FALLSBURG – They say that home is where the heart is, and that seemed to be the case on Friday night as Fallsburg hosted Liberty and defeated their Class B rival 42-35. Their first meeting, earlier this season in Ellenville, led to a double overtime showdown in which the Lady Indians went home victorious.

The two teams were primed and ready to repeat that performance, and combined for solid defense and timely scoring throughout the game to keep it close. It seemed that whenever one team scored, the other was quick to answer.

By the final buzzer, three players had fouled out and plenty of other were in foul trouble.

“I knew it would be an aggressive game,” Fallsburg Coach Michael Ballard said following the contest.

In the first quarter, Liberty scored first to take a 2-0 lead, but it was answered by three straight by Fallsburg, and then another basket for Liberty and then a free throw by Fallsburg to tie it at four apiece. This pace, with ties and lead changes lasted throughout the entire first half, with neither squad being able to extend their lead by more than three points.

At the end of the first it was tied at 7-7, and by halftime Fallsburg had a 17-16 advantage. There were 16 different lead changes or ties in the first half.

The Lady Comets started the third quarter on a 4-0 run to take their biggest lead of the night at 21-16, but the Lady Indians continued to stay within a few possessions. By the end of the quarter, Fallsburg had a 23-19 lead.

“Although we were able to hang in there during the first half, the early foul trouble made it difficult for us the rest of the game,” Liberty Coach Pete Dworetsky said. “Fallsburg did a good job out-rebounding us and putting up points. Their 26 to our 12 free throw attempts was a huge difference as well.”

Liberty got within two points a few times in the fourth quarter but Fallsburg did an excellent job of staving off any late runs, holding onto their lead throughout the final frame. As time started to wind down in the game, Fallsburg rattled off eight straight points to extend their lead to ten.

Seven different Lady Comets put up points in the game, but were led by Ashley Ingrassia’s 14 points, tied with Liberty’s Emily Curry for the game high. Alli Dworetsky added 10 for the Lady Indians, and Liberty had six players contribute to the scoring effort.

“Alli Dworetsky had a great game, doing a much better job of handling the press and running the offense,” Dworetsky said.

“We protected the ball well, and our aggressive rebounding helped us tonight,” Ballard added. “The girls capitalized on Liberty’s mistakes and we’re excited to play them again.”

Liberty will host Fallsburg on February 16, the two teams will have plenty of time to prepare with other matchups beforehand.