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NISKAYUNA — Each time Niskayuna made a strong push in its girls’ basketball game with Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Thursday night, the improving Spartans pushed back.
Burnt Hills overcame a seven-point deficit with a tremendous second quarter of two-way play, and countered an 8-0 second-half run by Niskayuna with one of its own en route to a 54-41 win in a non-league matchup between Suburban Council teams.
Grace O’Connor paced Burnt Hills with 20 points, and Ella Blesi made her presence felt in a variety of ways after missing the Spartans’ 54-45 league loss to the Silver Warriors back on Dec. 13 with an illness.
“I told them a sign of a good team is answering,” Burnt Hills coach Gary Bynon said. “We answered their run in the first half, and answered again in the second half.”
Niskayuna displayed an effective inside-outside attack in building a 16-9 first-quarter lead before Burnt Hills switched from a 2-3 zone to an amoeba-like 1-3-1 in the second quarter. Burnt Hills also pressured the ball and put together a 20-5 run over those eight minutes, with O’Connor netting half of those 20 points, and Blesi scoring six, including a layup off a steal to start it and a putback basket to finish it off.
Images: Niskayuna girls’ basketball takes on Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake (9 photos)
“Our defense really fuels our offense,” said O’Connor, one of the Spartans five senior starters. “We got a few steals and got it going.”
Niskayuna (8-8) managed only one field goal in the second quarter, a 3-pointer by Ava Roemer that made it 19-13, and Burnt Hills (8-8) rattled off 16 of the game’s next 18 points to go up 29-21.
“It started with the guards and their defense,” Bynon said of O’Connor, Blesi and MK Lescault, the key holdovers from his 2022 Section II Class A runner-up team.
The hot offensive hand belonged to O’Connor, whose 10 points in the second quarter featured three of her four 3-point baskets. One of them gave Burnt Hills the lead for good at 23-20.
“We hit a point in the game where we were seeing each other better,” Blesi said. “They were playing man-to-man and we got comfortable working against it.”
Niskayuna got 3-pointers from Hawa Equiza-Gasco and Kathleen Birmingham in its 8-0 run early in the third quarter that made it 31-29. Peyton Felix, O’Connor, MK Lescault and Maggie Lescault each had a layup in Burnt Hills’s 8-0 answer, and when O’Connor and Maggie Lescault nailed 3s to begin the fourth quarter, the Spartans advantage grew to 48-31.
“Ever since we were really young in travel ball, we looked forward to playing Niskayuna,” Blesi said. “We’ve got a little rivalry going with them. It feels good to beat them.”
Blesi scored 10 points, took down five rebounds, assisted on five baskets and had two steals in what was Burnt Hills’ third straight win.
“I can’t say enough about what Ella means to this team,” Bynon said of the three-sport participant who has committed to play lacrosse at Syracuse University. “All of the girls know what Ella means to this team.”
“It’s so nice having her on the court,” O’Connor said. “She controls the game. She looks for everyone.”
MK Lescault — who has committed to play lacrosse at Johns Hopkins — notched 11 of her 13 points in the first half and, like O’Connor, finished with three assists. O’Connor also had four steals.
“Niskayuna is a really good team. They’re so well coached. They’ve been in every game,” Bynon said. “Any time you can win at their place, you take it.”
Burnt Hills beat Schenectady 57-33 and Fonda-Fultonville 60-33 in its previous two games before getting past Niskayuna. Niskayuna topped 2022 state Class C semifinalist Duanesburg 56-43 in its last outing.
Images: Niskayuna girls’ basketball takes on Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake (9 photos)
“Our team is jelling. We started off rough because we hadn’t played a lot together,” said O’Connor, referring mostly to team newcomers and starting senior forwards Felix and Danielle DeBonis, who in the fall season helped the Burnt Hills volleyball squad place second in the state. “We’re playing well now.”
“I think a big part of it is how Danielle, Peyton and [sophomore forward] Sarah [Robbins] have come along for us,” Bynon said. “They’re playing a big role.”
Olivia O’Meally had 10 points and 10 rebounds for Niskayuna, and Jackie Reffelt had 10 points and eight boards. O’Meally sank a pair of 3s to help Niskayuna build its first-quarter lead.
BH-BL 9 20 13 12 — 54
Niskayuna 16 5 10 10 — 41
Burnt Hills scoring: MK. Lescault 6-0-13, Blesi 5-0-10, Jerzak 1-0-2, DeBonis 1-0-2, Felix 1-0-2, M. Lescault 2-0-5, O’Connor 6-4-20. Niskayuna scoring: N. Birmingham 1-0-2, Equiza-Gasco 2-0-5, O’Meally 2-4-10, Roemer 2-0-5, K. Birmingham 1-4-7, Reffelt 3-4-10, Schmidt 1-0-2, Team totals: Burnt Hills 22-4-54; Niskayuna 12-12-41.
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