Mechanicville Overcomes Sputtering Offense, Holds Off Cobleskill On The Road

November 27, 2018

Mechanicville 37, Cobleskill-Richmondville 34

This Class B nonleague matchup had the makings of being an interesting one heading into Tuesday night. Both teams won their season openers in nonleague tilts, and they each had a returning standout go off for a huge scoring game. Both teams are respectable Class B programs that although they haven't experienced great postseason success - Mechanicville advanced to Section 2 semifinals last year - they certainly aren't teams that opponents look past on the schedule.

In the first four minutes, it looked like the visitors were primed to run Cobleskill away early. Their press forced the Bulldogs into several turnovers and more rushed decisions, and after 2020 standout Charli Goverski had consecutive layups, Mechanicville was up 9-0. Cobleskill was able to settle in after a timeout, getting back to back baskets from 2021 standout Sabrina Pressley to start what became an 11-0 run reaching into the 2nd quarter. Another Pressley basket late in the quarter, a layup coming off a broken play, gave Cobleskill its largest lead at 20-16.

Sabrina Pressley (Cobleskill-Richmondville 2021) defended by Taylor Grayson

The Bulldogs were able to keep their lead for the last few minutes of the 2nd quarter and deep into the 3rd, despite never pulling beyond a 4 point edge. After Goverski made four consecutive free throws - two off a called intentional foul in transition and another two a minute later - 2021 Amy DiSiena knocked down a stepback jumper and Goverski scored again & added another free throw, completing a 7-0 run and giving Mechanicville a 28-25 edge after three quarters. Cobleskill battled back, scoring the first four of the 4th quarter to take the lead. After Goverski scored off a DiSiena feed to take a 31-29 lead with two minutes left, a Lindsay Becker three gave Cobleskill the lead one more time with 1:38 left. On the ensuing possession, Taylor Grayson (Mechanicville 2019) scored and added a free throw - her first points since the 2nd quarter - to account for the game's 10th and final lead change and give Mechanicville a 34-32 lead with 1:17 left. After Cobleskill turned it over on the ensuing possession, Jada Brown (Mechanicville 2019) split a pair at the line. She then grabbed a defensive rebound and split another pair with 20.1 seconds left. After Pressley scored again to cut the deficit to 36-34 with :07.5 left, Brown split a pair once again, but DiSiena grabbed the offensive rebound and Mechanicville was able to play keep-away for the last few seconds to secure the victory.

Charli Goverski, after scoring 29 in their season opener, led all scorers with 16 points in the victory. She shot 8/10 from the line. DiSiena added 8 in the win. Cobleskill saw balanced scoring with nobody cracking double digits. Sabrina Pressley - who dropped 33 in their season opener - paced the Bulldogs with 8.

Chloe Goverski (Mechanicville 2022) with Emma Osterhoudt in the play

Jeff's Notes

- Two teams/coaches that I thought were pretty well gameplanned for each other. Both teams did leave plenty of scoring opportunities on the table, but easy buckets were hard to come by to begin with. Mechanicville, who exclusively went zone, did a nice job pinching the middle and keeping an athletic Sabrina Pressley from getting quality touches. They also got back and limited her transition scoring opportunities, something she killed Middleburgh with last week. Cobleskill did a nice job keeping Charli Goverski, known as a knockdown shooter, from getting any sort of daylight on the perimeter. She did finish with 16, but it wasn't a comfortable 16 and she had to work for all of them.

Charli Goverski (Mechanicville 2020) finished with a game high 16 points in the victory.

- Now, about Charli. If you told me a year ago she would be pushing 20 points in a game without a single three, not sure I would believe you. The 5'9" guard can play on or off the ball, but has a good shooting stroke with deep range on the jumper and is a real perimeter shooting threat. Besides an early stretch with a couple transition layups, she was quiet & largely held in check in the 1st half. In the 3rd quarter, she did what good scorers do after that happens - she moved without the ball, got herself some easy ones, and got to the line. Charli was instrumental in Mechanicville regaining a 2nd half lead, getting out in transition twice and getting herself to the line in a game where points were hard to come by. She had 7 in the 3rd, shooting 5/6 from the stripe. A well-timed basket cut got her a layup with 2 minutes left off a nice feed from Amy DiSiena - that was their first field goal of the 4th quarter and couldn't come at a more important time. Mechanicville is at a point where they need Charli to be a legitimate scoring option every time on the court, and the fact that she showed she can be that in different ways even with the defense keying on her is a good sign.

- Despite the loss, Cobleskill still strikes me as an interesting team this winter. They took a pretty tough hit to graduation with the loss of Allie Pacatte and Lauren Hill, so they have newer faces figuring out their way in increased roles right now. I saw them last week at Middleburgh, where they were able to play the uptempo style they want and put up 82. Mechanicville was able to get back and make Cobleskill have to score in the half-court with very few exceptions, and although it was a game on the offensive end that I'm sure the Bulldogs would like to have back, they worked themselves into having a real shot to win - holding a lead with a minute & a half left - because of their own defensive effort. Showing that they're a team that's all for the track meet but can also battle & play that game in the 30s-40s bodes well for them, and I think this was a good game for them to get early in the season before league play tips off.