Sutherland Finds A Way To Grind Out W Over Batavia

February 8, 2021

Pittsford Sutherland 44, Batavia 40

The nightcap of New York's opening night of basketball - with a tip time of approximately 8 PM, it was probably the latest start of the night - proved to be a battle from wire-to-wire. In a game whether the largest lead of the night either way was six, host Pittsford Sutherland dug in late and made several big plays to overcome a 4th quarter deficit and swing the result in their favor.

Maley Garcia was one of three in double figures for Sutherland, leading all with 14 in the win.

Sutherland started fast and jumped out to an 8-2 lead, six of those points coming from Ellie Bergin (Pittsford Sutherland 2023). However, Batavia started to settle in from there and Sutherland was dealt with a blow as Bergin, their leading scorer last winter, went down with an ankle injury and saw limited action the rest of the way. Batavia got a steady dose of production from their backcourt to help establish themselves, with Bryn Wormley (Batavia 2021) doing much of the scoring and Mackenzie Reigle (Batavia 2021, SUNY Geneseo commit) making plays at the point. Wormley had 12 in the opening half, and five straight Batavia points to close the 2nd quarter gave them their first lead at 18-17 going into intermission.

The visitors extended their lead coming out of the locker room, with a quick three & transition layup from Reigle pushing the margin out to six - a 10-0 run dating back to the 2nd quarter. They'd get there again at 29-23 midway through the 3rd before Sutherland went on a run of its own, as they held Batavia scoreless for the final 4 minutes of the quarter while scoring 8 straight to regain the lead at 31-29. Batavia responded by scoring the first six of the 4th - a Reigle basket, two Wormley free throws to regain the lead, and a Kennedy Kolb (Batavia 2021) bucket to go back up 35-31 with 5 minutes left. The score was 37-34 a minute later when Sutherland came back with a spurt of its own. Leora Cook (Sutherland 2024) grabbed an offensive rebound on a free throw miss & scored to tie it at 37, then she broke loose on a baseline out of bounds & finished to give Sutherland the lead once again. After Reigle shook a defender with a hesitation dribble & scored at the rim to tie it at 39 with 1:47 left, Sutherland broke the press and Maley Garcia (Sutherland 2021) made the most of it, finishing at the rim to put them up for good at 41-39 with 1:38 left. Cook added insurance a minute later with another offensive rebound & putback to make it a two possession game in the final minute. After a free throw & a Sutherland turnover, Batavia had a chance to tie it, but a three went long & Cook grabbed the board. She split a pair at the line after to effectively ice the game.

The story of the scorebook was balance for Pittsford Sutherland. Maley Garcia led the way with 14 points in the victory, 10 coming in the 2nd half. Leora Cook added 12 with 7 coming in the 4th, and Ellie Bergin added 12 in somewhat limited action due to the early injury. Bryn Wormley had 12 of her game high 19 points in the 1st half, and Mackenzie Reigle joined her in double digits with 13.

Bryn Wormley finished with a game high 19 points in the narrow defeat.

#ThoughtsFromTheBaseline

- Competitive opening night contest, and Sutherland has to be happy with the grit shown to come out with a win. They had to respond to two runs in the 2nd half and did so with Ellie Bergin, a highly regarded local player, only having played about 4-5 minutes of the half and not more than a couple possessions in the 4th quarter. The offense had to come from other sources coming from behind, and they pieced it together on 'little things' sort of plays - second chances, a layup off a press break, a heady cut on a BLOB. Several in Sutherland unis made positive plays late, and they needed it all.

- Batavia backcourt mates Mackenzie Reigle and Bryn Wormley made a big impact despite receiving a good amount of Sutherland's defensive attention, including a triangle & 2 at one point. Reigle really flashed the creativity off the dribble, ability to keep the D off balance, and capability of finishing at the rim or creating for teammates. Wormley was a bucket - slippery off the bounce & finished at the rim, and she also showed the range including a couple contested perimeter Js. They combined for 32 of Batavia's 40 and controlled the offense. Reigle is committed to SUNY Geneseo and she has potential to be good in the SUNYAC; Wormley isn't committed to my knowledge, but she's also a guard that I could see having success at the next level.

Leora Cook stepped up & made numerous big plays along with her 12 points in Sutherland's W.

- I previously mentioned that Sutherland was about the balance, which is true, but it was a youngster off the bench that I thought made some of the biggest plays. Leora Cook stepped up & made major contributions late to help push her team over the top. She scored 7 in the 4th, which was big, but how she got them caught my attention - chased down a missed FT for an offensive board & scored, made a hard cut on a BLOB to get a layup, another offensive board & putback, then a free throw with :22.4 left to give them a two possession lead. She was active throughout when in the game, and the final minutes are when she broke through. As far as Leora goes as a player, there was a lot to like in my first viewing of her. She's got decent length & athleticism and a high motor. Although she played more of a forward in the half-court against Batavia's zone, she showed natural guard skill with her ability to catch & make a dribble move, getting to the rim off the crossover on multiple occasions. She also showed willingness to invite & take contact around the rim, and she spent a good amount of time at the line because of it. All good stuff for a 2024. Looking forward to catching her and the rest of the Sutherland crew in action again.

- A major thank you goes out to Pittsford athletic administration, particularly district AD Scott Barker and Sutherland athletic coordinator Dylan Bronson, for allowing me to swing by & cover this game. I truly appreciate it! Not a bad one to get to. Hopefully I'll get to be back around in the near future!