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Lady Falcons flying high with best start
in 22 years
 In
22 years as the girls varsity basketball coach at Albany High School,
Leslie Bogucki never has had a team win its first eight games to start
the season.
Until now.
The Lady Falcons
Coach Bogucki, far left, and the Lady Falcons celebrate the
were 8-0 after their championship victory in their
tournament Dec. 9.
Dec. 27 victory over
Colonie in the first round of
the Colonie Raider Tournament during the holiday break and ranked No. 8
in the state among Class AA schools. Albany suffered its first loss in
the championship game the following day, falling 50-48 to Averill Park,
but still was one of the surprise teams in Section II.
Not that
the Lady Falcons have been surprising themselves.
“I think they’re very dedicated and they
really want to have success,” Ms. Bogucki said. “Because we’re kind of
under the radar this year, they would like to show everybody that they
really do have it.”
Visit the
Times Union Web site to read more about the team's early season
success, or to read
the Dec. 28 Times Union coverage of Albany's win over Colonie.
You also can keep up to date on results throughout the season on
the team's schedule/results page.
The Lady Falcons found out early how good
they can be with a 13-point victory over Big 10 rival Schenectady in the
championship game of the Gloversville Tip-Off Tournament on Nov. 24.
They aced another early test with a 12-point victory – their closest
game of the season until the loss to Averill Park – over Kingston on Dec. 9 in the championship
game of the Lady Falcon Tournament at Albany High.
Balance, teamwork and defense have been the
keys to Albany’s success.
Led by senior co-captains Chelcy Moore
(Gloversville MVP) and Staren Bielinski (Gloversville All-Tournament
Team) and junior Shenekwa Stewart (Lady Falcon MVP), Albany has won its
first eight by an average margin of 26 points. Opponents were averaging
just 34 points.
Chelcy led the team in scoring at nearly
14 points per game, followed by Shenekwa at 12 and sophomore Chana Simms
at 11. Another strength for the team has been rebounding. Four players
averaged at least five – Shenekwa led the team at eight per game,
followed by Chelcy, Chana and junior Alexis Hauser.
There also is plenty of depth. Junior Fern
Beetle-Moorcroft rounds out a starting unit that also includes Chelcy,
Staren, Shenekwa and Alexis. Senior Kayean Coore, Chana and fellow
sophomore Prima Groves also are key contributors.
The experience of playing together on the
varsity and during the offseason for several years has led to great
teamwork and unselfishness.
“These kids know each other really well,”
Ms. Bogucki said. “They look for each other, they work together really
well and each one brings something different to the table.”
Plenty of tests remain in the Big 10 in
2008.
Consecutive games against Schenectady,
Catholic Central and Amsterdam loom in early January. Bishop Maginn also
is off to a strong start, and regular season closes with a rugged
gauntlet in February: Maginn, Schenectady, Catholic Central and
Amsterdam, with three of the four on the road.
Ms. Bogucki, who coached the 1995-96 team to
a state championship and won the Section II title again the following
year, believes her team is ready.
They really committed
and dedicated themselves to doing well this year,” she said. |
