GAME PHOTOS: http://smu.gs/1K6BVwr
It took two overtimes and all of Berkshire’s strengths to down rival Cardinal last week in a girls varsity basketball game the players won’t soon forget.
Through the shooting of Sarah Luoma, the toughness and poise of Erin Drew, the defense of Breanna Pennypacker and the free throws of Kylie Scott — not to take anything away from the other Badgers who made impacts, like Kayla White and Madison Chapman — Berkshire won 41-37.
“It was amazing,” said Chapman, starting in her freshman year. She said after losing to Cardinal once in volleyball, this game was important for the school. “That’s all I wanted was to come back and beat them.”
It was a physical game, especially for Chapman, who plays in the post.
“It was hard, but you have to along with it,” she said. “You can’t change the call once it’s made, and that’s why you have teammates backing you up, supporting you and saying move on.”
Joanne Miller said they worked well as a team.
“Once we started going it became much better,” she said. “I love it to play against these teams with that much intensity.”
Berkshire’s Luoma, a senior who played for three years at Ledgemont before joining Berkshire, sunk five of six 3-pointers. “She’s our best outside shooter by far,” said Berkshire head coach Dennis Lory.
“We all contributed to this win,” Luoma said. “It wasn’t just one person, it was everybody.”
Lory said that Drew, also a senior, brings intensity and a desire to win.
“It was intense,” said Drew. “I knew coming in it wasn’t the better team that was going to win, it was the team who brought the most intensity and worked the hardest.”
Cardinal had their chances. Led by junior Delaney Leichtman, the Huskies were one basket away from the win twice. Leichtman worked hard on both ends, attacking the basket on offense to become the Huskies’ No. 1 option on offense.
“Without her effort and intensity it wouldn’t have been as close,” said Cardinal head coach Luke Kruse.
“I’m disappointed that we lost, I’m disappointed that we came that far and couldn’t close it out,” said Kruse.”But I also said, make no mistake, I’m not disappointed in you. I couldn’t have been prouder.”
Kruse thought the team deserved to win because of the Huskies’ effort. Cardinal out-rebounded the Huskies. But Berkshire shot better from the free throw line, making 12 of 17 from the stripe.
Cardinal is healthy again after injury. Haley Adams, Maggie Clark, Kathryn Dhayer and Emily Kruse led the team on the floor as seniors. Freshman Ashley Gubanyar is a starter. And junior Allissa Nevison provided key leadership off the bench.
As the teams went back-and-forth, a Leichtman free throw tied the game at 29 with 90 seconds left in regulation. Cardinal took a 31-29 lead with 27 seconds left before Berkshire tied it on a jumpshot.
Each team managed just one point in the first overtime, before two Pennypacker steals iced it for Berkshire in the double overtime.
“It was a classic Berkshire-Cardinal rivalry game, and it stings to not come out on top for a second time in a row,” coach Kruse said. “It hurts like hell.”
Of course not as many people saw the game as had in the previous 19 years. For the first time since 1995, local cable access G-TV was not in attendance after Burton Village voted to eliminate the channel to its Time Warner cable subscribers.
Those subscribers will still pay for G-TV on their bills each month, but the money will be used by village council on other projects.
GAME PHOTOS: http://smu.gs/1K6BVwr