If Adrian Buchhalter could circle the exact point where his Goldstein squad lost what would eventually be a 65-59 defeat to Wings Academy, it would be the 4:20 mark of the fourth quarter Saturday in the PSAL ‘A’ Girls Basketball Showcase at HS for Construction. That’s when rugged sophomore forward Danielle Bonsignore fouled out.
“Losing Danielle hurts,” the Dolphins coach said. … “She’s tough and she runs the baseline better than any girl I’ve got. Everyone else is a wing player, she runs the baseline for you.”
Goldstein (7-1) was at a significant size disadvantage, but Bonsignore, though just 5-foot-7, plays bigger than her height, banging down low with Wings’ 6-footers Rykema Stone, Ashley Goodlow and Tyler Moses. When she fouled out, Goldstein led 52-51. Two minutes later, a pair of free throws by Wings sophomore Karen Bellamy gave Wings the lead for good.
“They’re good,” Buchhalter said. “I can’t outrebound them. I can trap them. I can outshoot them. I can stay in my little stupid zone.”
The coach didn’t take the loss badly, though it was the first PSAL defeat Goldstein has suffered since the 2008-09 Class B title game against Lafayette and it happened to land on his 55th birthday. The Dolphins won the ‘B’ championship last year and represented the league at the NYS Federation tournament in Glens Falls. They’re having another big season and a victory could have put them on the fast track to the top seed in the ‘A’ playoffs.
“Now I gotta hope I don’t drop out of the top four,” Buchhalter said.
That probably won’t happen. Goldstein is still among the league’s elite. The Dolphins nearly came back after losing their fourth-quarter lead. Junior guard Nora Elbassiony stole an inbounds pass with 28.5 seconds left and Goldstein down 61-58. She made the first free throw and Bucchalter wanted to call timeout to setup his press, but he didn’t want to ice her. Elbassiony ended up missing the second and Wings senior forward Rykema Stone made both on the other end to all but seal the win.
“I knew I wasn’t getting a rebound,” Buchhalter said. “That was the game.”
Elbassiony had 15 points, Chrissy McKeever and Brittany McDonough each had 13 points and Danielle Natoli added 12 for Goldstein, which plays St. John Villa on Sunday in the Rose Classic Super Jam at Bishop Ford. On Monday, the Dolphins meet Lehman back at Ford in a big weekend.
This game, though, was the biggest.
“I thought the way we were moving, we would [pull] off a win,” Buchhalter said, “but once Danielle fouled out…”
