AURORA, N.Y. – Coach Skelton said before the season that this year's young team would need to lean on its veterans. They seem to have gotten the message, with the Wildcats' four returning juniors combining for 74 of the team's 79 points in Saturday's 79-63 win over Wells College, including a monster 35-point performance by Geena Gallo (Ballston Spa, N.Y. / Ballston Spa), a career-high for the forward.
After struggling offensively in her previous two games, Gallo exploded on Saturday, finishing the game 16-for-22 from the floor. Gallo's shooting efficiency in the game is notable – not to state the obvious, but it's hard to score more than 30 points in a game. Most players who manage the feat add to their total through three-pointers and foul shots, however Gallo drained just one shot from long range and finished the game 2-for-3 from the foul line.
Despite the final score, Saturday's contest was a close one. The two teams went into halftime tied at 37. The Wildcats were able to pull away in the second thanks in large part to Gallo, who scored 21 of her 35 points in the second half.
As mentioned, though, Gallo wasn't the only junior on display. Center Erika Charbonneau (Boonville, N.Y. / Adirondack) also turned in her best game of the year, scoring 17 points off the bench while pulling down 7 rebounds. Lauren Knowles (Salisbury Mills, N.Y. / Washingtonville) had her usual solid game in the paint, scoring 13 points to go along with 7 boards.
Even point guard Emily Alicea (Mohegan Lake, N.Y. / Lakeland) played well, hitting a lot of free throws down the stretch to help salt the game away for the Wildcats. She finished with 9 points, 5 assists, and just 1 turnover.
Lindsay Achzet led the Express with 18 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, but SUNY Poly did a good job of neutralizing the rest of the home team. In particular the Wildcats forced Wells into 19 turnovers, while the 'Cats committed just 7.
With the win SUNY Poly evens its record at 2-2 overall, and is off to a 1-0 start in the NEAC. They will travel to Keuka tomorrow for a 1:00 pm matchup. Live stats and video links if available can be found on the team's schedule page.