Lady Hornets and Rockettes Battle
By Laurie-Jean B. Gauthier

Rochester's Heather Gorton battles Whitcomb's Tracy Zisselsberger for the ball while Sam Mishkit is at a distinct disadvantage at the bottom of the pile. (Herald photo / Joyce Hunt)

The Rochester Rockettes found it tough going playing the Whitcomb Hornets sans starting center Jody Martin and found themselves short at the buzzer by one point as the Whitcomb Hornets earned their sixth victory of the season Tuesday evening in Bethel.

It took a few minutes for things to get started before Sam Mishkit’s lay-up at 5:08 put the Rockettes on the board. Just 4 seconds late Demi Aldrighetti tied it up. Back-to-back hoops by Sam Cuttings put Rochester up by four, but Tracy Zisselsberger scored on the next Hornet possession to cut the lead to two. Nine second-chance shots followed as the Hornets attempted to even the score before Molly Taylor tied things up at 1:30. A Taylor 3-pointer with less than a minute to play and an Emily Wright hoop followed as the Hornets took a point lead into second period.

Sam Cuttings cut the lead to two points with a three pointer at the top of the period and Sam Mishkit tied things up again at 6:40. Rochester had several chances to take the lead from the strip, but bad foul shooting (0 for 5) kept them back. Taylor put Whitcomb back up by two at 4:13, but Erica Parker retied the game at 3:31 before she put Rochester back ahead by two with less than two minutes. Demi Aldrighetti retied the game for a 15-15 halftime score.

Zisselsberger and Aldrighetti went 1-of-2 and 2-of-3 at the beginning of the third for a three point lead, but Mishkit erased two points from the line for a one point game in favor of the Hornets. Whitcomb made a move with less than four minutes when Taylor, Aldrighetti and Wright all scored giving Whitcomb their biggest lead of the game 24 to 17. Rochester came right back at the Hornets and cut the lead to one when Mishit put one in from the line, Parker put a trey in, and Cuttings made a basket.

Whitcomb came back with a Wright basket and a Taylor trey at the buzzer for a 29 to 23 third period.

Cutting and Maggie Eddy swapped shots followed by a Laurel Adams hoop that had Whitcomb out in front by eight before Rochester chipped the scoredown to a two point Hornet lead. Cuttings made it 27, Bourassa made it 29 and Mishkit made it 31 and a brand new game with less than three minutes to play. Zisselsberger made a basket, but Mishkit put three in from the line for another one point game.

With only 36 seconds remaining Whitcomb lost possession and Mishkit added two more from the stripe for a tie. With 23 seconds to go Zisselsberger went 1-of-2 from the line to take a one point lead 39 to 38 and the Hornets were able to ride out two Rockette possessions for the win.

Mishkit had 16 points for Rochester followed by Cuttings with 13. Taylor had 10 points for Whitcomb, followed by Wright and Zisselsberger with 6 apiece.

Other Games

The Whitcomb Lady Hornets split the week as they won one last Tuesday in Bethel and lost one in Plainfield on Saturday.

In action against Blue Mountain Union on January 30 the Hornets earned their third straight victory and fifth win of the season defeating the Bucks 36 to 26. Hornets Taylor, Zisselsberger, and Eddy combined for 26 of those 36 points while matching the BMU tally. Taylor had 11 points, Zisselsberger had eight points and Eddy had seven points respectively.

On Saturday the Hornets were outscored 18 to 4 in the first period and they were unable to erase the deficit as Twinfield eased past Whitcomb 58 to 38. Hornets Aldrigheti and Chelsie Brown both scored eight points apiece for Whitcomb.

____________