Wallkill girls thrash Highland

By Mike Zummo
Posted 1/19/22

A.J. Higby wasn’t happy with how his Wallkill girls’ basketball team played against Pine Bush in a game the Panthers won by three points.

Ten days later, the Panthers took advantage of …

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Wallkill girls thrash Highland

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A.J. Higby wasn’t happy with how his Wallkill girls’ basketball team played against Pine Bush in a game the Panthers won by three points.

Ten days later, the Panthers took advantage of the rebuilding Highland Huskies, marching out to a huge first-half lead on their way to a 66-16 win on Friday night at Wallkill High School.

“That is what they needed to do,” Higby said. “Now, we need to go ahead and continue to keep playing that well to accomplish the things they think they want to accomplish. One game at a time, but they’ve got to play that well. They have to shoot that well. They have to play together that well.”

Zoe Mesuch led the way with 12 points and Emma Schwarzbeck added 10. Emma Spindler had nine, while Alex Dembinski and Grace Mesuch had eight.

The Panthers jumped on the Huskies early and often, taking a 27-3 lead at the end of the first quarter and a 47-6 lead at halftime.

And then in the second half, the Panthers slowed things down and worked on their offensive progressions.

“They had to,” Higby said. “We were going to work on taking our time and showing patience. We have some stuff. So be it.”

But it had been 10 days since the Panthers had last played, but the schedule will pick up as the regular season winds to a close over the next several weeks. Friday’s game gave the Panthers what they needed to move forward.

“We needed that boost of confidence that we could shoot the ball,” Higby said. “We couldn’t shoot the ball at Pine Bush, but Pine Bush plays defense. So that’s what happened.”