The Kenmore East Lady Bulldogs had trouble carrying over the success they picked up after winning the Tip-Off tournament last weekend. But after a rough start, the Bulldogs began to get back on track and beat the Charter School for Applied Technology Lady Eagles 65-17 in Niagara Frontier League Girls Basketball action on Friday night.
The Bulldogs were slow coming out of the gate, shots were not falling and the bounces were not going their way as the score was just 9-7 in favor of Ken-East late in the first quarter.
“It was frustrating,” Head Coach Jack Blanch said about the beginning of the game. But ultimately, he was happy his team came out on top. “We’ll take it any way we can get it,” Blanch said.
“It was a little bit of nerves and we were just forcing things,” senior Kendall Mills admitted. “As the game went on we got more comfortable.”
And that’s just what happened for Ken-East. As the second quarter began the Bulldogs defense took control of the game. Facing a strong trapping defense the Eagles’ offense had trouble moving the ball up the court and getting good shots. The Bulldogs’ defense held CSAT to two points in the entire second quarter and more than half of the third.
According to Blanch it was just simple fundamental basketball, saying “we talked about man responsibilities and just making sure we were talking and working together on the court.”
Mills ended the game with 19 points. The senior is now 20 points away from becoming the fifth girls basketball player in school history to reach the 1,000 career points mark.
Mill’s co-captain Serena Sordetto was also in double-digits, scoring 17 points in the win. Sordetto was also a big presence in the front-court and contributed to the trapping defense throughout.
Ken-East’s Sarah Burhans also had a strong game with five points and a few assists in the winning effort.
Katia Weeks came off the bench and played strong aggressive defense for the Bulldogs.
As for CSAT, the 65-17 loss was not the way they were hoping to start their membership in the NFL.
CSAT Head Coach Lindsay Bergman was disappointed in the outcome but hopeful going forward, saying “It wasn’t the outcome we wanted. We knew it was going to be an adjustment, but it can only get better from here.”
This is CSAT’s first season playing in the Niagara Frontier League after leaving the Niagara Orleans League last season.
Both teams will be back in action on Tuesday night. The Lady Bulldogs will travel to Lew-Port to take on the Lancers at 7pm. The Lady Eagles will host the Lockport Lions at 6:30pm.
