“….of course you have the Martinez twins…”,     —Sullivan West’s Isabel “Izzy” Nearing”

LAKE HUNTUNGTON, NY – “If a tree falls in a forest, and no one is around to hear it, does it makes a sound?”

The other night, with a yet another winter storm on the near horizon and closing fast, the Sullivan West Lady Bulldogs and the visiting Lady Yellowjackets from Eldred (4-5) managed to squeeze in a non-league girl’s varsity game of hoops just a few hours before inclement weather blanketed our region – yet again.

Make no question about it, the tall timber of the home squad played a significant role in the ultimate 30-point victory, but if you listened every so closely, so could hear the rushing feet of Eldred’s battle-scared and every ready scrappy sparkplug guard “like five-two or so” LeaneKelty cutting through the court in search of points, blocked shots or maybe a couple of steals.

After the disappointing loss, Eldred’s first year coach June Hallock, said of Kelty, “She is everywhere….there she is…she’ll play any position, and play it one-hundred  and ten percent…”

Late in the game, a contest that featured bruised limbs and perhaps a couple of dinged egos, Kelty was briefly sidelined after taking a hard shot to the snoot, but was soon back in action.

Needlessly to say, Eldred’s fans added their voices to the overall timbre of the game.

But nobody at Sullivan West, and I mean nobody can outdo the sheer volume of NOISE created by the Dawg Pound.

You want lots of NOISE, call the home team cheering squad.

Eldred’s JisselaLaBuda, a 17-year old junior and co-captain, takes to the floor as a guard.

“They absolutely dominated us,” she said.

But looking on the bright side, added, “we can’t let this get us in the way…we have to keep our heads up…we have to be stronger than we were tonight.”

Seventeen-year old HaileeKolvenbach serves as Eldred’s paired, but equal  co-captain.

“Sullivan West has a great team…a lot of great players,” said the senior point guard, adding, “It’s hard to play at that type of level, even when everyone is working hard…”

Her take away from the stinging defeat?

“We’ll try to learn from it, and as a team, build off it…

Sullivan West is led of the floor by a triumvirate of captains…,all 17-years old, all seniors, helmed by coach Pat Donovan.

Sabrina Martinez (center/power forward), said, “The game showed our dedication to winning…the key to our offense is dedication.”

Josephine Martinez plays point guard, said “….our season is going great….we’re on a winning streak.”

Isabel “Izzy” Nearing, a shooting guard, said that one key element of the game was “that everyone got to play today…”

“And of course you have the Martinez twins,” she noted.

The lady Bulldogs outpaced Eldred in every frame: 15-6, 13-6, 10-4, 13-5 on the road to a 51-21victory at the final buzzer.

Sullivan West’s big netters: Sabrina Martinez (22 points), Kerintin Burr (8 points including a ‘three’) and Taylor Wall (8 points).

Eldred’s total scoring attack: HaileeKolvanbach (8 points), JissellaLaBuda (6 points), Morgan Koph (4 points), and LenaeKelty (a ‘three’).

Stats from the FTL: SW 9/17 (52%); ECS (N/A).