Whitehall sports round-up, March 9, 2023

Whitehall girls outgunned by Duanesburg

The senior-laden Whitehall girls basketball team has had an outstanding final season, earning an Adirondack League title and spot in the Section II Class C championship game. Last Monday afternoon their run came to an end as they fell to a dominant Duanesburg team, 60-28, at Hudson Valley Community College.

The Eagles led 11-0 after one quarter and opened the game on a 19-0 run enroute to defending their sectional crown.

Turnovers against the pressure defense of Duanesburg and the inability to get off good shots hindered the Railroaders.

“They put so much pressure on the ball, and we haven’t seen that type of pressure,” Whitehall coach Boyd Hunt said. “Everything was rushed. We weren’t shooting to score at times, we were shooting just to get a shot off. But that’s part of learning.”

Meanwhile, the Eagles led by News Channel 13 All-Star Allison O’Hanlon knocked down shot after shot, especially from behind the arc.

“They’re good, and they hit shots and we were there on a lot of them. It’s not like they were uncontested,” Hunt said.

Madi Gould didn’t score the first Whitehall basket until over two minutes into the second quarter. Duanesburg led 38-5 at the half.

The Railroaders were down 52-9 when they reeled off a 17-2 run led by a pair of treys by Gould to pull within 54-26, but the hole was way too deep to dig out of by then.

O’Hanlon led Duanesburg with 18 points. Hannah Mulhern and Alex Moses added 16 each.

Gould paced Whitehall with 11 points. Junior Samantha Howland added seven points and five boards.

Moses was named the Class C MVP. Gould represented Whitehall on the all-tournament team. Also named to the all-tournament team were O’Hanlon, Karla Sherman of Warrensburg and Schylar Nolan of Cambridge.

Gould lauded the closeness of the Railroaders’ team and the fellow seniors with whom she’s grown up playing multiple sports.

“It’s a good group – we’re more like a family,” said Gould. “We all hang out even outside of practice, we all just click and we know what each other’s thinking on the court and on the field.”

Hunt could not say enough about the success of his team over the years, especially the seniors.

“They are 34-10 the last two years in basketball. We were 16-5 last year and we were 18-5 this year,” Hunt said.

“It’s a big feat for us to make the ‘C’ final. We’re a very small ‘C.’ I’m not going to say we were happy to be here, but we did a lot of good things to get here. Most of them have been with me since they were freshmen. There’s some shoes to fill next year and I think we have it. We’re starting to go in the right direction, we’re starting to become a team that’s there every year.”

Whitehall ends the season 18-5.