Broadalbin-Perth girls' basketball holds off Amsterdam 53-45

PHOTOGRAPHER: Stan Hudy

Amsterdam's Liana Brown, right, blocks out Broadalbin-Perth's Summer Perry after a missed free throw attempt in the first half of Monday's Foothills Council matchup at Amsterdam High School.

AMSTERDAM — The Amsterdam girls’ basketball team made up for an early season drubbing at the hands of Broadalbin-Perth in its Foothills Council regular season finale at home, but instead of coming up short by 43 points, Monday’s eight-point loss may sting a little bit more.

Broadalbin-Perth regained its presence on the offensive and defensive boards in the third quarter for a seven-point lead and held off the Rams in the fourth for a 53-45 road victory.

“The first half was a little bit suspect,” Broadalbin-Perth coach Casey Russum said. We cleaned that up and we got almost every rebound in the second half, which allowed us to get out in transition a little bit. If you counted deflections tonight, we probably had 30 deflections.”

Broadalbin built its third-quarter lead on a 10-0 run late as Camille Calderone scored six of her 10 points in the stretch with a bucket underneath the basket, sinking a pair of free throws and turning a steal into a transition bucket. Macy Hotaling and Summer Perry each added a bucket during the run.

Amsterdam cut the lead to just four points early in the fourth quarter, but another 10-point run by Broadalbin sealed the win.

“We got hurt on the boards and the hustle plays,” Amsterdam coach Eric Duemler said. “It wasn’t really the first shot, it was the second or third shot and then chasing it down. We just got beat on those down the stretch. You can’t give them three or four shots.”

Broadalbin was prepared for the rematch, expecting a much different Amsterdam team to face them Monday.

“They prepared for us, they wanted this one,” Calderone said. “But we knew how to pull ourselves together and just stay focused.”

Amsterdam’s Ki-Ja Fowler scored a game-high 15 points, all three-pointers from beyond the arc while Broadalbin was paced by a balanced scoring attack, led by Mairead Marsden with 11 points and Calderone with 10.

“It is important [balanced scoring] because it helps my teammates out, they’re out there hustling, they’re all putting in extra work and then it helps my scoring,” Marsden said.

With the win and the South Division title, Broadalbin will face the winner of South Glens Falls/Queensbury — the North Division champion — Sunday at the Washington Avenue Armory. Amsterdam will face Monday night’s loser in the consolation crossover contest.

“It feels great to win this because this gets us into the championship game for the title, which is huge,” Marsden said. “I think we will build as a team going forward and stay together, connected even more.”

Broadalbin-Perth 13 12 14 14 — 53

Amsterdam 13 12 7 13 — 45

BROADALBIN-PERTH (53)

Calderone 3-4-10, Marsden 5-1-11, Russon 3-2-9, Hotaling 2-4-8, M. Perry 2-2-6, S. Perry 3-0-6, Halloway 1-1-3, Barboza 0-0-0. Totals: 19-14-53.

AMSTERDAM (45)

Fedullo 2-1-5, Cooper 3-0-6, K. Fowler 5-0-15, Agresta 2-0-4, F. Fowler 0-4-4, Sculco 2-2-7, Brown 2-0-4. Totals: 16-7-45.

3-point goals: Broadalbin-Perth — Russon. Amsterdam — K. Fowler 5, Sculco.