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Red Storm girls power past Sentinels

Saranac Lake’s Roslyn McClatchie plays intense defense against Ticonderoga’s Delaney Hughes during Wednesday’s game in Saranac Lake. The Red Storm limited Hughes, on the the CVAC’s top scorers, to nine points. (Enterprise photo — Lou Reuter)

SARANAC LAKE — The Saranac Lake girls basketball team employed a dominating second half to power its way to a 39-24 Champlain Valley Athletic Conference victory over Ticonderoga on Wednesday.

With the contest tied 15-15 at intermission, the Red Storm outscored the Sentinels 13-0 in the third quarter and were never threatened the rest of the way to earn their third league win of the season.

The Red Storm got plenty of balance on offense, and at the other end of the court, they successfully used a smothering double-team defense to contain Delaney Hughes, one of the CVAC’s top scorers.

Eight players pumped in points for Saranac Lake. Andrea Boon led the way with nine points and Jayda Buckley and Eliza Cowan chipped in eight apiece. The Red Storm limited Hughes to four points in the opening half, and five in the final period, which all came late in the game. Hughes with nine points.

“My girls finally came around and played some basketball,” Saranac Lake head coach Frank Johns said. “We made some foolish mistakes, and we still trying to clean some things up, but we played hard. Both teams played hard. We got some breaks, they got some breaks, but we got more of them.

Saranac Lake’s Kailee McCormick stretches above a pair of Sentinels to haul down a rebound in the second half of Wednesday’s game. (Enterprise photo — Lou Reuter)

“I’ve been been hoping to see more of our girls scoring, and everybody scored except a couple,” Johns added. “Overall, it was a good victory for us. We needed that.”

Saranac Lake trailed 7-5 after the opening quarter, and then led for most of the second period and led for much of the second period until Emily Hood and Hughes knocked down back-to-back field goals to take a 15-12 edge with just over a minute remaining before halftime. Boon, however, answered with her second three-pointer of the game with 50 seconds left in the quarter to deadlock the game as the teams headed into the break.

The Red Storm then caught fire in the third period and went on a 13-0 run that saw five different players score points and give the hosts a 28-15 edge entering the fourth quarter. Attempting to close the gap, the Sentinels started the final period with a 6-2 run, but Saranac Lake quashed the rally by scoring six unanswered points midway through the period. A bucket by Buckley with just under three minutes remaining gave the Red Storm their biggest lead of the game of 17 points. With the contest out of reach, Ticonderoga outscored Saranac Lake 5-1 down the stretch.

“They made some shots and we didn’t, and that’s how it goes sometimes,” Sentinels head coach Rick Smith said. “He put two players on my best player, and we didn’t make shots when we had them. The other kids didn’t step up.”

The Sentinels fell to 4-6 in the league with the loss.

Saranac Lake ended a three-game losing slide with the victory.

Johns said Wednesday marked the first time his team has taken down the Sentinels during his four years coaching at Saranac Lake. This season, Johns brought in one of his former players at Lake Placid, Megan Riley, to help coach, and noted that it’s paying off.

“Megan, my assistant has been great for this team,” Johns said of the all-time leading scorer for the Blue Bombers. “She’s working with the forwards and teaching them what they can do and can’t do, They’re learning from her because she’s just a fabulous player. Everybody is working hard, we’re trying to get better and the girls are gaining more confidence.”

The win was Saranac Lake’s first against a Division II team. The Red Storm is now 1-4 in the division and 3-9 in the CVAC. They next play on the road Friday at Northeastern Clinton, and then return home for two matchups next week starting Wednesday’s game with rival Lake Placid.

Saranac Lake 39, Ticonderoga 24

Sentinels 7 8 0 9 — 24

Red Storm 5 10 13 11 — 39

Ticonderoga (24)

Hughes 3-3-9, Alter 1-0-2, Bailey 0-0-0, Smith 2-0-4, Bresett 0-0-0, St. Andrews 1-0-2, Hood 3-0-6, Fish 0-1-1. Totals: 10-4-24.

Saranac Lake (39)

Buckley 3-0-8, Cowan 4-0-8, McClatchie 0-0-0, Boon 3-1-9, Merrill 2-0-4, Carpenter 1-0-2, McCormick 1-0-2, Lincoln 2-0-4, Finn 1-0-2. Totals: 17-1-39.

3-point goals: Saranac Lake (4), Boon 2, Buckley 2.

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