Bayside Girls Basketball Falls, 68-65, to Forest Hills in Overtime Thriller

Bayside High School varsity girls basketball team fought hard and battled its way back into the game, but ultimately suffered a heartbreaking 68-65 defeat in overtime to Forest Hills in an important Queens East A matchup.

Forest Hills (5-1) jumped all over the Lady Commodores in the first quarter, outscoring them 21-6. It didn't look good for Bayside early on, but it managed to narrow the margin at 26-22 going into the locker room.

Bayside (4-2) out played the Lady Rangers again, and took its first lead (41-39) of the contest on a three-pointer by senior Cheska Mauban with approximately 15 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

However, Forest Hills opened up the fourth quarter with a three-pointer of its own to retake the lead. But, not to be outdone, the Lady Commodores surge ahead with 4:12 on the clock, and built an eight-point advantage with 2:03 left in regulation.

But Bayside committed three consecutive turnovers, which all lead to points and an eventual tie, forcing overtime.

The Lady Rangers took a 61-59 advantage with 2:14 remaining in the extra period and never looked back.

Hero:

Forest Hills junior Sharon Rios, who drained a game-high 22 points and Mauban, who scored 20 points in defeat for the Lady Commodores, shared game heroic honors.

Quotable:

Although Forest Hills' head coach Michelle Davis saw her team relinquish a big lead, she never doubted her squads' resolve, following her strategy to a tee.

"I have faith in my team," Davis said. "They have great heart, this team. So, no matter what, they're going go and give it all they have. I called a timeout (in OT), we discussed what we had to do, everything I told them, and did it as soon as they got out there. Besides a couple of missed fouls shouts, they played a great game."

Bayside head coach Stephen Piorkowski blamed the turnovers down the stretch in regulation for the disappointing defeat.

"We were up by eight points, we have three consecutive trips that result in turnovers, and they convert and tie the game," Piorkowski lamented. "You can't play basketball that way. You can't battle back and then turn the ball over."

Bottom Line:

Forest Hills hit more than 50 percent from the charity stripe, while the Lady Commodores shot lower, ultimately costing them the game.

Who's Next:

Bayside travels to Martin Van Buren High School on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m., while the Lady Rangers host Thomas Edison high School on January 4th at 4:30 p.m.