The Wallkill girls’ basketball program has a new scoring queen, but more importantly, the Wallkill Panthers won the game.

Zoe Mesuch scored a game-high 26 points, catching fire in the second half as she became the Panthers’ all-time leading scorer in their 62-51 win over the Marlboro Iron Dukes on Thursday at Wallkill High School.

Mesuch grabbed a steal and converted on a fast-break layup with 4:22 left in the game, giving the Panthers a 57-44 lead, and Wallkill coach A.J. Higby called a timeout immediately.

When the teams assembled on the bench, Higby told Mesuch to stay on the court while PA announcer Sean Murphy announced her achievement.

“It was pretty cool,” Mesuch said. “I kind of knew because Hig told me before at practice, but I was a little embarrassed when he told me to stay out there, but it was pretty cool. It was nice.”

With the basket, Zoe eclipsed Sarah Bender, who finished her Panthers’ career with 1,025 points in four seasons when she graduated in 2010.

Bender is now in her first season as an assistant coach for the Panthers.

“It’s awesome,” Mesuch said. “This is her first year with us, and she’s been great. We all love her, and I just think it’s pretty cold that we got to be together when I did that.”
Bender played for Higby from 2006 until 2010.

“I was losing it during the pledge,” Higby said. “I was losing it when I had to tell her to go hug her. (Mesuch’s) a great kid, and (Bender’s) a great kid. When you have those kinds of kids playing for you, it’s good stuff.”

She has a chance to break another record, as the all-time Wallkill scoring record for both boys and girls is in sight.

“It’s one of many things that she’s going to accomplish,” Higby said. “I was much more impressed by the two shots at Shaker (to lift Wallkill to a win). That was much more impressive.”

It was Mesuch’s last basket of the game, after she helped the Panthers overcome a one-point halftime deficit as they outscored the Dukes, 21-8, on their way to a 49-37 lead.

“We were talking at halftime that for the whole first half, we weren’t playing with our heart,” Mesuch said. “They wanted it more than us. They were going after all the rebounds. We just needed to play with more heart.”

Marlboro’s Gabby Murphy opened the third quarter with a jumper to give the Dukes a three-point lead, but Alex Dembinsky knocked down a 3-pointer to tie the game at 31-31.

Then, with 4:16 left to go in the third quarter, Amy Crowley hit a layup to give the Panthers a 37-35 lead.

They would never trail again.

Marlboro’s Lily Sullivan traded a basket with Wallkill’s Aoife Brady, before Mesuch went to work, scoring eight straight points to the end of the third quarter.

She scored eighth straight points on inside baskets in the fourth quarter before her night ended.

“I just let it come to me,” Mesuch said. “My shots really weren’t hitting as much as I would want them to. So obviously, I’m going to try something different and take it to the basket.”

Alex Dembinsky finished with 12 points, and Sam Dembinsky added 11.

Hannah Polumbo led the Dukes with 15 points, and Murphy added 14. Sullivan scored 11.

The Panthers finished the week with a 55-45 win over the Warwick Wildcats in the Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association/Mid Hudson Athletic League showcase on Saturday.

Sam Dembinsky had 16 points, Mesuch scored 11 and Alex Dembinsky added 10.
Siobhan Kelly led the Wildcats with 16 points, and Reese Girardi added 13.

The wins put the Panthers’ record over .500 at 5-3 and gives them a 2-1 mark in the Mid Hudson Athletic League. It gets them on the winning track to start the new year after losing their holiday tournament championship game to Pine Bush on December 30, 2023.

“We all know what we have to improve on and what we want to improve,” Mesuch said. “We know we have to do a lot better against the bigger and getter teams. We can’t play like we just did tonight. I don’t think we played our best.”