After opening last week with a 45-39 home loss to Mamaroneck, the Mahopac varsity girls came back with a win that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated, whipping Yorktown 50-44 in a Friday night league clash at the Wolf Den.
Friday night vs. the Huskers, Mahopac (11-6, 5-2) controlled play from the opening tip, jumping to a 14-3 lead five minutes in.
The Pac held a 27-15 advantage at halftime, and went up by as many as 17 with about three minutes left.
“The girls set the tempo right from the start,” Pac coach Jason Conklin said. “We played good defense, and we moved the ball well. We controlled the boards and the tempo.”
Fiona Kelleher led Mahopac with 15 points, two rebounds and a pair of steals, while Karolina Klajbanova came up big, delivering nine points and grabbing nine rebounds.
“Karolina really came up with one of her best performances of the season,” Conklin said. “And Fiona really helped out with the offense, and she does so many other things as well.”
Ashley Koch had 11 points, nine rebounds, five assists and a block to lead the Pac vs. Mamaroneck, but it wasn’t enough. Fiona Kelleher added nine points and three boards.
“We let them get out in transition early,” Conklin said. “We didn’t get back, and we let them gain momentum. After that it was back and forth, and a very physical game. Our transition defense was not what it usually is. Koch and Fiona played well, and Karolina was a huge help.”
With three game to play (as of this writing) before playoffs, Conklin said his team is still making adjustments and working to improve for what he believes can be a strong playoff run.
“Right now, we know we can still play better,” the coach said. “We’re still tweaking some things, but we still feel like we can compete for a sectional title. If we play our kind of basketball – Mahopac basketball – we’ll be okay.”
Mahopac was scheduled to close out the regular season with games tonight (Feb. 9) at Suffern, Thursday (Feb. 12, Senior Night, 6:30 p.m.), and Friday at Fox Lane (makeup game, 6:30 p.m.).
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