Generals bow to Avery Point

Herkimer, NY – The visitors from the University of Connecticut at Avery Point handed the Generals their first loss of the season on Saturday afternoon. Herkimer played hard from start to finish but trailed 58-48 when the final buzzer sounded.

UCAP is one of U Conn's regional campuses. It has many characteristics of a community college, and nearly all of their women's basketball games are against two-year colleges.

The Herkimer Five's new uniforms finally arrived, so the team wore their new-style black unis trimmed in green and gold.

The game tipped off, and Herkimer center Victoria Seabrooks won the tip. Senior Allie Webb opened the scoring with an all-net three-pointer from the right corner. But the visitors matched it with a three of their own.

Both teams got their offenses going right away. UCAP had an advantage in size, and was clearly a skilled team, but the Generals were staying even with them.

Photo: Shileeka Williams drained this three late in the game

College basketball is played with two 20-minute halves, but sometimes it becomes a game of quarters. That was the case on Saturday. Herkimer was making their shots and trailed the visitors by just a point, at 15-14, with 10:32 to play in the half. It had been a good first quarter for Herkimer. Then things changed.

The second quarter saw UCAP build an eight-point lead. Herkimer had trouble making their shots, and the visitors were doing a great job of defensive rebounding. Usually the Generals were only able to make one shot during a possession. The "second quarter" also began with Herkimer's strong center Seabrooks on the bench, having been assessed two personal fouls early in the going. The score was 33-25 at halftime.

Herkimer began the second half still playing hard, but just 1:08 after the half began, the home team suffered a major blow. Leading scorer Whitney Brown, had been having yet another strong game. She had scored 10 points in the first half, which was right on her average pace of 20 points per game over the team's first three games. But at that moment, 68 seconds into the half, Brown pulled a hamstring and had to leave the game in pain.

Shi Williams sank a three that closed the gap to 33-28, but then UCAP pulled away again. Samantha Randio scored a pretty field goal by attacking from the left, then holding the ball out to her right and tallying with a hook-layup, but Herkimer still trailed by eight. The UCAP Five increased their lead to 16, at 53-37.

The Generals never gave up. Williams would score two more threes, and Seabrooks was back in the game, proving to be a presence at both ends of the court. But despite the hard work, the Green & Gold could not get closer than 10 points.

Photo: Victoria Seabrooks in second-half action

The final score was 58-48. Herkimer's record is now 3-1.

The team's next outing will be in Canandaigua on Tuesday, when they visit Finger Lakes CC. The Generals defeated the Lakers in a tense, 53-50 game in Herkimer on November 1st. Now they will try to defeat the Lakers on their home court.

Nick Scribe, website writer

Herkimer scoring: Allie Webb 9, Randio 7, Williams 10, W. Brown 10, Seabrooks 8, A. Brown 2, Friend 1, Travis 1 – Total: 48