By PAUL GOTHAM
EAST ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Matt Verkey has been around the game of basketball long enough to know that any in-game tactical moves are only as good as the players executing those instructions on the floor.
Wednesday night, Verkey’s Mynderse Blue Devils did just that in the third quarter.
And that was good enough for a bounce-back win on the road.
Peyton Verkey finished with a double-double, and Lauren McDermott added 18 points as Mynderse (No. 22 NYSSWA Class B) used an 11-point third-quarter advantage to pull away from host East Rochester (No.7 NYSSWA Class C) for a 51-35 victory in non-league action.
“We just got beat by Dundee/Bradford pretty good,” Verkey said referring to Friday’s 29-point setback to the No. 20 NYSSWA Class C team. “Really proud of these kids to be able to bounce back against a very good ER team.”
Mynderse (7-2) jumped out to an 18-4 lead after eight minutes of play before going into the locker room at halftime tied at 22.
VIEW MORE PHOTOS FROM JEROME DAVIS.
The Blue Devils connected on eight field goals in the third quarter including four 3-pointers.
Tied at 22, McDermott opened the stanza with a triple from the right wing. The senior guard’s second trey gave Mynderse a 36-26 advantage less than four minutes into the second half.
“Tonight, was by far the best we’ve moved the ball,” Verkey said. “I thought they really shared it especially in the third quarter. We just got a lot of layups. We tend to rely on threes a lot. We didn’t make a three in the first quarter and scored 18. I was encouraged by that.”
McDermott scored 10 in the decisive quarter. Peyton Verkey had five (including one three) of her game-high 22 while Maddie Verkey accounted for a three-ball of her own and Dani McDermott (up from JV) contributed two points.
“We’ve come out in the third quarter this year against Newark and Lyons and put up 25, 30 points,” the elder Verkey said. “Halftime adjustments…all we did was make shots. We were making shots we weren’t making in the first half. That makes me look good. We’re getting the same shots just they’re going in. It seems to be more in the third quarter.”
Ball movement finds Lauren McDermott for three. pic.twitter.com/KH13dBqcxO
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) January 11, 2024
The loss snapped East Rochester’s four-game winning streak.
“We can go on an 18-4 run, but we just couldn’t get that momentum back,” said first-year East Rochester head coach Liz Davis referring to her Bombers’ performance in the second quarter. “We have it in us. We’re capable of it. We just couldn’t get back to it. They shot the lights out.”
Zarriah Eldridge scored seven of her team-high 13 points in the second quarter when East Rochester erased a 14-point deficit.
Zarriah Eldridge gets the and-one. @ERBombers within 3 at 20-17. pic.twitter.com/OUjTKA8W9c
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) January 11, 2024
Eldridge set up younger sister Aniyah Eldridge to tie the score at 22 late in the second frame.
“We were moving and we were rotating on defense,” Davis said. “We weren’t allowing the high-low game. We just couldn’t get anything to fall after that.
“We have to learn from this. We can’t get down, and we can’t harp on the bad. We got to take this and grow. That’s the only way you get better as a team. You’ve got to grow.”
Peyton Verkey grabbed 14 rebounds in the win. Maddie Verkey had 11 rebounds and seven assists. Sophie Palladino finished with four points and seven rebounds.
Peyton Verkey from Maddie Verkey. Mynderse 46-35. pic.twitter.com/mavAY3hxdV
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) January 11, 2024
Both teams were short-handed with Mynderse missing Ali Nigro and Edie Prayne.
East Rochester (9-2) was without Gianna Romach.
Matt Verkey played on the 1992 Mynderse boys’ basketball team that won the Section V Class CC title and went on to become NYS Class C champions as well as Federation champs. Verkey still holds the Section V single-game postseason scoring record with 57 points. He also holds the single-game state tournament record with 41 points.
MYNDERSE
Dani McDermott 1 0-0 2, Chelsea Korzeniewski 1 0-0 2, Lauren McDermott 8 0-0 18, Maddie Verkey 1 0-0 3, Peyton Verkey 10 0-0 22, Sophie Palladino 1 0-0 2 TOTALS 22 0-0 51
EAST ROCHESTER
Aaliyah Carmichael 2 1-2 5, Aniyah Eldridge 4 0-0 9, Alex LaBounty 1 0-0 2, Zarriah Eldridge 5 3-3 13, Emma Romach 2 0-0 6 TOTALS 14 4-5 35
MYNDERSE 18 4 20 9 — 51
EAST ROCHESTER 4 18 9 4 — 35
3-point goals — Mynderse 5 (L. McDermott 2, M. Verkey 1, P Verkey 2); East Rochester 3 (A. Eldridge 1, Emma Romach 2)
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