JOHNSTOWN – The improved Hudson Valley Lady Vikings invaded the Raiders Den on Saturday afternoon and earned a 79-70 victory. The loss was FM's first in Mountain Valley Conference play.

Hudson Valley augmented their squad with two new players this semester. The talented pair -- Shikera Lawson (6' 2", Albany) and My'Asia Alston (5' 6", Cohoes) -- scored 30 of their team's 79 points.

Photo:  Monae Abrams scoring

Stephanie Rice played another big game for FM. (See photo at the bottom of this page.)  Rice opened the scoring with two free throws. Sherice Gayle tallied, and Kendra Jordan hit from behind the arc. FM led 7-6.

The first half was a hard-played battle. Gayle took a pass from Kassandra Flowers and scored a field goal, but the visitors led 11-9. Gayle scored again, and Rice drained a three from the left side, but the score was 17-14 Hudson Valley.

Photo:  Kendra Jordan sinks a three

Rice was playing very well. She netted 12 points in the first half, hitting three threes and three free throws. Gayle scored eight first-half points. But Hudson Valley owned the defensive boards. The Vikings limited the Raiders to one shot per possession for most of the first half.  The visitors led 35-29 at the break.

FM closed the gap in the second half. The Vikings scored; then FM's Kendra Jordan and Veronica Chea scored three from the line and Rice added three the hard way.  Rice was fouled while shooting from beyond the arc, so she went to the line and sank all three shots. That brought FM within two points, at 37-35.

Abrams had a big half for FM with her rebounding, assisting, and scoring.  "Moe" contributed 21 second-half points, but the Lady Raiders fell short. Hudson Valley kept up their balanced attack and made fewer errors than FM. The final score was 79-70 in the visitors' favor.

The Lady Vikings showed that they are now ready to contend in the postseason. The conference now has four teams in serious contention for the conference crown and for seedings in the Region 3 tournament.

FM will be back in action Monday evening. Corning CC will travel to FM. The 5-10 Lady Red Barons will tip off with the 11-3 Lady Raiders at 5:00 p.m. 

                          C.J. Bonny, website writer

Mountain Valley Conference standings:

Fulton-Montgomery   6-1

Mohawk Valley   5-1

Schenectady   5-1

Hudson Valley 3-3

Herkimer 2-4

Adirondack 2-5

North Country 1-4*

Delhi  0-5*       * Jan. 18 score not available

Game scoring:

FM:  Jordan 5, Chea 5, Flowers 8, Rice 23, Abrams 21, Gayle 8; Total 70

HVCC:  LaPietra 6, Daniels 6, Tomek 16, Alston 14, Lawson 16, Janson 21; Total 79

Halftime:  35-29 Hudson Valley

Photo:  Stephanie Rice having a 23-point night

 

.