Sparks Sweep Late Game Heroics Define Weekend
Saturday, June 05, 2010 Tournaments
The first game of the weekend pitted the home town team against the Lady Knicks of Utica. The game was not much of a contest. The Sparks ran out quick to a double digit lead and never looked back. Ashley McCaughan scored a team high eleven points including nine steal, while teammate Alexis Perryman added nine points. Danielle BeauCHAMP was perfect from beyond the arc snapping both of her attempts. Mallory Dickson lead the Saratoga Sparks with seven rebounds as the Sparks ran away from the Knicks 51-19.
That game would be the last laugher of the tournament. The Orange County Crusaders were next on the schedule and they offered both size and experience. The Sparks played solid most of the game but had several short issues with turnovers and committing to the offense, but when they were committed and focused on protecting the basketball they looked sharp. Mandy "Sunshine" Edick lead the Sparks with 10 points and Ashley McCaughan collected seven rebounds while Kalia Sanboeuf collected four steals to help their team to a hard fought 36-33 victory over the Crusaders.
"I was pretty happy with the way the girls played today" shared Coach Turner. "Our new offense gave us good scoring opportunities, both inside and out... our only problem was we did have people running their own versions of the offense... when you need a basket in a close game its critical that the five players on the court are working together to get the job done... this will be the only way we will succeed at Penn State... together"
After a fairly quiet Saturday afternoon, the 2-0 Sparks took the court on Sunday morning to face the Finger Lake Fury and the Lady Sizzlers from Waverly. Both teams were talented and would offer the Sparks all they could handle.
The Fury game was one of those edge of your seat affairs, a low scoring, defensive battle that would make any fan of basketball sit and take notice. The Sparks held a steady five point lead through much of the first half, but with 4:15 remaining the Fury took advantage of a few poorly time turnovers and took a one point lead with three seconds left on the game clock. After that basket, the ball was quickly inbounded to Ashley McCaughan who calmly took aim at a target about 65' away from her... you know, one of those last second shots that players heave up in the air with hopes of it snapping the net, if you've seen it once you seen it a hundred time... well, you rarely see this... the 5'2" guard took her shot and snapped the net from 65' giving the Sparks a two point half time lead.
"I had my down by one half time speech all ready to go and then I had to change direction and give the we're up by two speech" offered Coach Fazio.
In the second half the Sparks worked hard a gained a 41-36 victory over the Fury. Mandy Edick scored a game high eleven points while teammate Alexis Perryman scored another nine. Taylor Whyte, Danielle Conley and Mallory Dickson each collected seven rebounds to help the Sparks dominate the glass on both ends of the court.
The last game of the weekend was a wild one. Once again the Sparks fell victim to turnovers, turning a five point lead into a five point deficit with only :12 seconds remaining to play. That's when Mandi Edick stepped up and drained a three pointer from the top of the key to cut the lead to two. After a quick time out the Sparks fouled the first kid they could find and hoped against hope that they would miss at least one of the charity shots.
The Sparks got what they were looking for, a three point deficit with less than five seconds to play. With no time to spare the Sparks got the ball up the court and found Ashley McCaughan and once again hoped for a little magic. Ashely made one ball fake, took a step to her right and let the ball fly from beyond the arc... the buzzer sounded and the ball kissed the glass and snapped the net, tying the score at 44.
"I knew the shot was good as soon as it left my hand" shared McCaughan, "If Mandi missed her shot this one wouldn't have meant anything" the humble guard continued.
The Sparks went on the defeat the Sizzlers 49-47 in overtime. McCaughan scored a game high twelve points while Bailei Tetrault scored ten and Danielle Conley chipped in six. Taylor Whyte collect seven hard fought rebounds. The Sparks finished the tournament 4-0 and improved their overall record to 10-9.
The Sparks had a pretty good weekend shooting 31% from the floor, 29% from behind the arc and 67% from the free throw line.
That game would be the last laugher of the tournament. The Orange County Crusaders were next on the schedule and they offered both size and experience. The Sparks played solid most of the game but had several short issues with turnovers and committing to the offense, but when they were committed and focused on protecting the basketball they looked sharp. Mandy "Sunshine" Edick lead the Sparks with 10 points and Ashley McCaughan collected seven rebounds while Kalia Sanboeuf collected four steals to help their team to a hard fought 36-33 victory over the Crusaders.
"I was pretty happy with the way the girls played today" shared Coach Turner. "Our new offense gave us good scoring opportunities, both inside and out... our only problem was we did have people running their own versions of the offense... when you need a basket in a close game its critical that the five players on the court are working together to get the job done... this will be the only way we will succeed at Penn State... together"
After a fairly quiet Saturday afternoon, the 2-0 Sparks took the court on Sunday morning to face the Finger Lake Fury and the Lady Sizzlers from Waverly. Both teams were talented and would offer the Sparks all they could handle.
The Fury game was one of those edge of your seat affairs, a low scoring, defensive battle that would make any fan of basketball sit and take notice. The Sparks held a steady five point lead through much of the first half, but with 4:15 remaining the Fury took advantage of a few poorly time turnovers and took a one point lead with three seconds left on the game clock. After that basket, the ball was quickly inbounded to Ashley McCaughan who calmly took aim at a target about 65' away from her... you know, one of those last second shots that players heave up in the air with hopes of it snapping the net, if you've seen it once you seen it a hundred time... well, you rarely see this... the 5'2" guard took her shot and snapped the net from 65' giving the Sparks a two point half time lead.
"I had my down by one half time speech all ready to go and then I had to change direction and give the we're up by two speech" offered Coach Fazio.
In the second half the Sparks worked hard a gained a 41-36 victory over the Fury. Mandy Edick scored a game high eleven points while teammate Alexis Perryman scored another nine. Taylor Whyte, Danielle Conley and Mallory Dickson each collected seven rebounds to help the Sparks dominate the glass on both ends of the court.
The last game of the weekend was a wild one. Once again the Sparks fell victim to turnovers, turning a five point lead into a five point deficit with only :12 seconds remaining to play. That's when Mandi Edick stepped up and drained a three pointer from the top of the key to cut the lead to two. After a quick time out the Sparks fouled the first kid they could find and hoped against hope that they would miss at least one of the charity shots.
The Sparks got what they were looking for, a three point deficit with less than five seconds to play. With no time to spare the Sparks got the ball up the court and found Ashley McCaughan and once again hoped for a little magic. Ashely made one ball fake, took a step to her right and let the ball fly from beyond the arc... the buzzer sounded and the ball kissed the glass and snapped the net, tying the score at 44.
"I knew the shot was good as soon as it left my hand" shared McCaughan, "If Mandi missed her shot this one wouldn't have meant anything" the humble guard continued.
The Sparks went on the defeat the Sizzlers 49-47 in overtime. McCaughan scored a game high twelve points while Bailei Tetrault scored ten and Danielle Conley chipped in six. Taylor Whyte collect seven hard fought rebounds. The Sparks finished the tournament 4-0 and improved their overall record to 10-9.
The Sparks had a pretty good weekend shooting 31% from the floor, 29% from behind the arc and 67% from the free throw line.