Sports
Girls Basketball Drops League Game, 38-26, to Floyd
Pat-Med fell behind in the first quarter and was never able to recover in a league loss to Floyd Thursday night.
William Floyd varsity girls basketball defeated the Patchogue-Medford Raiders, 38-26, Thursday night behind a dominating first quarter.
The Colonials inside game and a poor shooting effort from the Raiders put Pat-Med in an early deficit it was never able to recover from. The loss dropped the Raiders to 1-6 overall on the season and 0-2 in league play. Floyd moved to 1-6 overall and 1-2 in league play.
Floyd held a 17-3 lead after the first quarter. The Colonials pushed the lead out to 20 points near the end of the first half but Pat-Med put together an 8-1 run to close within 13 late in the third quarter. Neither team was very efficient in the second and third quarters - Floyd outscored the Raiders just 12-8 over the two periods.
“We just struggled to score, the basket seems to be really small when we shoot sometimes,” Raiders Head Coach Jeff Hansen said. “The effort is there. We fought hard, but the first quarter we let them get some easy baskets and that hurt us and put us in a hole.”
The Raiders were able to again cut into the deficit in the fourth quarter, putting together an 8-2 run that was capped by a three-pointer by Jackie Mockler. The run brought the Raiders back to within 10 points in the final minute of the fourth quarter.
“We pushed the tempo up and we were able to create off the defense and get some easy baskets, some more open looks, and shots went in,” Hansen said. “We rushed shots in the beginning but we were a little more balanced in the fourth quarter.”
It was too little too late for the Raiders. The inside presence of Floyd’s Monique Walker, who led the Colonials with 14 points and 10 rebounds was too much for Pat-Med.
“We did well because of our press,” Floyd Head Coach Bob O’Driscoll said. “They couldn’t handle the ball too well so pressing them really helped us.”
The Raiders had a difficult time breaking the press all game. Both teams were sloppy handling the ball but the lack of guard play from Pat-Med was a key.
“When we switched to the zone press we got a couple of turnovers and it helped our confidence,” O’Driscoll said.
Pat-Med was led in scoring by Emily Minnicozzi and Aileen Yaeger, who scored five points each.
Coach Hansen took solace in the fact that his team worked hard and played well in the fourth quarter.
“After the first we fought defensively and played well and played with them, but we just couldn’t create,” Hansen said. “We missed 14 free throws and that hurts, losing 14 free points, that never helps. But the effort is there.”
The Raiders will next play Commack at Patchogue-Medford HIgh School on January 11 at 6:00pm.
Check the for highlights from the match.
