Panthers hang on to beat Lourdes

By Mike Zummo
Posted 1/11/23

The Our Lady of Lourdes Warriors had already come back on the Wallkill girls’ basketball team once in the second quarter.

They were trying to do it again in the fourth, closing a 10-point …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Panthers hang on to beat Lourdes

Posted

The Our Lady of Lourdes Warriors had already come back on the Wallkill girls’ basketball team once in the second quarter.

They were trying to do it again in the fourth, closing a 10-point Panther lead to three points, but Zoe Mesuch knocked down a 3-point basket to stop the bleeding, and Emma Spindler provided the defense on the Warriors’ best player as the Panthers held on for a 66-53 victory in a Mid-Hudson Athletic League Division I matchup on Thursday at Wallkill High School.

Simone Pelish recorded more than half of the Warriors’ offense, scoring a game-high 33 points.

“She’s a really good player, but I got in foul trouble early so (Wallkill coach A.J. Higby) had to switch me off, but she’s a good player. Defending her was tough, but I think I did pretty good.”

But it was Mesuch that stopped the Warrior’s momentum cold. After Katie Savona knocked down a jumper to cut the Panthers’ lead to three points with 4:19 left in the game, Mesuch restored a six-point lead with a 3-pointer.

That started an 8-2 run to give the Panthers a 60-51 lead with 1:47 to go in the game.

Mesuch finished with a team-high 29 points, 12 of which she scored in the fourth quarter when it mattered most.

“It’s really fun watching her, especially playing with her,” Spindler said. “I’m really proud of everything that she’s done.”

In addition to defense on Pelish, Spindler also hit double digits, scoring 17 points, doing most of her damage in the first and third quarters while the Panthers were building leads.

She scored six points in the first quarter as the Panthers built an early 16-2 lead. But when Spindler got into foul trouble late in the first quarter, that gave Savona an opportunity to take over in the second.

She scored eight points in the second and hit a layup with 5:03 left in the second to tie the game at 21. After Jazmin Medina hit a jumper to give the lead back to the Panthers Pelish hit a 3-pointer to give the Warriors their first lead since the first quarter.
“That’s a good team,” Higby said. “We know they’re a good team and they’ve got a good ballplayer. She’s tough to take care of. She’s inside and outside. She makes it happen.”

After Lourdes’ Kayla Johannesen gave her team a 3-point lead, Wallkill’s Sam Dembinsky hit a big 3-pointer to tie the game at 28-28. Then, after a little bit of confusion at the buzzer, Alex Dembinsky picked up a loose ball near the Lourdes basket and found Mesuch, who knocked down a 3 to give the Panthers a 31-28 lead.

The Panthers collected themselves and went on a 13-0 run to start the third quarter, fueled by Mesuch and Spindler.

“We talked about playing better defense (at halftime), especially on Simone,” Spindler said. “And just to play hard and keep shooting.”

Even as the Warriors tried to come back on the Panthers in the fourth, Spindler remained confident her team could hold them off.

Higby was concerned.

“Absolutely (I was concerned),” Higby said. “You kidding me? When they’ve got a kid like that on their team. That’s the real deal.”

It was the closest girls’ basketball game the Vinnie De Angelis Gymnasium has hosted this season, and the crowd was up for it, bringing an energy recent blowout wins have been unable to provide.

“It was really fun seeing everyone come out,” Spindler said. “It was fun hearing them all while we were playing.”