A depleted Rochester Adams Freshman team traveled to Athens for a showdown between the two first-place teams in the league, and – well-coached and determined – jumped out to a 15 – 8 lead in the first quarter, which was only slightly trimmed to 19 – 13 at the half. Another explosive third quarter, similar to their last game versus Brighton, saw the Lady Redhawks flip the switch and take the lead, 31 – 23. A fairly even fourth quarter ended with Adams getting closer but Athens securing the win, 37 – 31. Explained Arianna Saracevic, “We’ve had a pretty easy season so far, and these past couple of games have been really close. I think we’re underestimating the teams we’re going against, and we go into the half down, and we get it into our heads that we want to win and push ourselves a little harder.” Gia Leong agreed it wasn’t a great start. “Compared to our other games, we really didn’t have a lot of energy or talking; it was really quiet. Staying calm in the last two quarters was really important.” Athen’s 18 – 4 run in the 3rd quarter, which was the difference maker, was keyed by Sophia Alexander’s four 3’s. Said Vivian Luo, “A lot of people had good games, Sophia with her 3’s. I think Arianna and Charlotte (Riffe) play really well when they’re on the court together.” Arianna had compliments for her teammate Charlotte, Bree Rota, and Emily Cousino. “I think Charlotte has improved a lot. Although volleyball is her main sport, she’s been taking basketball seriously as well. And Bree has improved tremendously in controlling herself and her fouls, and she’s overall a great team player, great takes to the basket. Emily might not always put up the numbers, but she has great takes to the basket, and she’s a great teammate. Gia also singled out Emily. “She worked to get open, and she was open a lot. Good backdoor cuts.” Sophia finished with 16 points, Arianna and Bree 6 each, Emily 5, Carmen (Cavataio) 4, and Mallory (Colussi) 2. Mallory was 2 for 2 from the line, which shored up a 4 for 15 effort from the charity stripe. A tough win for the Redhawks.