossier each contributed 10 points for Shaker. Zibby Eckhardt netted 12 points, and Caitlin Corbett added 11 points for Guilderland.
Shaker advances to Thursday’s Class AA semifinals against Suburban Council North Division rival Shenenendehowa (15-4) at Hudson Valley Community College.
