By PAUL GOTHAM
HILTON, N.Y. — Slow starts have been a matter of concern for Todd Julien and his Pittsford Mendon girls’ basketball team. After Tuesday’s performance those sluggish openings might be a thing of the past.
Katie Bischoping and Sydney Gordon combined for 10 points in a first quarter in which Mendon jumped to an 11-0 lead.
“It was good to see,” Julien said after Mendon’s 54-32 win over host Hilton. “That just gave us some breathing room. It gives you a lot more options as a coach when you get an early lead.”
Bischoping and Gordon accounted for the game’s first six points. Bischoping pushed the lead to double digits when she converted a rebound and putback for an 11-0 lead.
“We really focus on having a good warmup so that way we can explode out into the offense and work as a team,” the senior guard said. “We also focus on our stat lines that we can control; hustle plays, rebounds, fouls. I think we did a great job with rebounding.”
Mendon nearly matched the effort to start the third quarter when they scored the first seven points of the second half.
“We actually talked about it a little bit that we needed to get better starts in games,” Julien said referring to recent slow starts against Victor and Williamsville South (VI). “We’ve been treading uphill a little bit. It was nice to see us get out of the block like that.”
Bischoping, a St. Thomas Aquinas commit, finished with a game-high 17 points. She was one of five different Mendon players to connect from behind the 3-point arc.
Katie Bischoping connects for 3 of her 10 first-half points. @mendonGVBB leads @LadyCadetsHoops 29-14. Sydney Gordon also has 10 Mendon. Sydney Carpenter has 3 triples for the Lady Cadets. pic.twitter.com/flt9m8rxOh
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) December 18, 2019
“We shot it pretty well from three. We got some nice ball movement. We got some open threes.”
Mendon improved to 5-1 on the season with their only loss coming in overtime to Williamsville South – a game that pitted No. 4 NYSSWA Mendon against the state’s No. 2 Class A team.
Mendon graduated eight players from last year’s NYS Class A and Federation Tournament champions including starters Alana Fursman and Ellie Mooney.
“We’re just a work in progress here,” Julien noted. “Last year’s team had a lot of mileage on it together as a group. It was a very good class. These kids have been kinda supporting players for that cast and some good ones. Now they’re all in new roles, and they don’t have the mileage together yet. But they’re coming. You can see it. I think we’re going to be a very good basketball team by the end. If we stay healthy, we’ve got enough ingredients.”
Lexi Green draws the defense and feeds Katie Bischoping for 2. 2:23 remaining in the 3rd: @mendonGVBB 41 Hilton 17 pic.twitter.com/gcTnfGDa0u
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) December 18, 2019
Gordon added 12 points. Lexi Green had nine and Anaya Coleman six points. Danielle Strauf scored six and Ellen Henry three points.
Sydney Carpenter connected on a game-high four 3-pointers to pace Hilton (3-2) with 14 points. Ella Clark added eight. Logan Hubbard contributed three points. Elia Poveda and Laura Favor scored two apiece.
In all five of their wins, Mendon has held its opponents to 36 or fewer points.
Hi Paul, Thanks for last night article on the Mendon/Hilton game. One correction on a player’s name, its Danielle Strauf not Henry that had 6 points last night. Thanks again!
Thank you! Edited and updated.