Pinkerton girls basketball gets big win over Bedford

DERRY - One of the last things Lani Buskey said to her Pinkerton Academy girls basketball team before the start of Friday's game was to be prepared for Bedford to make a run.

But the Astros coach never thought that run would be needed so that the Bulldogs could catch up.

Pinkerton exploded out of the gate, going up 12 points less than four minutes in, and the Astros managed to survive a furious Bedford comeback to grab a 60-52 win over the Bulldogs in Division I action.

Bedford didn't make its first field goal until six seconds remained in the first quarter, and the Astros (15-1) led 21-10 early in the second. But the Bulldogs ended the half by outscoring Pinkerton 20-11 to make it a two-point game at the break.

"I knew for sure that it was going to go back and forth," Buskey said. "I tried to tell them Bedford is going to go on a run, don't panic. The coach I am, I never see us going on the run, I see us on the defense. So to see us have that kind of start was awesome, but I knew they were coming back. My girls needed to learn that and they handled it really well."

The Bulldogs took the lead early in the second half, and held it for most of the third quarter, as the game turned into more of that back-and-forth contest. But down the stretch, foul trouble and the effort needed to come back caught up with Bedford (16-2)

"It was the game I thought it was going to be, and we just got off so slow," Bedford coach Sue Thomas said. "We just could not get our offense running and they went up (12 points). It's hard against a team like that. Even if you claw your way back, we had to expend so much energy to get it back. On this court, in this gym, with (their) shooters, it's always trouble. They're a great team."

Amanda Lemire led the Astros with 18 points, including two 3-pointers early that helped Pinkerton take control, and Brooke Kane had 16 points, six of which came down the stretch as the Astros turned a 48-46 deficit into a 54-51 lead.

Kane, a sophomore, also had two blocks and a steal that led to a transition basket during that run.

"Brooke is an amazing athlete," Lemire said. "I think now everyone knows that and I'm just so excited to see her get better and better every game, have another threat on the floor who can dominate."

Alyson Filion scored 11 of her 13 points in the first half and Madeline Blake added 12 points for the Bulldogs, who made their first 12 free throws to stay in the game.

Pinkerton took an 18-6 lead on a jumper by Lemire with 2:02 left in the first quarter, and the Astros extended that lead to 21-10. But Bedford finally got its offense going and scored eight straight points to make it three-point game.

"They were packing in the paint and our whole offense is supposed to be, you drive and kick it out, and keep doing that until the middle will open up," Thomas said. "Especially in the first, we'd have one drive and try to shoot around three or four people. Our possessions were about 10 seconds instead of work the ball, break them down and get the shot."

A 3-pointer at the buzzer by Filion cut Pinkerton's lead to 32-30 at halftime, and another 3 by Rachel Widrig to open the third gave Bedford its first lead of the night. The Bulldogs went up by as many as six in the third, but the Astros answered with an 8-4 run to tie the game at 46 with 5:31 left.

A basket by Blake gave Bedford a 48-46 lead with 4:36 to play, but that's when Kane started to take over. A quick move to the basket along the baseline led to an easy layup by Kane to tie the game, and Bedford's next possession, she stole the ball and went coast-to-coast for another basket.

"I told Brooke this was a game where she could show the state how good she was," Buskey said. "I think she battled pretty well."

Bedford got within a point, 52-51, with 2:58 remaining, but Kane answered at the other end to make it a three-point game, and the Astros made enough free throws down the stretch to put the win away.

"I just told the girls I'm proud of them because they solidified themselves," Buskey said. "That was a solid win. Every win, I'm proud, but that one, they showed me how bad they want it."