Tri-Valley 28

Sullivan West 21

LAKE HUNTINGTON -- Hoops at last, was the rallying cry across Section 9 as the sound of basketballs bouncing echoed in the mostly empty gyms in the first week of action on the hardwood after the long delay and weeks of uncertainty.

Local girls basketball got underway on February 12 as Tri-Valley visited Sullivan West for a league fray. With a number of starters missing from each squad due to insufficient practice days, coupled with the fact that the girls haven't played in nearly a year, the game was far from pristine.

With the absence of media due to Section 9's eleventh hour edict, game reporting hinges on what coaches submit. As far as sharp action photography is concerned, that too will be hard to come by, if at all. This was a league game, the first of four each school will play including a pair against each other and two with S.S. Seward.

Tri-Valley was missing three starters but still managed to hold a double-digit lead over the Lady Bulldogs until the fourth quarter when as coach Gary TerBush put it, “we ran out of gas.”

In the final frame Pat Donovan's Lady Dawgs outscored Tri-Valley 12-4 closing the gap significantly though it proved to be too little, too late.

Rebecca Musa led T-V with 15 points. Anna Bernas led SW with six points and pulled down 22 rebounds.

“It was good to be back in the gym with the girls. The game was a bit sloppy,but that's to be expected,” noted Donovan. “We had open looks tonight but couldn't knock down a shot. It seemed as if there was a lid on the basket. Rebecca Musa played well at both ends of the floor for Tri-Valley.

“I'm glad we could get back to some sense of normalcy,” he concluded.

Tri-Valley 1-0 (1-0) will travel to Livingston Manor on February 16 for a non-league game. Sullivan West 0-1, (0-1) will host league rival S.S. Seward on February 16.