Big Third Quarter Leads Seahorses By Comets
By Landon Potvin
ST. ALBANS – BFA-St. Albans sophomore Ruby Dasaro scored 20 points in a tough loss to Burlington on Thursday night. Burlington’s 20-point third quarter propelled the Seahorses over the Comets, 50-32. BHS freshman Bree McDonald erupted for 21 points and Nyhal Mitchell made six shots for 15 points.
“We came out flat in the third quarter, and they punished us,” said BFA head coach Paul Lafountain. “We knew transition defense was going to keep us in the game, and even in the first half, we got a little lucky with them not making shots and some no calls.”
“What we can take away is Ruby had a great game for us,” said Lafountain. “She really started to get comfortable out there and knew what she wanted to do and executed beautifully. She did everything in the framework of the offense, being a good floor general and playing phenomenal defense, being all over the place. She fought through all the adversity that was handed to us tonight.”
The first quarter started slowly. Ella Reynolds made a shot she worked hard for in the post. Dasaro broke Burlington’s press a few minutes later with ease and finished through two defenders with an impressive eurostep. She then stole the inbound pass for the first of her four steals on the night.
Mitchell nailed her only three of the night from an offensive rebound by McDonald out of a timeout. BFA’s Madison Carey made an offensive putback to cut the deficit to two points with seconds left in the first quarter, 12-10.
An 8-2 run is how Burlington started the second quarter. McDonald drained a three and a basket at the rim, and Rukiya Awayle made a three of her own to push the Seahorse lead to 20-12.
Lauren-Kate Garceau stopped the run with a tremendous defensive move by having her hands in the passing lane to tip a pass for a fastbreak layup. Garceau got fouled and made one of two foul shots. In the process, she gave Mcdonald her third foul, which was very important but did not come back to haunt them. Once again, Dasaro went coast-to-coast off a steal and made a layup to make it a 24-17 game going into halftime.
Burlington’s 20-point third quarter broke the game open. Bree McDonald made four consecutive shots, three of them from beyond the arc. Mitchell also piled on four points, Libby Westbrook chipped in two points, two more from Mariah Larson and a three from Awayle. During the Seahorses’ big quarter, BFA mustered only four points for a 44-21 BHS lead.
In the final quarter, coach Lafountain threw out a bunch of different lineups and got a chance to see a lot from his young team, which has no seniors. Dasaro pocketed 10 points in the fourth. Shelby Lawrence made two shots for four points and piled on two rebounds to go with it. Carey got on the board with a three that Brynn Bessette set up with an offensive rebound.
BFA outscored BHS in the fourth 17-6, led by Dasaro’s high motor on both ends of the floor.
“We have to continue to get minutes for the girls,” said coach Lafountain. “We have to see what groups work and don’t work, and at this point, it depends on the evening. When you have a young team, you have some inconsistencies and confidence-building that needs to happen and playing as a team.”
BFA-St. Albans’ Tessa Sweeney looks for a pass during Thursday’s game. (Anthony Labor Jr. Photo) 
BFA-St. Albans’ Allison Bushey takes a 3-pointer during Thursday’s game. (Anthony Labor Jr. Photo) 
BFA-St. Albans’ Lauren-Kate Garceau drives to the basket (Anthony Labor Jr. Photo 
BFA-St. Albans’ Allison Bushey dribbles up the court. (Anthony Labor Jr Photo) 
BFA-St. Albans’ Ella Reynolds (22) and Ruby Dasaro defend the post during Thursday’s game. (Anthony Labor Jr. Photo)
