B.B. girls’ hoops delighted by huge homecoming win

The Blind Brook girls’ varsity basketball team had their best week yet. The Lady Trojans had a week filled with two wins and one loss. The first victory came against the Keio Unicorns on Wednesday, Feb. 6 and was followed by a tremendous win over Rye Neck on the Trojans’ homecoming on Friday, Feb. 8. Finally, the Trojans suffered a loss to the strong Bronxville Broncos on Monday, Feb. 11.

Thrashing of Keio

The Trojans came out with their best performance of the year against Keio Academy. In the first quarter alone, the team scored 23 points, led by senior captain Sydney Klein who had 11. The heat didn’t stop after the first quarter as the Trojans went into halftime up 36-20 with no intentions of slowing down.

The third quarter, frequently the buffer for the Trojans, consisted of all-around great play. On both offense and defense the Trojans stayed hot, fighting toward the big “donut” they handed Keio (0 points scored in the quarter). The highlight of the great victory was freshman point guard Gabby Tucker who shot a career-high 14 points, as well as 10+ assists. Blind Brook would shoot for more than double the Unicorns’ score, winning 52-24.

Revenge against Rye Neck

The Rye Neck Panthers had gotten the best of the Trojans just a week before on the Panthers’ home court, mainly because the Lady Trojans were missing key players in the lineup. Nonetheless, they were beaten, and Blind Brook had something to prove, especially with the big home crowd on their homecoming night.

The game started and ended competitively. In the first quarter, the teams essentially exchanged baskets. Klein came out hot once again knocking down two shots from beyond the arc, putting her team ahead 11-10 after one quarter of play. The second quarter was a B.B. domination. Sophomore Kaitlyn Tangney warmed up from what could have been first quarter jitters and came out firing. Tangney and Klein combined for 18 of the team’s 21 points in the second quarter. With this duo both hitting shots, the team looked almost unstoppable. Blind Brook led 32-19 at half time.

The third quarter showed nothing less. Tangney continued to shoot well, and senior captains Paige Maizes and Joelle Maitland were monsters on defense, not letting any easy buckets come through. At the end of the game, the Panthers started to play their best basketball, but it wasn’t enough to beat Blind Brook’s talent and momentum. The Lady Trojans sealed their revenge with chants from the crowd as they won 62-42.

After the game, Klein had a few words. “Winning felt amazing because the whole team really contributed in this game. We all played extremely well, and our defense was outstanding,” she said excitedly. “I’m super proud of the entire team and we were quite happy with the turnout of people that came to support. I’m glad to be able to say that this was my senior homecoming and we’re all excited for playoffs.” Klein finished the game with 17 points and Tangney with 19.

Loss to Bronxville

The Broncos are a talented team the Trojans knew wouldn’t be beaten easily. Nevertheless, they were coming off a two-game win streak and were gaining confidence in their play. In the first quarter, Klein hit three threes as Tangney was receiving most of the pressure from their defense. On top of Klein’s shooting was sophomore Ruby Grodin’s stellar defense. Grodin has been a big body for the Trojans all year and has been a force on defense as well as developing nicely into the girls’ offensive plays. After the first quarter, the Trojans trailed 16-11.

The second quarter consisted of the Broncos shooting a lot from far out. Blind Brook’s inside defense was too solid for Bronxville’s players to penetrate so they shot from beyond the arc, but they were hitting their shots. Tangney worked her way into the mix by getting a few foul calls and hitting a few shots. At the half, Blind Brook was down 29-21.

The remainder of the game was disappointingly the same. Blind Brook never really broke through Bronxville’s tough, quick style of play and they would eventually end up in big foul trouble. In the end, the short-lived win streak came to an end with a 46-32 loss.

After press time on Wednesday, Feb. 13, the Trojans would play their final game of the regular season and what would be their final home game of the 2018-19 year, against Bronxville. Before this game, the Lady Trojans stood at 6-13 and are hoping to secure the 13 seed in playoffs.