Women’s basketball blow out Fulton-Montgomery
Will Reed
Staff Writer
The women’s basketball team finished out the regular season with a 75-55 win over the Fulton-Montgomery Raiders Wednesday, Feb. 21.
Hannah Kreiger scored a game-high 27 points, including six three-pointers, for the Vikings, who snapped their four-game losing streak with a definitive win.
After the game, Kreiger described how the important this game was to the team, and to their playoff seeding. “Before the game, our coach had given us an ultimatum and I think for one of the first times all season, as a team, we were all on the same page,” Kreiger said.
Kreiger also explained what the game meant to her personally. “Basketball is my life and I knew how important the game was to not only me but my teammates and I made sure I left everything I had out on the court,” she said.
Taylor Engster contributed 24 points and Kali Szczepanski added 10 for Hudson Valley. Head Coach Robert Coleman said the game was important for the team’s confidence and drive moving forward into the postseason. “All season we’ve been learning how to win, and that experience is important in the one and done regional playoff format,” Coleman said.
Coleman also stressed the importance of finding team identity, something they have been working on all season. “Knowing who you are as a team is even more important in the postseason,” he said.
The start of the game was delayed due to an electrical issue with one of the backboards in the McDonough Sports Complex. Once the issue was resolved, a technical foul was called on Hudson Valley for an equipment malfunction, and the Raiders received two free-throws before the game started.
It was all Vikings after that, who opened the game on a 13-2 run. Taylor Engster hit back-to-back threes at one point, and Hudson Valley led by as much as 13 in the first quarter. The team then led by 10 at halftime.
The Raiders were able to cut the Vikings’ lead to four in the third quarter, but that’s as close as they would get. The Vikings quickly jumped back up to a ten-point lead behind Kreiger and Engster, and Fulton-Montgomery never came back, getting outscored 22-12 in the fourth quarter.
The Raiders had three technical fouls called on them in the second half, leading to one player’s ejection and Hudson Valley opening up an 18-point lead.
Hudson Valley’s (18-10) season came to a close on Feb. 27 after they were defeated in the NJCAA Region 3 quarterfinal round 65-60 at No.2 North Country.