Everyone in the Vinnie De Angelis Gymnasium held their breath in the second quarter.

The Wallkill girls’ basketball team’s standout Zoe Mesuch landed badly after scoring a basket and crumpled to the floor with the Panthers leading by 16 points. Mesuch didn’t return to the game.

“I have no words for it,” said Samantha Dembinsky, who helped fill the void with a game-high 19 points in the Panthers’ 65-36 win over the Valley Central Vikings on Saturday to open the Wallkill Holiday Tournament. “We want the best for her, and she’s a strong player and she’ll be back stronger.”

Mesuch had scored 12 of the Panthers’ 35 points when she left the game with 1:04 left in the second quarter, but there was no time for the Panthers to dwell on the loss. They still had business to attend to.

“In the locker room (at halftime), we just took a second and said, ‘she’s OK,’” Dembinsky. “She’s hurt, but we’re fine. We have people that need to step up, and I think we did that well in the second half.”

But in Mesuch’s absence, the Panthers put together a balanced attack as they scored 26 second-half points. Samantha and Alex Dembinsky each knocked down 3-pointers in the third quarter, as did Emma DiLemme.

“We can still play,” Wallkill coach A.J. Higby said. “She makes our lives a little bit easier with where she shoots from, but she’s never been hurt before, so my kids looked at me, like, ‘what are we going to do?’ Well, we’re going to go out and play basketball. We are not done.”

The Panthers took a 39-19 lead into the locker room at halftime and extended it to 54-31 at the end of the third quarter. But they really put the game away in the first quarter when they outscored the Vikings, 24-6.

“We have a strong solid five and we want to come out strong,” Samantha Dembinsky said. “We like to play quick, and we have the runners for it, so it’s just the same mentality every time.”

The Panthers also got big contributions from freshman, Aoife Brady, who hit two first-quarter 3-pointers on her way to eight points. Fellow freshman Gabby Gaultiere also had a strong game.
“I was counting on it,” Higby said. “If they don’t, we’re in really big trouble, but they have definitely come in and played like I’ve wanted them to play. So, I’m very happy with it.”

The Panthers beat Saugerties, 61-36, on Thursday in the Mid Hudson Athletic League Division 1 opener.

Mesuch led the Panthers with a game-high 27 points. Samantha Dembinsky added 10.
Samantha Graham led Saugerties with 13 points.

“We have some tough competition, but if we keep working in practice and playing the games the way we are, I think we’ll be strong,” Samantha Dembinsky said.

With the tournament opening win, the Panthers will host the Pine Bush Bushmen, who beat Highland, 70-27, in the other opening round game, on December 30. The Vikings will face Highland in the consolation game.

Giselle Johnson led the Vikings with 12 points, all on 3-point baskets.

“I was really happy with the way we came out in the second half,” Valley Central coach Bill Michella said. “They have five great shooters. Unfortunately, Zoe got hurt tonight. That’s always sad to see, and I wish her the best, of course. But it’s pretty much what I expected coming against a great team. I just want my girls to play hard, and they did.”

The Vikings opened the week with a 49-28 win over the Minisink Valley Warriors on December 11. Maggie Bishopp and Giselle Johnson scored 11 points each. Shalesse Joyner and Bree Curtis Wright added 10 points each.

Cassie Jenning scored 12 points for the Warriors.

They followed that with a 58-24 win over the Monticello Panthers on Thursday. Johnson scored a game-high 18 points and Joyner added 12.

Amish Nealis led Monticello with eight points.

“They’re progressing very nicely,” Michella said. “I’m happy with the way they’re progressing, and I know by the end of the season, we’re going to be much better than we are now.”