ULYSSES — Sometimes all it takes is one big run to change the entire complexion of a basketball game.
That’s exactly what happened on Tuesday night, as Coudersport rode a dominant second half to defeat Northern Potter 65-31 and remain undefeated in North Tier league play.
The game wasn’t all sunshine and roses for Coudy, as the Lady Panthers gave them quite the scare in the first half. Northern Potter held Coudy’s high-flying offense to 27 points in the first half, while hitting plenty of their chances on the other end. Through 16 minutes of play, the Falcons were up six.
After the break, however, Coudersport showed why they are one of the best teams in the area with a mesmerizing performance. The Falcons scored the first 20 points of the third quarter, and outscored Northern Potter 22-2 in total for that frame. What looked to be a legitimate challenge to Coudy’s unbeaten record quickly turned into a 49-23 blowout.
“Just told them that we had to settle down and play our game,” Coudy head coach Brian Green said. “We gave up a lot of loose balls. We missed some easy shots and some free throws. We didn’t change a single thing from the first half, we just came out and played much better.”
The Falcons rode that play into the fourth quarter, and outscored the Panthers 38-10 in the half.
When Coudersport was struggling in that first half, it was junior Shaelyn Black that kept the team afloat. Black had 11 of her game-high 18 points in the first, and helped give Coudersport the edge in the paint with five rebounds, as well.
“She really picked it up,” Green said. “She struggled against them the first time we played them and she made it a point of emphasis this week to pick it up and do a better job. She’s done a great job for us all year. She’s a hard worker. Her and EmmaRae (Easton) work well together. It’s nice when we can take a little pressure off Haley (Keck) every once in awhile.”
The first time these two teams met on Dec. 28, Coudy won 47-33. This time around, the Panthers’ defense just couldn’t hold up against the best offense in the NTL. Freshman Sarah Chambers added 16 points, four assists and five rebounds for Coudy, while Keck tallied 13 of her own.
Rebecca Morgan paced Northern Potter (8-4 overall, 5-3 NTL) with 11 points.
After a two-game losing streak in early December, the Falcons (13-2 overall, 9-0 NTL) have now won 12 straight games. Even with all that success over the past six weeks, Green was still very pleased with how his team showed up in a place that is very familiar to him while battling some adversity of their own.
“I’ve got some kids battling through sickness and injury,” Green said. “We had a long stretch last week with a long bus ride Saturday, and I knew this was going to be a tough game tonight. I used to coach here, and this was the most people I’ve ever seen at this gym. I saw people in this gym that I haven’t seen come to a girls game in years so you knew it was a big game. I was happy with the way my kids responded in the second half.”
Although Coudersport plays Galeton on Thursday, the matchup of the week in the NTL comes Saturday when the Falcons host Otto-Eldred (14-0 overall, 9-0 NTL). With the next closest team in the NTL sitting with three losses and less than a month to play, the league champion will almost certainly be one of these two teams.
And although Green played it tight to the vest previewing the big matchup, there is no denying its importance.
“I’ve seen them numerous times and they’ve seen us numerous times,” Green said. “I don’t think we have any secrets, it’s going to come down to who comes in and plays well on Saturday. I expect a packed house and I look forward to it.”
AT ULYSSES
Coudersport (65)
Shaelyn Black 8 2-6 18, Sarah Chambers 5 4-6 16, Keck 6 0-0 13, Easton 3 0-0 6, Stimaker 3 0-0 6, Streich 1 1-2 4, Bowser 1 0-0 2. Totals: 27 7-15 65
Northern Potter (31)
Rebecca Morgan 5 0-0 11, Kunselman 4 0-0 8, Hyde 2 0-0 4, Cowburn 2 0-0 4, Anderson 1 0-0 2, Lewis 1 0-0 2, Burchell 0 0-1 0. Totals: 15 0-1 31
Coudy 13 27 49 65
NP 10 21 23 31
Three-point goals: Coudy 4 (Chambers 2, Keck 1, Streich 1), NP 1 (Morgan); Total fouls: NP 14, Coudy 10; fouled out: none
JV: Coudy won
