Girls Basketball Notebook: Sleepy Falls To Bobcats

Sleepy Hollow's best season and first playoff berth since 1994 ended under a barrage of free throws and over-the-top lob passes to Byram Hill's dynamic forward Beatriz Williams.

Williams, who was harassed defensively by Sleepy Hollow's Dani Carissimo, still managed a game-high 21 points. The Bobcats forward scored in a variety of ways and shot 7-for-7 from the free throw line.

The Bobcats' free throw shooting was indicative of the team's late-game composure. The No.10 Bobcats overcame a second quarter when they were held to a meager five points, en route to a stamping a 52-37 win on No.7 Sleepy Hollow Friday.

"They got a little run on us, I think we had some nerves playing the first playoff game since 1994," explained Headless Horsemen coach Nick Romeo.

"We fought back, we fought. I'm extremely proud of my girls and the way they just kept fighting back throughout. I told them, 13-6 is nothing to hang your head about. Byram is a great team, they were very efficient and could really hit their free throws. I mean 23 made free throws is pretty impressive. That's pretty efficient."

The Bobcats got a good scout on Jamie Bucci, who dropped 17 in end-to-end 67-47 thrashing of Tuckahoe to close out the season.

They instigated an immense clamp-down operation on the hot-handed junior, employing a box-and-one to limit her dribble penetration and floaters that dismantled the defenses of Saunders and Tuckahoe.

It didn't faze her. Bucci drilled a trio of three-pointers and completed a traditional three-point play, en route to a team-high 12 points.

The Bobcats' third quarter spurt provided some separation. Byram led by 23-17 at halftime. They seized an early 18-6 first quarter lead. Sleepy Hollow spent the next eight minutes tightening up their defense as they reeled off an 11-5 run, taking a roll of momentum into halftime.

In the third quarter, Williams, Sarah Goldring (11 points), Maria Milone (seven points), and Christina Sardo (seven points) helped engineer a power surge, scoring 14 of the quarter's 22 points.

Sleepy didn't flinch. They continued to cut the deficit in the fourth quarter, fighting valiantly to erase a 37-24 third quarter deficit.

The Bobcats authored efficiency from the free throw line, helping pump the lead to 15 in the fourth quarter. They outscored the Horsemen by a 15-12 ration in the final eight minutes.

Romeo knows he will have a torrent of talent returning for next season, underscored by four starters.

Bidding adieu to senior standout Kerry Oliviera, a walking double-double (who stockpiled the most wins in a four-year career since 1994, before a good chunk of Sleepy's players were born), won't be easy.

Still, Sleepy has a surplus of guards returning for the 2011-12 campaign and all the essential ingredients for another storied campaign.