Some adjustments in the second half helped the Joel Barlow High girls varsity basketball team stay far ahead of the competition in its game against Bassick of Bridgeport last week.
With a couple of their players in foul trouble, the host Falcons could not be as aggressive underneath the basket as they wanted. Fortunately, they had others who upped their game a bit to ensure a 47-24 non-conference victory on Friday, Jan. 5.
“Bassick’s players did a great job pounding the ball inside,” said Barlow head coach Joe Carollo. “They had some size and they used it. That’s part of what got us in foul trouble.”
The Falcons set the tone early, as their offense built a double-digit lead before their opponent even sank its first shot. Led in part by a pair of three pointers by Sarah Ashgar, the Falcons went up 6-0 early in the game. Some quickness on defense resulted in back-to-back steals by Avery Vanderburg, the first she turned into a layup and the second was a feed to Ashgar for the score and a 12-0 Barlow advantage.
It was not until the 4:24 mark of the quarter when the Lions finally scored, courtesy of Armani Parker. Dasire Simmons followed with the put back of a rebound but the Falcons closed out the frame with an 18-4 advantage.
Bassick stepped up both offensively and defensively for the rest of the half but the Falcons still increased their lead with a three-pointer by Agnes Davis, along with field goals by Allie Odgen, Ashgar and Vanderburg to go up 27-10 at the break.
With a couple of players in foul trouble by the time the second half got underway, the Falcons were not as aggressive underneath the basket as they wanted, and were outscored 10-7 in the third quarter. Ogden’s three-pointer with Vanderburg and Mia Tartaglia each sinking shots as well preserved the lead at 34-20 after three frames.
“To their credit, their defense bothered us later in the game too,” said Carollo. “I did have some girls in foul trouble, so I had people at different positions and different people in playing more minutes than usual.”
In the final frame, the Falcons continued to use the three-point shot to their advantage, with Davis and Vanderburg each hitting treys early. The latter added a second to put Barlow up by 21 (45-24) and it never looked back.
Ashgar led the Falcons in scoring with 16 points, including two three-pointers. Vanderburg was right behind her with 15 and also had a pair of threes as well.
“Vanderburg has been double digits in all our games except one scoring-wise,” said Carollo. “She did it again tonight.”
Ogden had seven points (one three-pointer) and Davis netted six, all coming on three-point shots. Tartaglia finished with three.
“Agnes and Allie, they were great tonight in their roles,” said Carollo. “That’s the only way we are going to win is everybody doing what they do for the team. I love when it’s coming from more than one or two or three people.”
Barlow, now 5-3 overall, visits New Milford on Thursday at 6 p.m. and hosts Bethel on Tuesday at 5 p.m.
