BY ERIC AHLQVIST
COOPERSTOWN CRIER
The home fans went home doubly
disappointed Tuesday night in
Cherry Valley.
Not only did senior Morgan VanAlstine
fall short of the 1,000-point
milestone, but the Cherry Valley-
Springfield girls lost a key league
game to Schenevus, 56-31.
A win by CV-S would have pulled
them into a first place tie with the
defending East and overall champion
Dragons, but the loss eliminated
them from the East race.
VanAlstine, who scored 32 in the
teams’ first meeting in December,
entered the game needing 19 points
to become the third girls players
in program history to amass 1,000
points. After scoring four points in
the first quarter, she was held to two
in the second quarter and did not
score in the second half, eventually
fouling out with just over seven
minutes left in the game.
Schenevus used a box-and-one
defense on VanAlstine, and head
coach Tim Walke said he wanted to
limit her touches.
``We knew if we stopped her we’d
win the game,’’ said Walke. ``She’s a
phenomenal player, but our defense
was very good tonight.’’
CV-S, 8-5 overall, trailed by just six
at the half, but the Dragons scored
the first eight points of the second
half, including a three-point shot
from Jessica Bentley, while holding
the Lady Patriots scoreless over the
first six minutes of the third quarter.
``We started getting our transition
game going, and we also started
passing the ball much better in the
second half,’’ Walke said.
VanAlstine needs 13 points in
Friday’s game at Edmeston to reach
1,000. Last year, teammate Courtney
VanBrink hit 1,000 points in her final
career game, a loss to Schenevus in
sectionals.
Aria Dubben led CV-S with nine
points Tuesday, while junior guard
Katie Upson had eight, including a
pair of three-point baskets.
Chelsea Gantner had 12 and Bentley
11 for Schenevus.
The Lady Patriots were coming
off a dramatic 52-50 home win over
Milford on Friday night. VanAlstine
scored the final two of her gamehigh
30 points on an offensive
rebound to give her team the win.
Milford’s Mariah Coville and Chandler
Prouty combined for 38 of their
team’s 50 points.
CV-S BOYS CLINCH
The Cherry Valley-Springfield boys
basketball team won their sixth
game in a row and clinched their
second straight Tri-Valley East title
with a 51-41 victory at Milford Friday
night.
The Patriots, 10-3, will meet T-V
West champion Morris in the Tri-Valley
Championship Game on Saturday,
Feb. 20 at Oneonta State.
``This is a hard-working team,’’ said
CV-S head coach Terry Brant. ``They
key to our success has been our
defense. We try to force turnovers
and get easy baskets.’’
Not only was Friday’s win CV-S’s
sixth in a row, but ninth in 10 games
as they improved to 10-3 on the
season.
One of the losses came at Morris
early in December, the first league
game of the season.
``We played that game without
one starter and two others fouled
out,’’ Brant said. ``Both teams are
probably much different at this
point.’’
Alex Shuster had 16 points and
Kyle Flint 11 in the win.
