Red Hook’s varsity girls basketball team came out against a physical and athletic Cornwall Feb. 27 in the Section 9 semifinals and lost, 51-37.
After holding a steady lead for most of the game, Red Hook’s offense, led in scoring by senior Julianne Wilkinson with 13 points, was shut down by Cornwall’s full-court press. Having led the game until the third, when Cornwall tied it up 29-29, Red’s offense was unprepared for the pressure and was cornered several times, forcing an inbound violation on the Raiders in the top of the fourth.
Red was stifled against the oppressive Cornwall defense. The Dragons transitioned Red Hook’s turnovers into break-away points in the third, and Cornwall senior Renee Briggs racked up 14 in the fourth.
“We played with a lot of heart, with a lot of intensity, we followed our game plan,” Red Hook coach Pam White told the Observer after the game. “But we had a lot of turnovers against the press and we didn’t attack it the way we should have… they rattled us.”
Ultimately, Red Hook was outscored 22-8 in the fourth quarter, but broke the press several times towards the end of the game, resulting in four late field goals. But it wasn’t enough.
“I was really happy about our senior role players who are our big scorers… Cathy Eliessen, you know she’s a two, three point a game scorer but she can execute shots and she was running and sprinting all over the court. From that perspective I was thrilled.” Cornwall Coach Chris Miller told the Observer.
The loss ends the season for the Lady Raiders, who will also be losing key players Talia Stortini and Julianne Wilkinson for the next season.
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