North gain experience at Ken East tip-off
by PATRICK J. NAGY Reporter

The Williamsville North girls basketball team grew up in its first two games.

The Lady Spartans blew a six-point lead after three quarters in a 47-40 loss last Friday in the opening round of the Kenmore East Tip-off Tournament. However, North came back from a nine-point deficit to beat Starpoint, 46-45, in the consolation round on Saturday.

"We gained a lot of experience over the first two games," said North coach Mike Del Valle. "We lost a close game and won a close game in the fourth. All in all, it was a good turnaround."

North led Holy Angels by as many as 11 in the second quarter and went up 32-23 at halftime. The Lady Spartans maintained the lead, going up 38-32 after three quarters, but a combination of poor shooting and turnovers resulted in North getting outscored 15-2 in the fourth.

"When they started to pressure us, we didn't respond well," said Del Valle. "They also had already played two games. That makes a difference, especially considering how young we are (only one senior)."

Junior forward Katie Kubala had a team-high 11 points, all in the first half. She was named to the all-tournament team.

Freshman Allie Ahern added seven points, and junior Megan Klansky and freshman Jen Piaggione each chipped in six points.

North trailed Starpoint, 26-17, at halftime, but led by the Ahern sisters (Allie - seven points, Leslie - six points), cut the deficit to 33-32 at the end of the third. Leslie Ahern finished with nine points.

North took a 44-43 advantage before two Starpoint foul shots put them up, 45-44. Kubala knocked down two foul shots with eight seconds left to seal the win. She scored all six of her points in the fourth quarter.

Klansky chipped in eight points.

"We made a few key shots and got a few defensive stops when we needed them," said Del Valle.

In other North news, freshman point guard Corrin Genovese was told by doctors she can start lightly jogging. Genovese is recovering from a right ankle injury she suffered late in the volleyball season. Del Valle said Genovese will go back to the doctor in two weeks to see if she can start working out more.

Williamsville South

All it took was a few minutes of poor play in the first quarter for Clarence to defeat Williamsville South.

The Lady Billies were outscored 15-6 in the first quarter en route to a 45-34 home loss last Wednesday.

South coach Erik Solomon said his team struggled to make shots toward the middle and end of the first quarter.

"I thought we played well the whole game," he said. "The shots unfortunately weren't falling at times in the first quarter."

Other than half of the first quarter, Solomon felt his team played Clarence even for the rest of the game.

South trailed, 25-15, at halftime and 34-26 after three quarters.

Solomon said his team had a little trouble handling Clarence's inside size. Five-foot-nine forward Katie Lancelloti had 10 points.

"We struggled on the defensive glass," said Solomon. "They had second and third shot opportunities way too many times. That was really the killer."

Sarah Marcus led South with 11 points. Cassiana Hyppolite chipped in seven points. Alison Couche added five points. Joanna Ostroot had two points and seven rebounds.

Megan Rogers paced Clarence with 11 points.

South (0-1) played at Hamburg on Tuesday but the result was unavailable before The Bee went to press. They play at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday at Sweet Home.

e-mail: pnagy@beenews.com