QUINTIN JAMES
Special to The Leader
With the women’s basketball team sitting at 9-13 and two games remaining in the season, the Blue Devils will not be finishing the season with a record above .500, but they have a chance to make the playoffs — and make some noise there, too. This season has been filled with a lot of ups and downs, and there are a lot of positives the Blue Devils can take from the season.
“There have been a lot of disappointing losses and a lot of good, quality wins,” said Coach Linda Hill-MacDonald on how the season is going so far. “I’m pleasured with the attitude of our players and how hard they are working.”
Coming into the season, the Blue Devils were picked lower in the conference because they missed a lot of players, but have played great team ball, and it has been a pretty decent season.
The Blue Devils love to take it game by game. Hill-MacDonald said, “Looking at it one game at a time, taking it slow, we have a long trip to Oneonta and New Paltz. Monday will be the start of the long process for the final two weeks of the season.”
“We have to look at the tape and look at how the opponents changed their style and play. Then we have to look at our game film and see how we can improve. We will then plan for the teams accordingly,” Hill-MacDonald said on how they will prepare for the teams.
The Blue Devils aren’t that far out of the playoffs, and they’re confident they can get in and make a statement.
“I don’t think we’re out of the playoffs at this point. We have to handle our business and see what the other teams do,” said Hill-MacDonald.
The Devils are well prepared for the fight. They’ve been playing well and the practices are getting tougher and they are improving daily. Since the expectations were low coming in, there isn’t any added pressure on making the playoffs, so the Devils are playing free.
The Blue Devils’ chemistry is also getting better. As players get used to each other, they have improved, and the team has more of a family vibe now.
“Players had a whole season to get to know each other, and everyone has and knows their roles on the team,” Hill-MacDonald said.
The playoffs aren’t out of the conversation, so if they finish strong we could see the Devils make the playoffs.
The Blue Devils took care of business Tuesday night as Brockport came to the frozen wonderland known as Fredonia. This game was a must-win, and the Devils managed to get past them 79 to 76. Alexis Cheatham led with 24 points, scoring all 24 in the second half. The Devils were down six at half but managed to come back in the second half and take the game.
They had a chance to make it two in a row Friday when they traveled to Buffalo to face Buffalo State. The Blue Devils fell behind 11 in the first half and couldn’t come back as they dropped a crucial game on the road 78 to 64.
Sabrina Macaulay led the Blue Devils in scoring with 17 points and six rebounds. Now with the Devils at 9-13 and 6-10 in conference play, that last loss is a blow to the Devils’ playoff hopes. They are now tied with Plattsburgh and Oswego in the win column for the sixth and final spot.
The Devils will have to win out and hope for help from other teams to get into the playoffs. It should be an interesting couple of weeks to say the least.