Lady Rams Remain Winless After Tough Loss to Valley Stream South

The Lady Rams varsity squad played carrot-and-stick basketball at Valley Stream South High School Tuesday evening, ultimately concluding with a 46-39 loss that stretched their winless record to 0-6.

The Falcons (4-3) established their dominant position from the onset with a nine point lead in the first quarter, during which the Rams were able to conjure only one point, by way of a free throw from freshman forward Nicole Christenson (15). From then on, Valley Stream, led by star center Ugo Ngaigwe (23), dictated the pace, maintaining a healthy distance in the score throughout the rest of the half even though West Hempstead managed to pull out a 6-2 point run in the final minute and go into the break trailing 25-17.

The loss put them at 0-2 in the A-III conference standings, tied for last with Manhasset.

Final Score: West Hempstead 39, Valley Stream South 46

Stats: Valley Stream South's Ugo Ngaigwe finished with 24 points and 19 rebounds.

Turning Point: If there was any turning point in the game for the Rams, it was the mini push at the end of the half, because it defined their play in the next two quarters. They got to within 5 points late in the fourth, thanks to a field goal from Christenson, but it was the closest they would get. With about 20 seconds left, point guard Katie Lynch (5) got the ball to center Sarah Njoku (30) in the paint, who put it in for the Rams last two points of the night. As the Falcons inbounded, Coach Vankovics yelled, "Up! Up! Up!", to his players from the sideline, encouraging them to press in the closing moments of the game.

Coach's Corner: "If it wasn't for the big girl [Ngaigwe], I mean, that's a fairly even game. We just don't have the size to match up with her," Coach Vankovics remarked first afterward, before weighing the positives against the negatives that he saw in his team's performance.

"We did some good things," Vankovics said. "We broke the press pretty easily. We had a little bit more balance scoring, which we hadn't been getting in [most] games. At the foul line [we] were better today. We just, offensively, we struggled along trying to find a consistent pace and trying to find a consistent scorer."

"It was, overall, I think one of our better performances," he summarized.

When asked who stood out, he named Christenson "who scored a career high, 15 [points]," and Lynch "who had 10 [points]."

"She's a point guard," he added, "I don't need her to score, but she'll come down and shoot up the 3." He also mentioned Njoku, who he said "has great post skills".

"I'm happy with the improvement. Everyday we're just trying to get better. We're doing something a little better every day."

Box Score:

Who's Next? Vankovics said the Rams have practice the next two days and then are off for the holiday. On Tuesday of the following week, they have a scrimmage against Westbury, followed by an out-of-conference match against Clarke on the 29 before reengaging with conference competition in January.