Saratoga Springs 80, Guilderland 63
I've had the luxury of being able to watch some entertaining basketball games with high level players & high octane offenses in this shortened season. Wednesday's pilgrimage to Saratoga Springs quickly established itself as one of those contests that provided great entertainment value. After Guilderland recovered from a 1st half double digit deficit, a big 3rd quarter broke it open for good as the Blue Streaks took care of business on their home floor.
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| Natasha Chudy was an unstoppable force in the paint, and she dropped a game high 38 with 20 coming in the 1st quarter alone for Saratoga. |
Guilderland came out in its usual press to start the game, and Saratoga was ready for it. They consistently broke pressure in the 1st quarter and turned it into numbers as the visitors were slow to get back at times, with Natasha Chudy (Saratoga Springs 2023) playing the role of finisher. She scored 8 in the first 2+ minutes on three buckets around the rim & two free throws, the last of those buckets putting them up 8-7, and she didn't slow down from there. A personal 8-0 run gave them a 7 point lead, and after Valencia Fontenelle-Posson (Guilderland 2021, Siena signee) stopped the short drought with a free throw, Saratoga answered with more Chudy. She scored again in the post, added a three-point play, and by the time she split a pair at the line at the 1:22 mark of the 1st quarter, she had produced her team's first 20 points in a remarkable start. They capped the frame with a Lauren Patnode (Saratoga Springs 2023) layup to take a 22-11 lead.
Chudy's big 1st quarter number was answered by Fontenelle-Posson's show in the 2nd. She started the stanza with a three to cut Guilderland's deficit back into single digits briefly. The margin hovered around ten for part of the quarter with Saratoga going back & forth with Valencia. After a Patnode bucket pushed it to 32-20 in Toga's favor, Fontenelle-Posson banged another three at the 3:42 mark - which put her at 12 points in the quarter - that started an 11-2 run. That charge ended with yet another triple off her right hand, which got them within 3 at 34-31 with 2:35 left in the half. They'd be held scoreless for the remainder of the half though, and they were dealt a tough blow as Fontenelle-Posson became Guilderland's 2nd starter with four fouls in the final minute of the half. Two Katie Claeson (Saratoga Springs 2021) buckets and another Patnode finish put Saratoga up 40-31 at the break.
The 3rd quarter started exactly like the 2nd; with a Fontenelle-Posson triple, her 5th of the night. However, the Blue Streaks would start to reestablish control & stretch their lead from there. Abby Ray (Saratoga Springs 2021, Albany commit) had 5 quick points in an 8-0 spurt that gave them a double digit lead for good. Another 6-0 spurt featuring a Ray bucket and two more from Chudy extended their lead to 56-37. A spin & lefty finish in the post from Chudy to end the 3rd made the score 64-42 in Saratoga's favor. Back-to-back Patnode buckets to start the 4th pushed their lead to as much as 26 before Guilderland cut into it again in the final minutes. A 7-0 run from the visitors trimmed the deficit to 15, then baskets from Grace McFerran (Guilderland 2021) & Fontenelle-Posson got them as close as 13 with two minutes left, but they would make no more of a dent.
Natasha Chudy had a monster night for Saratoga. The sophomore dropped a game high 38 points, with 20 coming in the 1st quarter alone and another 10 in the 3rd. Fellow sophomore Lauren Patnode added 16 points, and Abby Ray contributed 11 more in the victory. Valencia Fontenelle-Posson had a huge game of her own in defeat, as the Guilderland star pumped in 37 points including 7 of her team's 10 threes.
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| Valencia Fontenelle-Posson had a fantastic showing of her own, scoring 37 points including 7 threes for Guilderland. |
#ThoughtsFromTheBaseline
- The low-hanging fruit to talk about - how many teams do you have two players on opposing teams go into the upper 30s in a high school basketball game? I can honestly only remember one game of opposing players going 30+ in a girls' game that I've been to - coincidentally, it also included a dominant forward and Valencia as Liv Olsen dropped 41 against Valencia's 33 in a Nisky/Guilderland game to start last winter. Not a daily sight. Have I talked about it enough yet? No? Alright, check the next two points:
- What would be the low-hanging fruit is to say that Tash had an 'easy' 38 - they were all either in close range or at the line (8/9 FT, all 1st half), and plenty of them were catches & finishes at the rim. She has the face-up game and ability to stretch to the perimeter & shoot the 3, which means she got 38 in this game without having to open the bag entirely... that's pretty scary, right? But she did many things over the course of the game that show what kind of strides she's made. The 6'2" sophomore has always been a mobile big, but she's even more so now and I think she runs 'smarter' as well, commanding attention with straight line rim runs where she often beat her matchup up the court. She definitely 'won the wait' of 2020 and focused on getting stronger, as it's physically noticeable in her look & her strength on the court. She took full advantage of her superior size, established deep post position, and did the work early to put herself in an advantageous position. Throw in the soft hands & good touch... Tash has developed into one of Section 2's most potent offensive forces, and she should have no shortage of D1 suitors in the *very* near future.
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| Lauren Patnode had a strong showing for Saratoga, producing 16 points in their triumph. |
- Valencia's just a bucket. As a younger up & comer in the early high school days, she was an exceptional athlete that did a good job finding ways to manufacture points, but I think she'll even admit that the consistency of the shot needed some work. Well, the shot got work, and it's been looking right for a while now. 7 threes, probably shot over 50% from behind the arc, and the misses looked good - just a little short or long. She's now truly a 'pick your poison' player - take your chances with the perimeter J, which she's shown time & time again recently that she can burn defenses with, or guard up a little bit and accept the fact that she's going to get a lot of paint touches. Have fun with that! Exceptional showing for V, who becomes the MAAC's problem next year while staying in the local market at Siena.
- I'm sure a lot of people don't really appreciate all that Abby Ray brings to the table, but what a coach's dream to have in the backcourt. Outside of a short stint in the 2nd quarter, Guilderland couldn't really turn Saratoga off with their vaunted pressure. Credit Abby's ballhandling ability, decision making, and physical strength vs. pressure for a lot of that. The ball got where it needed to be on a consistent basis to exploit advantageous matchups in the half-court; credit Abby for controlling the tempo & doing a lot of that. She also showed, particularly in the 3rd quarter, that although she doesn't have a scorer's mentality & doesn't look to shoot it much, she'll produce in the books if needed. On the other end, she defends at a high level; athletic, physical, & relentless with a competitive edge. Basically, we're talking about all of the things a lot of coaches say they die for in point guards. I was very happy to see her recently commit to Albany & am looking forward to seeing her continue her basketball days at the college ranks.
- 80 points in a 32 minute high school basketball game with one three... won't see that much. Uptempo game, lot of possessions, and between the Blue Streaks fighting fire with fire on the pressure & getting consistent post touches in the half-court, a lot of their offense came in close range. Credit to a team that understood where they could exploit their opponent in the specific matchup & didn't stray from it.
- It's 3:15 AM and I'm rambling, so let's call it here. A thank you goes to Saratoga Springs athletic administration for allowing media (and myself) in the gym to check this game out. Another thank you goes to everyone following along on Twitter (@NYSTakeover), Instagram (empirestatetakeover), & Facebook (Empire State Takeover). Yet another one goes to everyone that's read through this & all of the other ones on this blog. In this shortened season where nothing is guaranteed, it's greatly appreciated!
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