Lady Spartans nipped by Tuxedo, beat Fallsburg

Florida - It must be catching. One week after the Seward Spartan boys’ team lost at Tuxedo by one point, the Lady Spartans went down 39-38 on that same court. Fortunately, Florida (7-4, 3-1) rebounded with a win at home against Fallsburg to stay in contention for the Division V Title of the OCIAA. That game at Tuxedo last Thursday stated out just fine for Seward. They led 9-6 at the end of the first quarter and upped that margin to 21-16 at the half. At the end of three quarters Florida still seemed in command, 31-24. Then it happened. Florida went cold, scoring only seven fourth-quarter points. Tuxedo went hot, especially from the outside. From the foul line the Spartans could only manage 1 of 7, and a few missed layups at the end spelled disaster. Selin Tekin and Kathleen Folk led the Spartan scoring with 10 points apiece. Kylie Burnside and Melissa Oliphant each notched seven. One night later at home the Lady Spartans beat a young Fallsburg team 66-9. JayVee Coach Glenn Kleveno chalked up his first varsity win, filling in for coach Joe DiMattina who was ejected at the Tuxedo game. (Many observers thought that ejection was just a little hasty.) Against Fallsburg coach Kleveno’s biggest challenge was giving everybody ample playing time while trying to keep the score down. Starters Folkl and Angela Flores led the scoring with 14 and 11, respectively. Burnside and Oliphant contributed six apiece in limited action. Playing well off the bench, Courtney Howell and Patti Collins each notched six while Janice Harter, Larissa Brodman and Casey Heller also broke into the scoring column. Much to their credit, the players from Fallsburg fought and scrapped right to the bitter end. The Spartans now continue their quest for that Division V Title.