ELDRED – The Eldred Yellowjackets girls basketball team hosted the Sullivan West Bulldogs on Monday night, in an entertaining non-league game that saw the visiting Bulldogs win 32–24. 

Sullivan West coach Pat Donovan said, “We won, we’re 2 and 1 now, but it was sloppy on our end, not protecting the ball, they did a good job defensively.”

This was the season opener for the Yellowjackets, but for the Sullivan West squad, it was their third game of the season. The difference in playing time was clear throughout the game and ultimately determined the winning team. The game got off to a rough start, common for early season games, but for the Bulldogs, their defense became their catalyst, forcing turnovers that gave them extra possessions and the early lead.

“I thought we played very well defensively, we just couldn’t knock down our shots,” Coach Donovan said. “We had our opportunities, but the shots just weren’t falling, until the end obviously, Meghan [Kelly] and Sammy [Hellerer] were able to hit those 3s, that was the difference tonight. And Roz Passante did a great job on defending Gonzalez.”

 Eldred was able to get the ball down into the paint in the second period as Olivia Gonzalez and Victoria Ryman scored baskets, allowing the Yellowjackets to take the lead back at halftime, 13-10. 

At the start of the second half,   Eldred’s struggles to protect the ball allowed Sullivan West to reclaim a 22-17 lead by the end of the third period. 

Despite having difficulty maintaining possession of the ball, the Yellowjackets continued to push forward, coming within one point of tying the Bulldogs. 

It took the Sullivan West guards Meghan Kelly and Sammy Hellerer knocking down threes at the end of the game to give the Bulldogs the edge. Meagan Kelly was the high scorer for the game with 14 points, with teammate Ella Herbert adding 9. For Eldred Olivia Gonzelez had 11 points and Victoria Ryman had 10. 

Yellowjackets’ head coach June Hallock said, “It was a close game, but it was the turnovers that lost the game for us. I’m proud of the girls though, we held up against them, we were even up at the half, if it wasn’t for the turnovers the result might have been different.”