The Rye girls’ basketball team might have made it through the first two weeks of the 2021 season with a perfect record, but head coach Margo Hackett believes we haven’t yet seen the Garnets reach their full potential. On Feb. 25, Rye pushed its wining-streak to five games with a dominant performance against Eastchester, topping the Eagles 69-43 on the road. But despite the one-sided win, Hackett remains confident that her team is capable of more.
After an evenly played first quarter that saw a scrappy Eagles team competing with the experienced Garnets, Rye was able to turn the tide utilizing full-court pressure and baskets off turnovers to turn a 10-point halftime lead into a 26-point win. According to Hackett, aggressive traps and up-tempo basketball are always central to the Garnets’ game plan, but playing such a high-octane style can be difficult given the condensed schedule this season. The contest against Eastchester was Rye’s third in as many days, and Hackett chalked up the team’s few defensive lapses to fatigue.
“Our press is typically what we’re known for, but on no rest it’s tough to do it every night, every game,” she said. “They’re doing a great job, but the style we play is up in your face, all the time, so I get it.”
Offensively, Rye was led by a 24-point effort from standout senior Amanda Latkany, but the Garnets got contributions from a number of players including Mara Ball, who finished with 15 points, as well as Natasha Meyer and Ava Greto, who finished with 12 and 10 points, respectively. The Eagles were paced by Julia Vesey, who scored 12.
Although many of Rye’s points came in transition, Hackett was also pleased with the team’s ability to move the ball in the instances when the tempo slowed down somewhat.
“We try to push the ball up and score as fast as possible, because I’d rather get points that way than running a half court set,” she said. “We’ve got one of the best players in the section [in Latkany] and we’re definitely talented, but I think we still have some more meshing to do.”
With the loss, Eastchester fell to 2-3 on the year. At 5-0, the Garnets will tangle with the Eagles again on Feb. 27, after press time, before three stiff tests next week with two games against league foe Pelham and a showdown with Class AA White Plains.
“I can only hope that we continue to improve; we had three tough games this week and were finally able to get in a bit of a groove,” said Hackett. “Hopefully, we can build on that.”
