After a long layoff, the Bronxville girls basketball team took the court on Jan. 5, hosting the Edgemont Panthers in both teams’ first contest of 2016. Although Broncos’ head coach Donny Lucas expected his team to be a bit rusty, it didn’t take long for the Broncos to find their rhythm, as they dominated the Panthers en route to a 73-39 win.
Natalie Kister led Bronxville with 19 points and Maggie O’Reilly netted 15 as the Broncos pulled away in the second half, overcoming a slow start that saw the Panthers keep pace through the first 10 minutes of regulation. By halftime, the Broncos had built a 35-26 lead that continued to grow as all but one active Bronxville player recorded a point in the second half.
Prior to Tuesday’s game, Bronxville had not played since Dec. 22.
“Early on, Edgemont hit some of their open shots and our defense wasn’t there, maybe because we were off for two weeks,” Lucas said. “But as the game went on, we woke up at some point.”
Bronxville exploited Edgemont’s defensive pressure throughout the game, turning the Panthers’ full-court press into several fast-break points. According to Lucas, the ability to run the floor has been a strength of the Broncos all season long.
“We’re very athletic; we’ve got a bunch of soccer players and bunch of lacrosse players and a few basketball players,” he said. “But unlike today, where we scored a lot, sometimes we can have a bit of trouble executing in half-court.”
At 7-2 on the season, however, the Broncos haven’t seemed to suffer too much when the tempo slows down.
“When you have just two losses, to Irvington and Valhalla, that’s not bad,” Lucas said. “We hoped to be right where we are.”
Lucas is confident that his team can build upon its quick start in January, and the Broncos seem poised to do that, especially once they get healthy.
“We still have some injuries to a few guards, but we’re hoping to get them back soon,” Lucas said. “But in the meantime, we’re getting good experience; we have 11 players on the roster and we go 11 deep.”
The Broncos will need all hands on deck on Jan. 8, when they host Putnam Valley and Cornell-bound center Reena Olsen in what will be Bronxville’s first real test of the new year.
“They have a 6-foot-3 center, they’re committed, they’re disciplined,” Lucas said. “They can cause some havoc, but hopefully, in our gym, we can handle it.”
