By PAUL GOTHAM
PITTSFORD, N.Y. — Five different players contributed points during a decisive third-quarter run as the Pittsford Sutherland girls’ basketball team erased a deficit and went on to beat Brockport 51-41, Saturday afternoon.
Trailing by six, Sutherland closed the frame with points on six of seven trips down the floor.
“We just stayed together,” Sutherland head coach Dan Judd said after his squad improved to 9-1 with its sixth straight win. “We didn’t panic. We’ve been in these situations quite a bit where we haven’t played great in the first half.”
Leora Cook started the run with a bucket in the lane. Four possessions later, Eden Lewis converted on an inbound play before setting a ball screen for Annie Dodge who connected on a pull-up jumper to tie the game at 29. Ellie Bergin gave the Knights a lead they did not surrender at 31-29.
Leora Cook finishes in the lane. pic.twitter.com/vVLtqs8rrX
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) January 15, 2022
“We got some stuff in transition,” Judd added. “That helped us feel better. Once you see the ball go through the net, then shots will start to fall. We just kept pounding the paint and trusting ourselves. We’ve got some good players, and they’re a great group of kids, really connected.”
Annie Dodge uses the ball screen to set up the jumper. Tied at 29. pic.twitter.com/JsRwN1Ys92
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) January 15, 2022
Lewis scored on a putback. Dodge found seventh-grader Petra Hunt on the break for a 3-pointer, and Bergin closed the stanza with two more points.
Annie Dodge finds Petra Hunt for the transition 3 as part of a 15-0 @SutherlandBball run to close the 3rd. Knights 38-29. pic.twitter.com/x6taPA9VO5
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) January 15, 2022
Sutherland led 38-29 and did not allow Brockport within five for the remainder of the game.
During the clinching stretch, Sutherland’s defense forced five turnovers and limited Brockport to one shot or less on 11 of 13 possessions.
“It’s definitely a go-get-it mentality group of kids,” Judd said of his squad. “These kids are really aggressive. They’re feisty. If the ball’s loose, it’s a 50-50 ball. We feel like it’s 60-40, 70-30 us. We’re pretty tough there. We make up for a lack of skill in spots. We make up for it in will.”
Brockport (9-3) came into Saturday’s game winners of five straight – all by double-digits.
“Their guards are really good; they’re tough,” Judd noted. “We’ve got a little more size, probably wore them down just a little bit inside. It was a really good win for us.”
Last month, the Knights won at Brockport and on Saturday Judd’s squad didn’t want to give their opponents any chance for revenge.
“One of our three goals was to contain the rebounds,” Judd explained. “When we played them up there about a month ago, the one quarter we lost is the one quarter they beat us on the boards. We felt like if we could control the boards given our size advantage and strength advantage that we could keep them to one shot and then get out and run.”
Bergin led all scorers with 26 points. Cook added seven while Dodge and Lewis had six apiece. Hunt (3), Caitlin Bergin (2) and Lara Brandt (1) rounded out the scoring for the Knights.
Ella Fadale paced Brockport with 18 points. Maeve Petitti had eight. Ava Velletri scored five while Emma Sodoma and Ariana Guererro had four apiece. Keira Wilson scored two points.
Emma Sodoma finds Ella Fadale to open the third-quarter scoring. @Bportgirlbball 23-21. pic.twitter.com/yZD1CspvDn
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) January 15, 2022
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