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Poland uses 19-0 run to pull away from Hubbard
By GARY HOUSTEAU
POLAND
It was a Senior Night celebration as Poland used a 19-0 second-quarter run against Hubbard to take a big halftime lead and run away with a 62-45 victory Wednesday night.
“Tonight’s focus was Senior Night and we wanted our seniors to all start together and they did that, and they got to play the whole first quarter together,” said Poland head coach Nick Blanch. “So that throws things off a little bit because that wasn’t our normal go-to but that wasn’t the focus of the night tonight.”
Hubbard led by as many as four in the first quarter before Poland tied it up after one at 12. And then with their regular lineup in and the score tied at 16 in the second quarter, the Bulldogs went off on their 19-0 run which they extended to 21-0 run to start the third.
“We had more of the normal lineup on the floor then which helped,” Blanch said. “Once we were able to go to our normal sets it worked a lot smoother than what it was early on. But again that was the focal point of the night tonight, acknowledging the seniors and making sure they got significant time on their last home game.”
Emily Melnek led the seniors in scoring for Poland with 14 points while senior Jillian Penman had 13 rebounds as the Bulldogs won the battle on the glass, 34-27. Emily Cammack and Joelle Habib were the two other seniors who played in their final home contest.
“Just being a part of this team means so much to me because everyone plays as a family and we’re not all out for ourselves,” Melnek said. “I was real excited, especially playing with my fellow seniors, it really means a lot. It’s kind of sad but we’re really looking forward to having a good tournament run this year.”
Sophomore Sarah Bury led Poland in scoring with 19 points and added six boards coming off the bench tonight. While junior Bella Gajdos chipped in with 18 points as the lone underclassman to crack the starting lineup
“Having these seniors out here, they’re awesome, I don’t know what I’m going to do without them,” Bury said. “They’re incredible to have, our bond is so tight. It’s just been fun playing with them. It felt amazing.”
Athena Smith had a game-high 21 points and Annie Deluco had six rebounds as the Eagles dipped to 4-16 on the season. Hubbard head coach Ray Deluco was certainly complimentary of the home team.
“Our girls played hard but Poland’s got a nice squad. They’re well-coached and they do everything very well,” Deluco said. “We played well in the first quarter, but we fell into a little rut and you can’t fall in a rut against a team like Poland because they’ll take advantage of it and they’ll hurt you. Poland’s a great team, they’re going to go far in the playoffs.”
Blanch likes the sound of that.
“I’m very proud of our team and we are clicking pretty well and I’m excited to see where we can go in the tournament,” he said.
“We’re going to be a tough out for whoever has to come our way. We have a chance against anybody in the bracket and there’s nobody I fear in the bracket that we have no chance against. (The district championship) that’s always the goal and if it’s not then I don’t know why you’re here.”