You know the drill by now. Wednesday was a busy semifinal day in various spots of upstate NY, and we’re even having some finals trickle in too. To the recap!
CLASS AA
Section 5 brought the heat for Class AA semifinals, and the game I’d pay money to see looks like it was worth the cost of admission. In an opener that made the scoreboard operator earn their money, (2) Fairport roared on with an 80-67 victory over (3) Penfield. One day after announcing her commitment to Division I Binghamton, Bella Pucci dropped 32 in the win. Ella Meabon added 21 & Ne’vaeh Buntley added 20. 23 for Eva Elliot, 16 for Jackie Funk in defeat. In the nightcap, (1) Bishop Kearney had all 5 starters in double digits led by Kaia Goode’s 17, and they rolled to the championship with a 65-44 W over (4) Victor. Kearney vs. Fairport for the Section 5 AA crown. Catch that 7:00 Saturday at Rush-Henrietta.
CLASS A
I wrote about my day in Section 2 already, so if you want the full recap, check the last post. But for the short of it, chalk held to set up Round 3 of the top two seeds. Top seed Averill Park started each half strong & blew to a 77-50 win over (4) Catholic Central, and before that, (2) Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake made a pretty loud statement in a 53-33 W over (3) Queensbury. Amelia Wood 24 pts, Taylor Holohan 22 and a triple-double in AP’s win; Carlie Rzeszotarski 20, Callie Chevalier 14 including her 1,000th in the opener for Burnt Hills. It’s Averill Park vs. Burnt Hills for the Section 2 Class A crown. Catch that at 2:30 Saturday at HVCC.
The A2 semifinals were taken care of Tuesday in Section 6, but Wednesday brought the A1s to Clarence. The beat on this group was that it’d probably be 1 vs 2 at Buff State, but the 3 could potentially play spoiler, and that’s how it shook out. (2) Hamburg had to withstand a strong effort from (3) North Tonawanda, but they eventually pulled out a 65-57 victory. Top seed Sweet Home had 4 players in double figures and demolished (4) Kenmore West with a 63-25 win. Sweet Home vs. Hamburg for the Section 6 Class A1 crown to wrap up Sunday’s activity at Buff State, start time scheduled for 7:00.
CLASS B
The main Class B action came from the B1s in Section 6. No surprises here, as chalk held to set up the matchup that it looked like we’d get all along. In the opener at Kenmore West, recent Binghamton pledge Kaylee Krysztof dropped 25 and fellow 1,000+ point scorer Mia Vannelli added 17 as 2 seed & defending B1 champ Depew moved forward with a 56-44 W over (6) Olean. In the nightcap, like many of their games this season, it was all Lewiston-Porter. The top seed got 24 from Sophie Auer, including her 1,000th point, and they broke away early for a 60-23 W over (4) East Aurora. Lew-Port vs. Depew for the B1 banner, 1 PM Sunday at Buff State. Buckle up!
One semifinal of note in Section 9. Top seed Red Hook got 32 points from Marist signee Morgan Tompkins, 21 from McKenzie Simmons, and 13 from Emilie Kent in a dominant 79-30 victory over (4) Marlboro. It’ll be Red Hook vs. O’Neill for the Class B crown in the 845. Catch that at 1 PM Saturday at Middletown HS.
CLASS C
Instead of numerical order, let’s start with the lone final in Section 9 before getting to semis. No suspense or surprise here, Millbrook is the champion in the 845 once again. The Blazers had 3 finish in double digits led by 2023 Emily Grasseler’s 16 in a 57-28 W over Chester Academy. Next stop for them will be a short trip south to the northern end of Westchester County; they’ll take on the Section 1 Class C champion in a subregional contest next Tuesday, 4 PM at Yorktown HS.
Section 5 determined their finalists in both the C1 & C2 divisions. A quick look at those four games in bullet form, starting with the two C1s and moving to the C2s from there:
- At Canandaigua HS, (1) East Rochester handled business with a 53-35 W over (5) Geneseo. Sam Lewis (16 & 14) and Lily Funk (13 & 10) both gave the Bombers double-doubles.
- In a rare 6/7 semifinal game before that, it was (7) Alexander that squeaked by with a putback at the buzzer to defeat (6) Addison 51-50.
- Over at Honeoye Falls-Lima, top seed Pavilion had to scrap back from a deficit against Jeff Parizek, the AAU coach of Pavilion’s top players, and (4) Kendall to earn a 44-40 win. Karlee Zinkievich had 21 & Lauren Kingsley 14 for Pavilion; Elizabeth Snyder 17 & 12 for Kendall.
- Pavilion will have to deal with 6 seed Gananda, who knocked off (2) Clyde-Savannah 55-53 to punch their ticket to the C2 finals. Standout 2024 Kaylee Marvin stood out, finishing with 19 & 16 in the W. Clyde won this matchup by 10 & 7 in the regular season; Gananda got the one that counted most.
(1) East Rochester vs. (7) Alexander in the C1 finals, (1) Pavilion vs. (6) Gananda in the C2s. Catch them both Saturday at Rush-Henrietta; after the C3s at 11, C2s will go at 1 and C1s follow at 3.
Jamestown Community College saw its first girls’ action with three games, including Section 6 Class C2 semifinals. Top seed Randolph held off a scrappy battle from (4) Chautauqua Lake to move forward with a 47-40 win. Payton Morrison (2025) hung 27 big ones in the win. On the bottom half of the backet, it was (3) Frewsburg that punched their ticket with a 56-45 triumph over (2) Holland. Ava Jimerson dropped 22 & 11, Taytum Jimerson added 16, 8, and 5 assists in the victory. Claire Pikett ended her illustrious Holland career with 23 & 11. It’s Randolph vs. Frewsburg for all the marbles in Class C2; that’s back at JCC, 4:00 scheduled tip on Saturday.
CLASS D
There was only one game to speak of in the Ds, and that also came from Section 6 at Jamestown Community College. It’s the first time in the 716 that a top seed went down, and (4) Pine Valley did the honors as they eliminated (1) Ellicottville with a 42-38 victory. 2nd straight close W for Pine Valley. Danielle West (2025) dropped 20, Trista Farnham added 14 in the win. They await the winner of Panama/Sherman in the other semifinal. The finals will be at noon Saturday, back at JCC again.