ONEONTA – Just two years ago, G-MU was grasping for a win – any sort of win. Two years removed from that 3-16 campaign, the Raiders have gone from league doormat to Tri-Valley League champion.
G-MU senior guard Tanya Barnes was her ubiquitous self finishing with a game-high 20 points to go with five assists and at least a half-dozen steals. The Raiders turned back Schenevus’ fourth-quarter rally with three free throws in the last 36 seconds improving to 15-3 overall with a 48-43 victory Saturday afternoon at Oneonta State’s Fieldhouse Gymnasium.
“I knew this group had the potential, and I firmly believed that,” said G-MU coach Jim Johnson. “I’m not surprised by the number of wins this season (150, and I’m happy with it. These kids have worked hard, and they know I won’t let them lose for something they shouldn’t be doing.”
Earlier this month, Barnes became the third girl in G-MU history to surpass 1,000 career points. Until this season, her fourth on varsity, she had never experienced anything better than a .500 record. “I always thought we could come this far,” Barnes said, who noted that teammates Brianne Lambert and Miranda Hill also played on the teams that struggled for wins.
G-MU hung on to a 20-19 lead late in the first half before finishing the second quarter on an 8-0 run. Lambert hit a baseline 15-footer after a Hill pass, and Barnes completed a three-point play after one of her steals to help move the lead to nine points at halftime.
The advantage remained at nine points through three quarters, even though Barnes hardly touched the ball on offense after a 14-point first half.
Miranda Hill had two steals and a basket in the quarter, and Lambert picked up the scoring load with six points in the stanza. Lambert was moved from the inside to the left wing, and she consistently drove hard to the basket. Her two free throws late in the quarter pushed the G-MU lead to a high of 12 points.
Schenevus ended the quarter on Chelsea Gantner’s three-point play, and Gantner figured heavily in the Dragon’s fourth-quarter push scoring her team’s first six points of the quarter closing the margin to 37-33.
G-MU’s Blake Stensland was fouled on a layup attempt after a Hill drive and dish. Stensland hit a pair of free throws before Barnes scored her first points of the half. Barnes scored on a back-door pass from Lambert, and after a defensive stop, Barnes took a pass in the paint from Lambert, and lofted a short jumper off one foot – in 1950s old-school style – to re-establish a 10-point advantage.
Schenevus, who lost to the Raiders by six earlier in the season, made one last run scoring six points in a row, the last one a free throw from Tara Keaney. Hill calmly hit two free throws to end the spurt, and Barnes’ free throw with 19.6 seconds left finished off the Dragons.
“I thought we did a good job offensively and defensively, especially with the athletes (Schenevus) has,” Johnson said. “I was pleasantly surprised with the lead we had, but I knew they would make a comeback and not let us run away with it. We did some right things late and we did some wrong things, but we did enough right things to hold them off.”
Miranda Hill had 10 points and five steals, and Lambert added 10 points in the victory.
Schenevus: Amy Weber, 2-11 0-2-4; Kiersten Ives, 1-3 0-4-2; Jenaye Sutton, 3-5 2-4-8; Tara Keaney, 0-5 1-2-1; Chelsea Gantner, 8-18 4-7-21; Brina Herr, 0-12 3-4-3; Samantha Lorette, 2-3 0-0-4. Totals: 16-57 10-23-43.
G-MU: Miranda Hill, 4-9 2-5-10; Sabrina Brooks, 0-1 0-0-0; Blake Stensland, 2-6 2-2-6; Brianne Lambert, 4-9 2-2-10; Kristen Barnes, 1-3 0-2-2; Katie Bakhuizen, 0-0 1-2-1; Tanya Barnes, 7-13 4-7-19. Totals: 18-41 11-20-48.
Sch. 5 14 8 16–43
GMU 10 18 8 12–48
