Girls Basketball: Cougars Fall Just Short

Berean Christian 42, Albany 39

The Star: Jo Smith had 11 points, including three 3-pointers to lead the Cougars.

The Turning Point: Trailing 37-36 with just over three minutes to play, Madi West nailed a 3-pointer to give Berean Christian the lead for good.

The Quote: "We don't have a lot of experience in the low post right now and they took advantage of it," said Albany coach Ray Newsome.

What's Next? The Cougars host Kennedy-Richmond on Wednesday, Jan. 12, at 7 p.m.

Bottom Line: This was a non-league game, so the loss doesn't effect the Cougars in the Bay Shore Athletic League race.

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The girls basketball team took a one-game break from its Bay Shore Athletic League schedule Tuesday evening, hosting Berean Christian.

While the game lacked league significance, it didn't lack in drama.

Shelby Delaney's 3-point attempt with two seconds left bounced off the rim as time expired, giving the Eagles a hard fought 42-39 win over the host Cougars.

Berean Christian, which trailed 37-36 with 3:25 left in the game, scored six of the final eight points to pull out the victory.

"We had a couple shots at it, they just didn't go in," said Albany coach Ray Newsome. "They hit some key 3-pointers, you have to give them credit."

Albany (9-4) had a few chances in the final seconds of the game but couldn't get the ball to drop.

Trailing 42-39 with 15 seconds, guard Jo Smith let fly a three-pointer that hit off the rim and was rebounded by Berean Christian's Rena Chavez with six seconds left.

Chavez, who had just made a pair of clutch free-throws, missed this time, giving the Cougars one final chance. But after in-bounding the ball at center court, Delaney's shot from just outside the arc missed, ending the game.

"After they got the ball in, we were supposed to foul them, because we had fouls to give, " said Eagle coach John Brewster. " They were able to get passed us but just missed the shot."

Albany exploded early in the game opening a 8-0 lead, but before the first quarter ended, they led 11-6. The lead was trimmed to 19-18 at the half but a good third quarter by Delaney and Whitney Tamaki kept the lead 30-28 heading to the fourth.

"We came out with a lot of energy, but we lost it," Newsome said. "We don't have a lot of experience in the low post right now and they took advantage of it."

Albany was again playing without standout center Deanna Calhoun, who missed her fourth straight game with a sprained knee. Her return could come next week.

Smith led the Cougars with 11 points on three 3-pointers while Delaney, Maya Chin and Alice Timken each had six points.

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Berean Christian 42, Albany 39

Berean Christian  (10-4)           6    12    10   14 — 42

Albany (9-4)                               11     8    11      9 — 39

INDIVIDUALS

Berean Christian (fg ftm-fta tp)– Vestal 5 2-3 12, Maestre 4 0-1 12, West 4 1-2 11, Mitchell 1 0-0 2, Curtin 0 0-2 0, Chavez 1 2-3 5.Totals 15 5-11 42.

Albany (fg ftm-fta tp) –  Tamaki 3 1-2 8,  Delaney 3 0-0 6,  Li 1 0-0 2, Chin 3 0-0 6, Timken 2 2-2 6, Smith 4 0-0 11. Totals 16 3-4 39.

3-point goals: Berean Christian 7 (Maestre 4, West 2, Chavez 1); Albany 7 (Tamaki 1, Delaney 3, Smith 3).

Fouled out: None.

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