Somers Presses on the Gas in 46-35 Victory over Pleasantville

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On Wednesday December 10, Somers got on the bus and traveled south to Pleasantville. Arriving, the elephants maintained their stomp and never let up on the gas.

The girls broke out to a 10-0 lead, grew the lead to 20 in the third and polished off a 46-35 victory.

Revved up, the game began high and inside. After Elana Contreras ripped a defensive rebound, Caitlyn Mayfield found Kacey McCullough in the post, and on the up, the center back down to put her team on the board.

Not done, Shea Mullins put her big on the line with another interior pass, and converting one of two, McCullough next turned defense into offense. Giving no ground on a drive underneath, the resulting loose ball found Contreras, and she dished to an open Mullins.

Bang, the freshman swished a three and then got back on point. The guard hit McCullough on the right of the rectangle, and she executed the angle off glass at 3:05.

8-0, McCullough played on both ends again. Her block in the corner sent the ball the other way, and Mullins rewarded her big with an open jumper. On the three point line, the senior stepped in, and the run was ten straight at 2:03.

Maddie Becerra would stop the outburst with five seconds left in the first, but Somers was undeterred. At least at the outset, McCullough took a pass inside, drew attention and Contreras was not the least bit offended by the open shot. The guard left fly and nailed the triple at 6:55.

Up 13-2, Somers was unable to keep up the pace, though, and Becerra was mostly to blame. She answered Contreras with a three, went behind the back on the dribble to pull within four and hit a short jumper to stall Somers at 15-11.

2:50 left in the half, the teams traded turnovers until Mullins was fouled above the arc. She hit two of three, and stopping the Pleasantville run, Mullins put Ashley Kuchinsky on her horse. Grabbing the rebound, the point guard headed north and connected with her running mate for a layup off the glass.

Closing the halftime scoring. Somers was ready to really open up. First McCullough pulled down a pair of offensive rebounds that resulted in two made free throws, and Kuchinsky did her one better from 22 feet away.

Down for a 24-13 lead, Contreras continued the pile on and did not choose the path of least resistance. Twice she drove through a packed paint, and Somers came out the other side with a 29-13 lead.

The stampeding Somers sophomore wasn’t done either. She went through the morass two more times and sank four straight at the line.

35-15, Somers looked like a lock with 1:10 left in the third. Pleasantville wasn’t obliging, though. Becerra stopped the Somers surge with a runner, and six Panther points to start the fourth made it a 12 point game.

A stopper was obviously needed so Contreras spread the wealth. She found Kuchinsky in the corner, and the junior was money with 5:18 left in the game.

Unfortunately, Becerra answered right back, and another Pleasantville triple at 3:49 made it a ten point game. But Becerra was not perfect, and when her open three ball caught only oxygen, Mayfield didn’t wait to tally the cost. The forward went coast to coast, and the Tuskers went up 40-28.

3:10 to go, Becerra refused to go away and five straight points moved Pleasantville within seven. A long way to go in a minute so Mayfield went the distance. She picked off a cross court pass on the baseline and her two made free throws essentially put the game on ice.

The victory set up Somers at home in hopes of making it two in row versus Westlake on December 12. Friday night and the crowd feeling festive, the Wildcats dampened the mood by scoring the first six points.

So Kuchinsky provided a pick me up. She made three from the line and then did it in one stroke for an 8-7 game.

Onto the second, Contreras refused to be denied on a drive through the paint, and the Tuskers took an 9-8 lead.

6:14 left in the half, Kuchinsky sparked the offense next with a big block in the corner, and moments later, did Contreras one better. She willed her way through the interior and scored her third three point play on the foul.

A 12-11 deficit at the half, Contreras took over the third. Three more elusive and intrusive drives tallied five points and added to a Mullins triple, the guard’s downtown train gave Somers a 22-14 lead.

Eight minutes to go, Westlake refused to be put on the clock. The visitors went on a 22-4 run and went home happy with a 37-29 victory.

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