Lady Spartans hit a wall
by PATRICK J. NAGY Reporter

It wasn't a fun time to be a member of the Williamsville North girls basketball team last week.

The Lady Spartans (1-4, 0-2) opened ECIC Division I play with two horrible losses, falling, 44-27, last Tuesday at Orchard Park and dropping a 60-44 decision at home last Thursday to Frontier.

"We didn't play well in either game," said North coach Mike Del Valle.

North's biggest problem is they are not patient with the basketball when they are on offense. The Lady Spartans were an abysmal 13-for-72 against Orchard Park, including 0-for-12 from three-point range. They also went 3-for-15 from the free throw line.

"We're taking the first shot we have right away, even if it's not a good one," said Del Valle. "We have to focus more on letting shots go in rhythm. It is fixable; we just need to be patient."

A perfect example of North's shooting woes came against Orchard Park. North missed three shots on its first offensive possession and the Lady Quakers hauled in a deep rebound and scored. OP led, 12-1, at one point in the first quarter, and 17-5 at the end of the quarter. OP led, 28-13, at halftime and, 36-17, after three quarters.

North's scoring was balanced (nine players scored), but low. Junior Katie Kubala had six points on 3-of-5 shooting. Senior Leslie Ahern added six rebounds. Junior Chioma Kalu-Nwiwu had four steals.

The Frontier game was nip and tuck - Frontier led 15-13 after first quarter, 26-22 at halftime, and 40-35, after three quarters, until the Lady Golden Falcons blew it open in the fourth quarter.

Del Valle said because his team was trailing, he had them foul Frontier a lot which led to more of the Lady Golden Falcon scoring.

Nine North players scored led by 12 points from junior Megan Klansky, 11 from freshman Allie Ahern and five from Kubala.

North (1-3) played at West Seneca West on Tuesday but the result was unavailable before The Bee went to press. They play at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at Lancaster.

Williamsville East

The Lady Flames opened a 26-9 halftime advantage and cruised to a 57-20 home win over West Seneca East last Tuesday.

East hit its first four shots from the floor and finished 23-for-48, including 3-of-4 from three-point range. They also sank eight of nine free throws.

Ten East players scored led by 10 points and 10 rebounds from senior Anna Stolzenburg.

Becca Rumschik and Neha Bakhai each scored eight points. Rumschik hit two three-pointers.

Taylor Klun, Aleece Burgio and Courtney Hawkins each chipped in six points. Jessica Kowalski (five points, hit a three), Kristen Ostanski (four points), and Jordan Kowalski and Bridget Steele (two points each) also contributed. Steele dished out six assists.

East (3-1) hosted Sweet Home (3-1) on Tuesday but the result was unavailable before The Bee went to press. They host Lake Shore at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.

e-mail: pnagy@beenews.com