TROY — Despite falling behind early, Chateaugay rallied.
But a team that had rallied twice in the playoffs to advance, the steam just ran out falling to Section V’s Batavia Notre Dame, 65-49
It just wasn’t the game the Bulldogs envisioned as they ran into a team that had an answer for every shot CCS made. Gradually, it came too much to overcome as the Bulldogs battled foul trouble with numerous players battling foul trouble
“I mean, honestly, if we could have kept the key players in the game, it would have been, it would have stayed that way until the end,” Chateaugay head coach Chris Reynolds said. “Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.”
BND slowly started to pull away midway through the fourth. Chateaugay looked primed to keep it going to the end. With 4:26 remaining, Irelynn LaPlante nailed a shot from well beyond the arc to cut the deficit to 46-44.
The Irish slowly started to pull away and built on visits to the charity stripe. BND made all 10 of its free throws, which included four which came from two technical fouls assessed to the Chateaugay bench.
The death nail came with just over a minute to go. BND’s Gianna Falleti banks in a 3-pointer to push the Irish up nine. After a missed shot by the Bulldogs, one of the technicals was called. Sofia Falleti made the free throws, to put the lead to 58-47.
“It could have been a very good show, but it’s really not a good show when the key actors aren’t out there to play,” Reynolds said. “You’re just left guessing.”
It’s a game where the score doesn’t tell the story as with 4:26 remaining in the game, BND held a two-point lead, 46-44, after LaPlante made a deep 3-pointer.
The Irish, however, came out of a timeout to go on a 19-5 run to close out the game.
Despite the outcome, Reynolds stressed to his team how proud he was of each of them As each player received their medals, he embraced each of them and expressed his gratitude at being their coach.
“I couldn’t be prouder,” Reynolds said. “I mean, we played today for all the kids, all the girl basketball players in Chateaugay that have ever laced up a pair of sneakers, that have ever worn the maroon and white, and we played for the kids that are going to be the future Lady Bulldogs. And we showed them that we play with grit,0 and we don’t stop. I’m just proud of the whole program. Unfortunately, it didn’t end the way we wanted, but a lot of a lot of pride, just a lot of just so proud, so proud of our community, so proud of those kids, I mean, absolute warriors in that locker room.”
Full analysis can be found in Tuesday’s print edition of the Press-Republican.