Putnam Valley’s DeChent Banks 1,000 Points; Lakeland Flexing

By Tony Pinciaro

Eva DeChent was not going to keep the PUTNAM VALLEY fans in suspense as she was closing in on 1,000 varsity points. The Putnam Valley junior entered last Tuesday’s game against Haldane needing 16 points to achieve the milestone. By the end of the first quarter, DeChent gave her family and fans a chance to celebrate.

DeChent dropped in a layup for varsity points 999 and 1,000, joining Kelli Venezia, Kristi Dini and Ariana Stockinger.
“It was a great experience when Kelli and Ariana did it so I knew I wanted to do the same,” said the five-year varsity player. “I received balloons and flowers and a bunch of posters from my family and friends.”

DeChent finished with a career-best 39 points as Putnam Valley beat Haldane, 75-40.

“Getting my 1,000th point at home, and in a win, made it an even better accomplishment, and all the support and people there made it a great time,” said DeChent as she eyes Dini’s career mark of 1,396, which she did in three years.
Going into the game, DeChent was well aware of the scenario.

“I knew I needed 16 points and I wanted to do it in the first quarter so I was very focused on getting it done as quick as possible,” Dehent said. “Once I reached 1,000, I felt a lot of relief because with Covid and us never knowing when it could end the season, I was happy I was able to get it over with and now I can move on to new challenges.”

First-year Putnam Valley Coach Don Hamlin was happy to see DeChent achieve the milestone.

“Eva is fantastic,” Hamlin said. “She puts in the time and effort required to be special. She is a really great kid and will continue to improve and excel.”

DeChent understands that it takes more than one person to accomplish any individual goal.

“My teammates played a big part in my 1,000 points and without them it would have never been possible,” DeChent said. “With all their support through the years and them giving me confidence when I was younger, they really helped me.”

It has been a difficult first six weeks of the season for Putnam Valley as it has dealt with injuries, including to DeChent. However, Putnam Valley persevered and is 5-5, after a 66-60 loss to Hastings.

“So far, this season has been rough with the injuries, but I’m happy to see everyone is healthy now and we can get back in a rhythm, hopefully, and get back to the gold-ball game.”

OSSINING ran its winning streak to five consecutive games with victories over Scarsdale (51-45) and Port Chester (72-62).

The Pride is now 8-1 this season.

“We are definitely exceeding expectations, so far, this season,” veteran Ossining Coach Dan Ricci said. “We know things are going to get tougher as we will be facing some strong teams down the stretch. But, I give our girls a lot of credit for buying in and working hard to improve every day.”

Along with the hard work, Ricci also attributes his team’s success to classroom time.

“We have probably spent as much time in the film room as we have on the court,” Ricci said. “And I have to believe that has paid off for us, so far.”

Karen Perriott, Zoey Jowers and Angelica Rios each had 12 points against Scarsdale. Perriott grabbed 16 rebounds and Michelle Mercado handed out 15 assists.

Katie Mark led Ossining against Port Chester with a game-high 31 points. Ella Schnecker added 18 points and Michelle Mercado finished finished with 14 points and a season-best 16 assists.

Mercado is averaging 8.7 assists a game.

Ossining will play Pleasantville, Tuesday, and Fox Lane, Friday.

PEEKSKILL is quietly having a good season under Coach Tyrone Searight as the Red Devils improved to 6-2 with victories over Roosevelt and Poughkeepsie.

Bethani Overby scored a career-high 40 points against Poughkeepsie. Amari Murphy added eight points and Amani Cleveland finished with seven points.

In the win over Roosevelt, Overby scored 24 points and Murphy had 15 points.

MAHOPAC turned up the defensive intensity in a win over Yorktown (48-27) and then erupted offensively in a 78-40 victory over Horace Greeley.

The 78 points was a season-high for Mahopac, 6-4 overall and 3-0 in league play.

Mahopac limited Yorktown to 16 points through three quarters. Melanie DeMeo, Julia Paolicelli and Lauren Beberman each scored 10 points.

Kristina Rush led a balanced scoring effort with 18 points against Greeley as Mahopac scored 33 points in the first quarter.

Julie DeBrocky finished with 11 points and DeMeo had 10 points.

It was a tale of two games for YORKTOWN as the Cornhuskers had a rough game, offensively, in a loss to Mahopac.

The Cornhuskers rebounded with a strong defensive effort in a 43-40 win over Brewster as Olivia Lucas drained a 3-pointer with 6.7 seconds remaining to break a tie.

Yorktown trailed Brewster by eight points at halftime then held a potent Bears’ offense to 16 second-half points.
“That was a big win for us after how poorly we shot against Mahopac,” Yorktown Coach Brian Mundy said. “It always comes down to the wire with us and Brewster. We beat a solid team.”

Yorktown trailed 32-24 late in the third quarter, Mundy said.

“Our girls are relentless and never give up,” Mundy said. “I’ve seen a big change in the girls in terms of staying positive and being a little more calm when they are trailing, knowing they are never out of the game.

“We’re starting to do a better job cleaning up our game a little bit. We’ve had some girls playing positions they’re not necessarily used to, but we are getting everyone back from injuries and illness, which could make for an interesting second half of the season.”

Lucas led Yorktown with 11 points, Kaitlyn Judge added 10 points and seven rebounds and Melissa Severino added nine points, seven rebounds and four assists. Nicole Thomas had a key 3-pointer that would give Yorktown a lead and she assisted on Lucas’ decisive shot.

In the loss to Mahopac, Lucas and Severino each had eight points. Severino also collected 13 rebounds, Judge had nine boards and Erisa Krasniqi snared seven caroms.

BREWSTER split two games, decisively beating John Jay-Cross River (54-33), but Yorktown rallied to beat Brewster (43-40).

“We did a great job of getting steals, deflections and only allowing one shot,” Brewster Coach Mike Castaldo said of the John Jay game. “I was very pleased with our second half as we held John Jay to 16 points. It was a great team win.

“Jordan Niles and Margo Cunningham were tremendous on the boards and getting steals for us. They were a huge reason we were so successful in the second half.”

Grace Galgano led Brewster (9-3) with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. Adrianna Calicchia contributed 15 points and Madison Dakin added 10 points.

While Brewster played a strong second half against John Jay, Castaldo said Yorktown held the edge in the second half.
“We led 26-18 at the half, but Yorktown played a much better second half in every aspect of the game,” Castaldo said. “They did a better job rebounding and had more intensity the final 16 minutes than we did. Bottom line, they made shots when it mattered most and wanted it more than we did.”

Galgano had a huge game in defeat with 25 points, 12 rebounds, six steals and 5 rejections.

LAKELAND is now a perfect 10, as in 10-0, this season after wins over Poughkeepsie (81-32) and Hen Hud (56-27). The Hornets are ranked No.20 in NYS Class A.

Tyler Hormazabal had a season-high 33 points and she collected six rebounds against Poughkeepsie. Nichole Ljuljic and Ava Lugo added 10 points apiece.

Hormazabal had 21 points and six steals against Hen Hud.

Ljuljic had nine points, four assists and three steals. Hannah Devane and Lugo each had seven points.

Lakeland Coach Miranda Mangan cited great defense by Kellie Sullivan (four steals) and Grace Hahn (six rebounds).
PANAS also reached 10 wins this season (10-1) after a triumph over Poughkeepsie as Cadence Nicholas scored 22 points.

Sofia Tavares finished with 14 points and Jillian Cinquina and Katie Hofmann contributed six points apiece.