After two weeks of tryouts, naming of coaches, drafting of players, and three tough weeks of practice, and with an audience packed with anxious parents, the Roslyn Booster Basketball season finally began with a bang on Saturday, Dec. 2, at 11 a.m. The results:

4th Grade Division

Cougars vs. Panthers - The Panthers got off to a fast start on the strength of Brittany Coren's masterful dribbling, and the "emphatic" rebounding of Devin Gaynor and Emily Seburn. The Cougars, after initial indecisiveness in their opening defensive set, rallied back with the "in the lane" shooting acrobatics of Heather Karson, deft dribbling by Sammy Peters and "board play" by Skyler Cohen. The game ended in a tie.

Lions vs. Jaguars - The Lions began the game with a "spread offense" highlighted by "pinpoint" passing by Lauren Grant and Arielle Lubman, and supported by the rebounding of Ricki Shenfeld and Sara Loshak. The Jaguars turned the game into a thriller when Nicki Karol and Bari Giller "attacked the key" from the guard positions, with Hillary Smith and Samantha Laub "crashing the boards." This game also ended in a tie.

Tigers vs. Bobcats - What happens when you have a game that pits "classic speed" against "frontline height?" You guessed it - a nailbiter! The Tigers led by the rebounding efforts of Jamie Kaye, and Amy Levine and the glue-like defense by Lindsay Wolkowitz and Katie Golub took the early lead. The Bobcats regrouped and surged back into the game with the help of those "speed dribbling triplets" Jennifer Chadroff, Ashley Breitner and Amanda Bader and the incredible ball-hawking by Amanda Katlowitz. The game ended in a tie on a last minute basket.

5th Grade Division

Penn vs. Brown - This game was decided in the last 30 seconds on a clutch foul shot! Penn took the early lead on the strength of aggressive "board work" by Tracy Kitaeff and Allison Frey. Brown battled back in the second half with Rachel Abeles, Amy Halpern and Hallie Dunn scoring off the fine passing by Danielle Efros. Penn player Marisa Ball sank a clutch free throw in the last segment to lead Penn to an 11-10 victory.

Columbia vs. Cornell - Columbia roared out of the blocks with acrobatic moves in the "paint" by Rebecca Cooper, and Morgan Carella. Cornell climbed back into the contest thanks to clutch shooting by Bari Pelton, Rachel Shipper and Alyss Zauderer. Columbia's rebounding was relentless thanks to Samantha Krieger and Rebecca Lomazow, which helped them prevail 20-8 in a well-played game.

Princeton vs. Yale - Yale started quickly with returning players Sara Sincoff, Bari Resnick and Alexandra Foukalas sharing the scoring load. Princeton was able to weather the first half storm and take control of the game courtesy of second half heroics by Julie Glantz (ball handling), Jessyca Shapiro and Cara Greene (dominating rebounding) and Erica Goldstick's clutch shooting.

Harvard vs. Dartmouth - They say the key to success is dribbling. Harvard players Morgan Finestone, Morgan Kurilof demonstrated the "art of the dribble" while Robin Singer and Jessica Thaler swept the boards on the way to a commanding first half lead. Dartmouth, playing shorthanded, dug in and made a heroic comeback thanks to Maddie Weinstein and Lizzie Greenwald's clutch shooting, and Lauren Borowick and Laura Ilowites' clutch rebounding. Harvard regrouped one final time and launched a scoring frenzy to win 16-8.