In a game that had moments where it looked more like a wall-to-wall football game in gym class, than it did a girls’ varsity basketball game, Pine Bush seniors Taylor Pannell and Antonia Adipetro found a way to lead their Bushmen past the Wizards last Wednesday night. Pine Bush picked up the victory in the league matchup by a score of 47 – 35.

“Wild, I can’t even tell you what this game was – that’s not basketball,” said Pine Bush Coach Michelle Bouffard, who found herself watching both teams throwing the basketball across the court countless times throughout the game, leading to many turnovers. “They have to control the tempo. My team needs to be a controlled basketball team. When things start to get scrappy we have to learn how to relax. That’s the consistency that we need.”
Taylor Pannell led the Bushmen with her double-double, including 15 points and 14 rebounds. Antonia Adipetro wasn’t far behind with 14 points of her own. While Pannell worked mainly under the rim, securing several offensive rebounds and scoring 7 field goals, Adipetro went 7 – 10 from the free throw line.

Tea Griffith added on 10 points and 5 steals, while Isabella Colon scored 8 points, with 2 three-point field goals. Nevaeh Ramirez was able to contribute with 9 rebounds.

Pine Bush struggled offensively in the second quarter, only scoring 6 points, all by Pannell. They went 0 – 6 from the free throw line in the quarter and allowed the Wizards to come within one point of tying the game. “We are usually awesome from the foul line. We are a team that usually never misses them and today that wasn’t the case,” said Bouffard. “It counts a lot. It’s what kept [Washingtonville] in the game. We make those foul shots and we’re up by 20.”

They looked to correct the problem, as they went 13 – 20 from the line in the second half. Overall a 50% (13-26) free throw percentage, as a team, is much lower than Pine Bush is accustomed to this season. The scoring also picked up in the second half, scoring 12 points in the third quarter and 14 in the fourth.

Defense was one area Pine Bush excelled in all game. The Wizards never scored more than 3 field goals in any of the quarters, totaling only 11 in the entire game. The Bushmen allowed 9 points in the first, 11 in the second, 6 in the third, and 9 in the fourth quarter. The Wizards went 9 – 14 from the free throw line.

“I’m happy to come out of that type of game with a win, especially with the way we threw the ball away offensively,” said Bouffard.

With the victory over Washingtonville, their divisional record is even at 1 – 1. They play their next home game on Friday January 31, when they get another shot at Valley Central. In December they lost to the Vikings by only four points, 51 – 47.