No Let Down For Warriors

And the logjam gets even tighter.

Hope Balling had 13 points and five steals as the Tonawanda Lady Warriors beat John F.Kennedy, 39-26, in ECIC IV girls basketball action that was played at the George H.Miller gym, Tuesday night.

The win lifts the Warriors to 8-2 in league and tightens the race for first place as Holland (9-2) now takes over 1st place after beating Cleveland Hill 46-23.

Having beaten JFK by 30 points the first time they met the Warriors were naturally the favorite. But with this being their first game after an emotionally charged win over Cleveland Hill at home last Thursday, Lady Warriors coach Jay Hall was understandably concerned about the potential for a big game let down again. Hall caution his girls to not take JFK lightly.

“We always put keys to victory, ” said Hall. “The first thing was no let down. Work hard.”

Hall’s concern was valid as the Bears, who were led by Victoria Getz 10 points, did an admirable job of hanging in against a more experienced Tonawanda squad.

Tonawanda was getting plenty of looks in the first half, but shots weren’t falling. Even though THS struggled to make shots they still held a 15-10 lead at halftime. “Before the game coach Hall said we have to play just like every other game,” said Hope Balling. “They’re not gonna take it easy on us because they want to beat us.”

First year JFK coach Melissa Schultz, who now sees her team fall to 3-11, saw the game as another chance to find positives as they keep growing. “The first time we played Tonawanda they blew us out by like 30,” Schultz said. “So the girls have to take (tonight) with a grain of salt. We lost by 13 so progress is there.”

The Warriors once again owned the paint thanks to the 1-2 punch of Haley Schoelerman (10 points, 11 rebounds and eight blocks) and Alicia Farrell (seven points and eight rebounds).

But it was Balling at point guard that had the offense humming in the second half. “Hope is definitely the spark plug of our team,” said Hall.