It had been a week since the Pine Bush Bushmen had played a game, and that includes a four-day weekend that not only included a federal holiday, but also a snow day and a delayed opening.

Needless to say, the Bushmen got off to a slow start, but recovered well enough to post a 54-26 win over the Marlboro Dukes on Wednesday in a non-league girls’ basketball game at Marlboro High School.

“They were definitely the second-best team we’ve played so far, other than Wallkill,” said Leticia Watson, who led the Bushmen with a game-high 20 points. “I think we held our own pretty well.”

Watson said the Bushmen started out flat despite posting an early lead behind baskets from Jah-esa stokes and Ketura Rutty.

Marlboro’s Hannah Polumbo cut the lead in half with a basket, but Watson knocked down a three-pointer to take a 7-2 lead. The Dukes fought back early, and a jumper by Polumbo pulled Marlboro to with three points and Gabby Murphy added two free throws to cut Pine Bush’s lead to 7-6 with 4:39 left in the first.

The Dukes took a short-lived 9-8 lead on a basket by Nalyah Campbell, but Rutty scored a basket that propelled the Bushmen to a 10-0 run that gave them a 17-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.

“I just sent them a text this morning,” Pine Bush coach Michelle Bouffard said. “First thing I said is, ‘I don’t like having no practice before a game, but it is what it is because I’m assuming Marlboro is the same way. Think about that when we go in.’ The weather and everything goes into play and hopefully we’ll have practice tomorrow.”

The defense clamped down on the Dukes in the second quarter, outscoring them 13-2 to take firm command of the game, and never looked back.

“We definitely felt (the break), but we just came in and did our thing,” Watson said.
Rutty added 17 points for the Bushmen, who ran their season opening winning streak to nine straight games. They were scheduled to have to play a non-league game against the Our Lady of Lourdes Warriors, but that game was postponed due to inclement weather.

“It means a lot,” Watson said. “A lot of our team is seniors now, so we just want to end their high school career good.”

Lily Sullivan led the Dukes with seven points, as Marlboro’s record dropped to 7-3.
The Bushmen had another four days off before they opened this week with Monday’s road game against the Newburgh Free Academy Goldbacks. They returned home on Tuesday to host the Washingtonville Wizards.

Watson said she is looking forward to the Bushmen’s season getting into a regular flow.

“It’s crazy,” Bouffard said. “So, we’ve got to keep pushing each other in practice and doing more of what we have to keep doing.”