East lacks offense, leaders
by PATRICK J. NAGY Reporter

If the Williamsville East girls basketball team learned anything from its last two games, it's that they need someone on the roster to step up.

A combination of abysmal shooting and poor defense resulted in the Lady Flames' worst performances of the season, losing last Tuesday at Clarence, 60-39, and last Thursday at Hamburg, 36-33.

"It's frustrating for me and for the team," said East coach Chris Durr. "A lot of them have played in our program for four to five years. The seniors went undefeated (40-0) for two years as freshmen and sophomores on JV, so it's not like they haven't had solid basketball experience. Right now, someone has to step up, make a play and be a leader."

East shot worse as the week progressed. They went 17 for 55 (30 percent) against Clarence and 14 for 54 (25 percent) against Hamburg.

The Lady Flames led Hamburg, 6-3, after the first quarter but didn't score for the last 10 minutes of the first half. The six points in a half is a team-record low. They also shot 2 of 18 and had 16 turnovers. East committed 27 turnovers in the entire game.

"Hamburg played good defense, but to not score for almost 10 minutes in a game is unacceptable," said East coach Chris Durr.

East also had its defensive lapses. Down by four with 15 seconds remaining against Hamburg, East junior guard Neha Bakhai drained a three-pointer to cut the deficit to one. Durr told his team in a timeout to make sure Katie Medina, Hamburg's best free-throw shooter, does not get the ball. Sure enough, Medina fought through a double team and got the ball, an East player fouled her and she hit two free throws to seal the win. Medina led all scorers with 15 points.

Senior forward Anna Stolzenburg paced East with 12 points. Bakhai chipped in eight points. Junior forward Taylor Klun added six points.

East opened well against Clarence, taking a 13-6 lead at one point of the first quarter, but the Lady Red Devils closed the score to 13-12 at the end of the quarter. They led, 26-21, at halftime, and, 47-31, after three quarters.

"We just didn't play well and gave up too many easy baskets in transition," said Durr. "The offense and defense were not there."

Clarence was also the aggressor to the basket, making 8 of 12 free throws to East's 2 of 4. All four of East's free throws came in the second half. East committed 26 turnovers.

No East player had double-digit points. The closest was Stolzenburg with eight. Sophomore guard Becca Rumschik and senior guard Bridget Steele each had seven. Senior forward Aleece Burgio chipped in six. Bakhai had four.

Katie Lancelloti paced Clarence with 16 points. Melissa Cummiskey added 12 points, all on layups.

East (4-4, 2-2) tries to break out of its losing skid at the Williamsville East Holiday Tournament at East. The Lady Flames open against Newfane at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday and play the winner of Williamsville North and Williamsville South in the consolation game at 4 p.m. or the final at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. The JV tournament, featuring the same match-ups, is set for 10:30 a.m. and noon.