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“It’s very exciting and very important.”Īva Pearson led Colonie with 13 points, and Gabrielle Martin added 10 as the Shenendehowa defense limited the Garnet Raiders to a 14-of-45 shooting night from the floor. “I think we have a lot of good players, and that showed tonight, even when we got a few girls in foul trouble, we stepped up. We didn’t take our foot off the gas,” Huerter said. Huerter transitioned from scorer to cheerleader during her break on the bench. Shenendehowa didn’t miss a beat, extending its lead to 36-24 to close out the third quarter. The Plainsmen had to endure another pause when Jillian Huerter picked up her third foul two minutes into the third quarter, placing her on the bench until the start of the fourth quarter. “I have horrible court awareness sometimes when I’m shooting. “Any time there is a court with three lines, that’s my weakness,” Montanez said with a laugh. Montanez’s shots came from beyond the high school 3-point line painted on the Hudson Valley Community College court, one of three arcs painted at her feet on the multi-purpose floor. She convinced Murphy that she was ready and able during warm-ups, proving it when she scored 17 second-half points. “As soon as she got up, she walked over to our assistant coach and said, ‘I’m fine. “We all took a collective deep breath,” Shenendehowa coach Joe Murphy said. Montanez’s exit in the first half came at a precarious time for the Plainsmen, who were trailing Colonie 10-9 after the first quarter before going on a 14-7 second-quarter run that included a pair of 3-pointers from Montanez. “I think I’m more of a streaky, and when I get one going, the second and the third, I know I’m probably going to get two more, hopefully,” Montanez said. More from Clifton Park and Halfmoon – The Daily Gazette Montanez wasn’t only good, she was on fire - scoring a game-high 26 points, hitting 5-of-6 3-pointers and finishing the night 9-of-12 from the floor.