Amherst Central extends win streak to five
by PATRICK J. NAGY Reporter

Since a loss to Pioneer on Dec. 20, Amherst Central has been one of the hottest girls basketball teams in the area.

The Lady Tigers (8-4, 4-3) have rolled off five consecutive victories, including road wins over Williamsville South, 50-35, last Tuesday and Tonawanda, 54-44, last Thursday.

South led, 10-9, after the first quarter but Amherst forced a few turnovers in the second quarter to go ahead, 27-18, at halftime.

The Lady Tigers went up, 42-31, after the third quarter and held South to four points in the fourth quarter.

"One of our goals was to continue to play as a team," said Amherst coach JoAnna Fildes. "This group of ten players is really unselfish and works hard in practice and games. We played very well on the defensive side, holding them to 35 points."

Sophomore guard Jequana Roberts was the key to the Lady Tigers' success. South coach Erik Solomon said when Roberts was put in at the end of the first quarter, she made a huge impact. She scored seven points in the second quarter and poured in another six in the third quarter.

"She was literally a one-person press," said Solomon. "She created several turnovers. Even if we would get the ball ahead, she would come from behind or wait for a reversal and pick it off. She knew what spot on the court to go to. Our guards had a lot of trouble handling her pressure."

Roberts finished with 13 points, 10 steals and nine assists.

Amherst sophomore Casey McGuire added 10 points. Senior Elana Korn dumped in eight points and grabbed seven rebounds.

South also shot poorly from the field, hitting only 10 of 40 from two-point range and 1 for 8 from threes.

Freshman Joanna Ostroot led South with 12 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore Sarah Marcus had 11. Junior Allison Couche scored four points and chipped in eight rebounds. Junior Cassiana Hyppolite, sophomore Heather Caputi, and seniors Molly Hofher and Alyssa Ashcroft each scored two points.

Amherst led Tonawanda, 27-17, at halftime.

"We held our composure throughout a scrappy game from Tonawanda," said Fildes. "We are really working on minimizing turnovers and forcing the opposition to turn the ball over and then capitalizing on it. We had great work on the inside on the boards. Our outside shooting continues to improve."

Roberts had another monster game, scoring 23 points and dishing out six assists. Korn added 11 points.

Amherst plays road games at Springville at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday and Cheektowaga at 6:30 p.m. on Friday.

South closed out its week with a 35-29 win last Thursday at Lake Shore.

The Lady Billies led, 11-7, after the first quarter, 18-14, at halftime and, 28-18, after the third quarter.

Hyppolite led all scorers with 19. Marcus added six, Caputi tossed in four and Ostroot, Hofher and Couche each had a bucket. Ashcroft did not score but provided good defense and hustle, said Solomon.

Solomon said Ostroot had a great day rebounding before leaving with a sprained ankle in the fourth quarter. Marcus also sprained her ankle in the fourth. Both are expected to not miss any time.

Emily Ludwig led Lake Shore with eight points.

South (5-7, 3-3) hosts ECIC II's best, Hamburg on Wednesday and Sweet Home on Friday. Both games have 7:30 p.m. tip-offs.