With five games remaining in league play three squads have separated from the pack in their pursuit of the girls Wasaren title.  After 11 league runs Tamarac set’s the pace with a 10-1 record followed by Hoosic Valley and Hoosick Falls with identical 9-2 marks.

While nearly a third of the league schedule is yet to be played, will that schedule allow for the Falls or Valley to run down the Bengals?

Tamarac has enjoyed an outstanding season flourishing on both sides of the ball.  Their margin of victory is an impressive 20.3 points, scoring 56.7 per and allowing 36.4 points to their opponents.

A pair of sophomores lead the Bengals is scoring.  Emily Erickson averages 15.8 nightly and Renna Poulin scores it at 11.5 per contest, with senior Hannah Kreiger adding 9.7 to the attack.  Tamarac shoots it well from deep converting on 79 triples this season with Erickson and Kreiger combining to bottom 50.

Their remaining schedule consists of two road games at Stillwater and Cambridge, and three home contests with Spa Catholic, Waterford and Greenwich.

Hoosic Valley once again has relied on their incredible ability to guard.  Their margin of victory is 10.1 points, scoring 43.6, and allowing just 33.5 points.  Over their last 12 games they’ve allowed only one opponent to score more than 40 points.

Senior Cami Wren leads the Indians in scoring averaging 10.0 points per outing, with a typical night offensively seeing multiple players scoring 5-10 points for the Valley.  Make no mistake, the team’s success is predicated on their ability to shut down their opponent.

Hoosic Valley has three away games remaining at Greenwich, Mechanicville and Stillwater, with home contests against Hoosick Falls and Spa Catholic.

Hoosick Falls at 9-2 has split with Tamarac, and lost to the Valley 29-27 in their first meeting.  Their margin of victory is 15.6, scoring 53.5 nightly while giving up 37.9. They’ve shown the ability to win in a high scoring affair, or a grind it out in a defensive run.

Senior forward Kelly Pine leads the Panther offense scoring 16.4 nightly, while Lizza Ryan adds 11.0 points to the attack.

The Falls last five game include three on the road at Cambridge, Hoosic Valley, and Spa Catholic, and a pair of home games with Greenwich and Mechanicville.

Looking at the remaining schedule for the three squads it seems Tamarac has the inside track.  Four of their five opponents have a sub .500 league mark and they’ll play three of the five games in the friendly confines of their Clums Corners court.

For the Indians and Panthers they will almost certainly have to run the table to entertain chances of catching the Bengals, and a 5-0 finish for either squad will be a tall order.

Hoosic Valley and Hoosick Falls play each other, and the team that falls in that one will drop out of the race.  They each play three road games, and both have a dangerous Greenwich team lurking as well as a Mechanicville squad that can score.

In many cases teams trailing by one game with five remaining have enough time to track down the leader, but the way the schedule unfolds the rest of the way, as Yogi once said, “It’s getting late early” for the Panthers and Indians.