MONTICELLO - Overall experience was the difference as Albany (9-5, 4-3 Six Rivers East) knocked off Monticello (5-8, 2-5) by two points Friday night, 48-46.
"Experience always helps," Albany coach Bryce Pickett said. "I have six seniors I can always count on. That helps down the stretch - we take care of the ball a lot better and we're ready to draw the contact when they come after us. That will set you up for a win when you have those situations."
A strong second-half push by Monticello made for a frenzied fourth quarter, with both sides trading baskets and turnovers. In the final two minutes, however, it was an experienced Albany squad that ran the clock out.
"It's good when you can step up in situations like that where you know you have to play your best ball to win the game," Pickett said. "I felt we did that at the end of the game. We just have to make sure to do that at all times."
The Comets have six seniors on the team and two sophomores, all with varsity experienced that landed Albany in the sectional semifinal a year ago. Monticello, with just two seniors, hasn't had a winning record since 2005.
"We learned a little lesson. It's a tough time to get them into those winning situations because they haven't had them here in a long time," Monticello coach Tom Eveland said. "They've never been in that situation before. I could tell in that last timeout that they were a little bit nervous. Our girls can fight with anybody, they just need to learn how to finish."
Tied at 40 with under five minutes to play, Albany's Kaitlyn Schulz left her mark on the game. Schulz, who missed the Comets' first 12 games of the season, scored her team's final six points in the closing minutes.
"Kaitlyn's been a great boost for us. We didn't have her in our first trip around the conference, so she is something other teams will have to adjust to because she can come in and score points for us," Pickett said.
Monticello tried to keep up, and a baseline drive by senior Taylor Klitzke with 2:10 brought the score back to within two at 48-46.
Neither team would score the rest of the way.
Monticello freshman Marissa Berg missed a shot under the basket with 1:20 to play and the Ponies were called for traveling 10 seconds later. From there, Albany passed the rock around the horn enough to evade Monticello defenders. Sitting on just two fouls in the second half, the Ponies couldn't foul enough in the game's final 40 seconds to send the Comets to the free-throw line.
"The clock was at their advantage when we had to foul," Eveland said. "We played hard in the second half. The girls picked up their intensity a lot and we gave them a couple of good quarters."
Monticello did get a gift from Albany senior Hillary Best, who was called for an over-and-back violation on an inbound play with 10.7 ticks left. However, the Ponies panicked and Best came away with a steal with 3 seconds left to seal it.
"At the end of the game, we've never been in that type of situation before. They panicked," Eveland said. "We had plenty of time to get a shot, but we've never been in that situation and we let this one get by us."
Albany led throughout, holding a 13-4 advantage after the first quarter and was up 22-14 at halftime. An 18-5 run to open the third put Monticello ahead 32-27, but the Comets shot their way back into the game.
Klitzke led all scorers with 16 points, with 14 coming in the second half. Teammate Des Marty had nine points and Berg added eight. Courtney Pfeuti led Albany with 13 points and Sydney Bump added 12.
"Experience always helps," Albany coach Bryce Pickett said. "I have six seniors I can always count on. That helps down the stretch - we take care of the ball a lot better and we're ready to draw the contact when they come after us. That will set you up for a win when you have those situations."
A strong second-half push by Monticello made for a frenzied fourth quarter, with both sides trading baskets and turnovers. In the final two minutes, however, it was an experienced Albany squad that ran the clock out.
"It's good when you can step up in situations like that where you know you have to play your best ball to win the game," Pickett said. "I felt we did that at the end of the game. We just have to make sure to do that at all times."
The Comets have six seniors on the team and two sophomores, all with varsity experienced that landed Albany in the sectional semifinal a year ago. Monticello, with just two seniors, hasn't had a winning record since 2005.
"We learned a little lesson. It's a tough time to get them into those winning situations because they haven't had them here in a long time," Monticello coach Tom Eveland said. "They've never been in that situation before. I could tell in that last timeout that they were a little bit nervous. Our girls can fight with anybody, they just need to learn how to finish."
Tied at 40 with under five minutes to play, Albany's Kaitlyn Schulz left her mark on the game. Schulz, who missed the Comets' first 12 games of the season, scored her team's final six points in the closing minutes.
"Kaitlyn's been a great boost for us. We didn't have her in our first trip around the conference, so she is something other teams will have to adjust to because she can come in and score points for us," Pickett said.
Monticello tried to keep up, and a baseline drive by senior Taylor Klitzke with 2:10 brought the score back to within two at 48-46.
Neither team would score the rest of the way.
Monticello freshman Marissa Berg missed a shot under the basket with 1:20 to play and the Ponies were called for traveling 10 seconds later. From there, Albany passed the rock around the horn enough to evade Monticello defenders. Sitting on just two fouls in the second half, the Ponies couldn't foul enough in the game's final 40 seconds to send the Comets to the free-throw line.
"The clock was at their advantage when we had to foul," Eveland said. "We played hard in the second half. The girls picked up their intensity a lot and we gave them a couple of good quarters."
Monticello did get a gift from Albany senior Hillary Best, who was called for an over-and-back violation on an inbound play with 10.7 ticks left. However, the Ponies panicked and Best came away with a steal with 3 seconds left to seal it.
"At the end of the game, we've never been in that type of situation before. They panicked," Eveland said. "We had plenty of time to get a shot, but we've never been in that situation and we let this one get by us."
Albany led throughout, holding a 13-4 advantage after the first quarter and was up 22-14 at halftime. An 18-5 run to open the third put Monticello ahead 32-27, but the Comets shot their way back into the game.
Klitzke led all scorers with 16 points, with 14 coming in the second half. Teammate Des Marty had nine points and Berg added eight. Courtney Pfeuti led Albany with 13 points and Sydney Bump added 12.
