Pat-Med Falls to Sachem North in Overtime

Launching into a four-minute overtime after a rally toward the end of regulation produced a 32-32 tie, both Sachem North's and Patchogue-Medford's Raiders varsity girls basketball teams continued to ratchet up the speed and aggression in North's gym opening night. Dialing in just the right amount remained a challenge however, frequently resulting in foul calls and trips to the line for both sides.

On one such trip with just 51.6 seconds left, North's Erin McNulty (4-for-6 at the line for the night) sunk both shots to boost the Arrows 39-36. Kierstin Berwick narrowed the gap for Pat-Med with a two-pointer at the thirty-second mark, but more fouls sent North's lead scorer Danielle Levine (17 points, 7 rebounds - five offensive, two defensive - and 5-for-10 total on free throws) back to the line twice, going 1-for-2 each time to put North slightly up 41-38 for its narrow non-league win.

Getting those points inside for North wasn't easy - throughout, Raider Rebecca Gordon was hard at work  inside, grabbing 10 defensive rebounds and two off the board on offense, plus leading the attack with 12 points.

Pat-Med head coach Jeff Hansen, praising the sophomore center's efforts, was critical of the team's performance - the potential was there, but a number of miscues meant it needed to time its moves better on the whole.

"It's first-game syndrome," he said. "We needed to control the tempo of the game better, slow it down."

The board finally opened up on a pair of foul shots by McNulty two minutes into the first quarter, evening out to 6-6 with 2:45 left to end scoring for the remainder. Pat-Med's press breaks gave it the momentary advantage as the transitions quickened in the second quarter, where it lead 12-6 at the fifth minute thanks largely to Raider Jamie Merckling's slashes inside. North was able to hold them to only two more points, as Arrow Brooke Foltmann's two-point parting shot with five seconds left before halftime reduced it to a 14-12 game.

The seesawing third quarter - at no point were the teams more than three points apart - was finally tied 19-19 at just under two minutes to go, then almost immediately broken by Kendal Collins's two-pointer at 1:07.  North's answer was twofold: first Levine's 2 at :40, capped by McNulty's 2 right at the buzzer for a 24-21 lead.  

Colleen McNeece's layup at 1:28 in the fourth quarter nudged the Arrows ahead by three, but Pat-Med's time-out broke the momentum. Through the final minute of regulation, both teams attempted to wrest control by strategic time-outs. Gordon's three-point-play with 5.6 seconds ended scoring for the tie that sent the game into overtime.

Merckling almost split the scoring lead with Gordon for Pat-Med, putting up 11 points. Emily Minicozzi and Kira Murray each scored four points, and Kira Sherwood added three points. Berwick and Collins each added two points, with Collins also chipping in four steals and three assists.

McNulty and Foltmann each added eight points for North, with McNulty contributing five rebounds (three offensive, two defensive). Colleen McNeece and freshman Shayla Cosgrove, both forwards, each added four points.

Pat-Med (League I, 0-1) will host Newfield Friday at 5:45 p.m. North (League II, 1-0) travels to Smithtown East Friday to participate in a tourney beginning at 7 p.m.