GV/Belfast ladies nearly piece together 2nd half rally, but hot 1st quarter start for Jasper-Troupsburg served as x-factor in victorious 36-29 edge for Lady Wildcats

JASPER — The snowfall and gusty winds put a damper on the majority of the Dan Barkley Showcase action at Alfred State College, seeing just two of the five games on the main slate commence, Saturday night at the Orvis Activities Center.

Elsewhere out of town earlier in the afternoon, the Genesee Valley/Belfast ladies also hit the road to try and remain hot while avoiding a complete season sweep at the hands of the Lady Wildcats of Jasper-Troupsburg.

They would have to overcome a first half that saw them fall behind the eight-ball on the table, quickly. But when they regrouped in the locker room, Genesee Valley/Belfast made some big adjustments to get back within reach of Jasper-Troupsburg going into the fourth quarter. But in the end, the Lady Wildcats were able to survive and use their hot first quarter start as their ultimate x-factor to garner the 36-29 home win and the sweep of their two-game set.

“This was a tough one today. It was difficult to find an offensive rhythm in the first half and shots just weren’t falling for us,” said GV/Belfast coach Raegan Ryan. “We were able to make some adjustments at halftime and I was really proud of their fight and the amount of grit they displayed down the stretch. They just chipped away, one possession at a time. These are great tests for us and this will definitely make us better down the road.”

Without hesitation, the Lady Wildcats rode the coattails of Madison Cady to open up the offense on an absolute positive, posting six big points inside to go with Keira Marsh and her long three-pointer to aid in assembling a 13-3 first quarter run against Genesee Valley/Belfast (8-3). After a defensive second quarter, the visitors in black mounted a rally to close the gap down to as little as seven by the end of the third quarter, courtesy of three big triples by Abby Sullivan.

But after a back-and-forth exchange to close out the game, Jasper-Troupsburg would do just enough off their quick start to secure the victory and the season sweep of Genesee Valley/Belfast.

Leading the scoring for Genesee Valley/Belfast was Sullivan, who navigated her way towards a team-high 10 points. Following behind was Jenna Hill and her eight point contribution. Mary Hamer had five points.

Coming up on Wednesday, Genesee Valley/Belfast will look to rebound with a 7:30 p.m. visit from Andover/Whitesville back home in the Jungle in Belmont.

Genesee Valley/Belfast        3  5  13  8 – 29

Jasper-Troupsburg               13  7     8  8 – 36

GV/BELFAST: Abby Sullivan 3 1-2 10, Sophie Zillgitt 1 0-0 3, Whitney Young 1 0-0 2, Mary Hamer 1 3-6 5, Ava Aaronson 0 1-4 1, Jenna Hill 3 2-4 8. Totals: 9 7-16 29.

JASPER-TROUPSBURG: Kahley Stewart 2 0-0 4, Madison Cady 5 0-0 10, Keira Marsh 1 0-0 3, Lauren Ross 3 0-0 8, Natalie Cornell 2 0-2 4, Reagan Miles 3 1-2 7. Totals: 16 1-4 36.

3-point goals: GVB 4 (Sullivan 3, Zillgitt), J-T 3 (Ross 2, Marsh).
Total Fouls: GVB 7, J-T 18. Fouled out: Miles (J-T).