ALBANY — The Saratoga Springs girls’ basketball team has won eight of its past 10 games. Thursday evening, the Blue Streaks got blitzed by the same team that beat it during the season-closing streak in Colonie.
The Garnet Raiders, a squad that starts four seniors and one junior, scored the opening 11 points of the game and never looked back in producing a superlative 68-49 Class AA quarterfinal win over Saratoga Springs.
“They came out and hit the first couple of baskets and were hot and we sort of stumbled,” Saratoga Springs coach Robin Chudy said. “You could tell our energy just dropped and they came out with a good game plan in taking away Tash (Natasha Chudy, the coaches’ daughter and star senior player). They made our shooters shoot and we threw the ball away a little bit. They were tough and they really played great.”
Colonie (15-6), the No. 4 seed, will next take on top-seeded and 2022 champion Albany (18-3) on Monday evening at Hudson Valley Community College.
Jayla Tyler and Bella Franchi proved to be a potent combination as Colonie led 18-6 through one quarter, 39-18 at halftime and 58-34 entering the last quarter. Franchi led the way with 24 points and Tyler, who is headed to play at Saint Rose, added 20 points.
“We moved the ball well tonight and depended on each other,” Tyler said. “We need to keep doing that the next game. We have made a lot of progress through the season and we are at our highest point right now. Today, we showed how great we can play together. We’re ready for the next game.”
“We were able to play Colonie basketball both times against them,” Franchi said. “They are a good team with good players. We have a lot of good players. It has been a goal to get to Hudson Valley. That environment is crazy and I am looking forward to it. We are a team full of juniors and seniors. I…
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