The Saugerties High School girls varsity basketball team’s season came to an end on Monday night with a 60-48 loss at FDR in the opening round of the Section IX, Class A playoffs. The #7 seeded Sawyers battled to the end against last year’s sectional champ, weathering an early deficit to take the lead in the second half. Head coach Heather Fanelli felt that Saugerties played one of their best games of the season.
“I walked away having lost that game feeling like we’d won,” Fanelli said. “And I was really proud of what we accomplished.”
Pegged as a team in transition after losing half their roster from 2018-19 to graduation, the Sawyers weren’t even supposed to be in the postseason. But in amassing a 13-5 regular season record, the young 2019-20 squad grew accustomed to defying expectations.
“Coming into the season most people if asked an opinion would think that they would call it a rebuilding year, or maybe not even as kind as that,” said Fanelli. “There were a couple of people that believed that we could possibly put something decent together, but for the most part people saw it as the end of an era with seven kids graduating and a whole new look.”
Players like seniors Julia Quinlan and Erin Dudzic, juniors Christie Collins and Vaiden Ferraro, and sophomores like Madi Green, Ava Cooper and Fanelli’s daughter Sage collectively turned Saugerties into an unexpected force to be reckoned with. At first, it seemed the only people who believed in the Sawyers were the Sawyers themselves.
“I personally set my expectations very high from what I would be able to do with them,” said coach Fanelli. “And then I put it on their plate and they responded incredibly well.”
Against FDR, the Sawyers were led by Fanelli’s 16 points, with Collins (11 points), Quinlan (7 points, all in the second half), Dudzic (5 points) and Ferraro (4 points). Jaelan Daubon matched Fanelli’s 16 points for the home team, with Delilah Smith (10 points) and Kelsea Demelis (6 points) also contributing.
The Sawyers found themselves in a 5-0 hole early in the first quarter before they started to develop a rhythm.
“We’ve been in that spot before,” said Coach Fanelli. “But I saw with them a sense of maturity where they didn’t panic, they were able to regroup, pull it back together and make the adjustments that we needed to ride it out.”
Saugerties trailed by five at intermission, but they came out of the locker room fully engaged and ready to battle, taking a five point lead in the third quarter. Though they were unable to maintain their momentum against a veteran FDR squad, the Sawyers were able to hold their heads up high as their season drew to a close.
“Even though we lost to FDR it was probably one of the best games that we have played all season,” said Fanelli. “You could see all of what we had worked on for four months come together and not just in the X’s and O’s of it, but in teamwork and people accepting the roles rather they were on the court or they were someone who stayed on the bench during that game. To me that was just the best measure of success.”
Fanelli said that a contingent of around 75 Sawyer supporters joined the team for the game in Hyde Park, giving them a boost of energy. For most players on the team, it was their first real taste of the postseason atmosphere, and it left a lasting impression.
“I remember in the pregame talking to them, and a lot of them were just like sponges soaking up the moment,” Fanelli said. “The excitement of being able to be there and I think was a huge motivator and will serve as a huge motivator next year. A handful of them said we got to do this again next year. It’s a big deal.”
The 2020-21 Sawyers will look familiar to fans of this year’s squad, with just three seniors graduating this June.
“I took up Natalie Tucker from 8th grade on JV, so losing those three seniors I still have 10 returning,” Fanelli said. “And 10 is very strong. I feel like this year they learned a lot. They were young, but they accomplished so much.”
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