Preview: Saugerties Sawyers vs. New Paltz Huguenots
Saugerties is 8-2 against New Paltz since January of 2016, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Saugerties Sawyers will be playing in front of their home fans against the New Paltz Huguenots at 6:00 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Saugerties has five straight victories, New Paltz has ten straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Saugerties can now show off four landslide victories after their most recent matchup on Friday. They breezed by Rondout Valley on the road to the tune of 69-31. Given Saugerties' advantage in MaxPreps' New York basketball rankings (they are ranked 127th, while Rondout Valley is ranked 314th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Saugerties had a senior duo take command as Natalie Tucker scored 21 points along with five assists and five steals and Nicolette Rifenburgh scored 19 points along with two steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Tucker has scored all season. Emily Schlosser was another key contributor, scoring four points along with nine rebounds and five assists.
New Paltz suffered their biggest defeat yet this season on Friday. They were outmatched by Our Lady of Lourdes at home and fell 77-22.
Despite the loss, New Paltz got a solid performance out of Kalle Masseo, who scored 12 points along with five rebounds and two steals.
Saugerties pushed their record up to 7-4 with that win, which was their third straight on the road. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 56.3 points per game. As for New Paltz, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-9.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Saugerties have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 33.3 rebounds per game. However, it's not like New Paltz struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 31.8 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everything came up roses for Saugerties against New Paltz when the teams last played back in January of 2023 as the squad secured a 54-25 victory. Does Saugerties have another victory up their sleeve, or will New Paltz turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
