Somers Goes Downtown for 46-39 Win Over Fox Lane

Slideshow vs Byram

After losing a close 42-39 game to John Jay on Friday January 19, the Tuskers found themselves in another tight game on Saturday at Fox Lane. 5:24 left in the game, Sydney Ingraham stood alone above the arc at 26-26 and her brief hesitation gave way to probability. “I haven’t really been hitting my threes, so when I was there, I thought maybe this is the game,” said the guard.

The junior thought right, hit the triple and added two more to spark Somers to a 46-39 victory.

The game began pretty slow, though. A full two minutes into the second period, Fox Lane led by a score of only 4-2. But the teams would pick up from there.

For Somers, Lindsay McCullough got the block on defense, gave to Caitlin Mayfield, and her move up court found Julie Schmidberger alone under the basket for two.

5:18 left in the half, Fox Lane got a little separation. Lauren Antolino swooped a mini hook across the paint, and after she drew a charge on Ashley Kuchinsky, Morgan Clinton painted a three from above the arc.

A 9-4 game, Kuchinsky got a little payback by grabbing an offensive rebound and sending Somers on its own mini run. Down with the ball, Kuchinsky distributed to Olivia Allegretti, and she did the rest from above the arc.

Then from almost the same spot, Allegretti tried her hand at the passing game. Into Schmidberger, the center fell away on one foot and tied the game at nine.

The lead next, Schmidberger showed she could play rough too. She muscled the defensive rebound on one end, and crashed the offensive boards with Foxes all around. Fouled on the put back attempt, the junior sank both, and after Antolino tied the game with a jumper, Somers went into the locker room with a 14-11 lead on McCullough’s swish from downtown.

On return, the game continued to go back and forth. Cara Drapala and Dylan New hit a three and two respectively, and Ingraham, Kacey McCullough and Allegretti all got to the line for an 18-18 tie.

But not ready to go downtown yet, Ingraham got in close. She drove for two, and Somers stayed close the next time down too.

Allegretti passed inside to Schmidberger, and she rolled to the hoop for a 22-18 leadFox Lane didn’t let Tuskers get away, though. Dylan New hit a baseline runner, and Drapala nailed a short jumper to close the quarter scoring with a tie at 22.

More of the same on the way, a shot clock violation on Somers began the proceedings. Dylan New responded with a three, and the Tuskers kept pace under boards and on the line. Allegretti and Schmidberger both pulled down offensive rebounds, and fouled on the putbacks, all four shots went down.

All tied, Ingraham was ready to let fly. Kuchinsky snared an errant pass on defense, got the ball ahead to Lindsay McCullough and when the ball got around the perimeter to Ingraham, she initially looked to the corner for Allegretti.

Changing her mind, the shot fell, so Allegretti stepped up and played three ball too. She received inside the arc, stepped back and drained the three.

Now 32-28 with 4:25 remaining, Fox Lane didn’t believe just yet. Clinton got the ball underneath, forced her way up and sunk two from the line.

So Ingraham drilled the next lesson. No hesitation this time, she hit from almost the same spot.

3:14 to go and a five point lead, one foul shot from Drapala wasn’t going to be enough - especially when a hot shooter has some serendipity going too. Perched again, Ingraham may have been a little off, but her geometry was perfect

Off the square and the 38-31 meant Somers just had to hit their free throws. Allegretti, Lindsay McCullough, and Kuchinsky all did their part - and the game iced - had Coach Kevin Mallon praising Ingraham’s persistence. “Last year, she was one of the our top shooters,” he concluded. “This year she has struggled, and to be honest, I’m really proud of her.”