The Coxsackie-Athens Riverhawks entered their tilt with the Hudson Blue Hawks with four consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with five. Coxsackie-Athens enjoyed a cozy 63-49 victory over Hudson on Friday. Given Coxsackie-Athens' advantage in MaxPreps' New York basketball rankings (they are ranked 64th, while Hudson is ranked 226th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Coxsackie-Athens was led to victory by Baileigh Briski and Riley Sitcer. Briski dropped a double-double on 22 points and 13 rebounds, while Sitcer scored 33 points along with seven rebounds and three steals. That makes it five consecutive games in which Briski has scored at least 25% of Coxsackie-Athens' points. Another player making a difference was Reaghan Hellen, who scored four points.
Hudson's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Malia Jackson, who dropped a double-double on 18 points and ten rebounds. The game was Jackson's eighth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Moriah Walker, who dropped a double-double on 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Even though they lost, Hudson were smashing the offensive glass and finished the game with 25 offensive rebounds. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Coxsackie-Athens only pulled down 14 offensive rebounds.
Coxsackie-Athens' victory bumped their record up to 5-1. As for Hudson, their loss ended a six-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 5-3.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Coxsackie-Athens will take on Cairo-Durham at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Cairo-Durham comes in still looking for their first win of the season. As for Hudson, they have the luxury of staying home another game and will welcome Rensselaer at 6:30 p.m. on January 5, 2024.
