Setting the Scene: I’ve watched Susquehanna Valley play countless times since the 2014-15 season, my first year covering the game. The program has won two state championships in that timeframe. I’ve watched them at HVCC, regional games, sectionals, road games across the STAC & beyond, offseason events like various Southern Tier summer leagues and the Battle of NY in my area, and that’s not including tracking all the main players of the time during AAU season, EST stuff, and so on. One thing I had never done was actually set foot in the Sabers’ gym. Enter Saturday. I haven’t necessarily limited my miles this winter – over 3,000 miles on the car in January alone – but I have tried to be as productive with those miles as possible. It’s meant some more nights within my Section II confines, and when I hit the road, it’s either for a multitude of games or ‘the big game’. Consider this the latter. Section V power Hornell, Class B state finalists last year, made the near two hour drive east on 86 to the far side (to them) of the Binghamton area for a rescheduled game that was supposed to be played at Alfred University six weeks prior. #1 vs. #4 in my most recent Class B Upstate 20. “Playing The Hits”, Day 1.

Susquehanna Valley 64, Hornell 50

75 Words or Less: That’s one way to make a statement. SV defended home court in the loudest way possible, a superlative team showing against arguably the most known commodity in Class B basketball statewide. The start was high-level and very even, but Hornell eventually leveled off & the Sabers did not. Each quarter featured a different player or positional group shouldering the load, and a big 16-0 run splitting the halves gave SV separation they’d never relinquish.

THE FULL STORY

If anyone needed convincing that Hornell & Susquehanna Valley were among the best New York has to offer in Class B, the 1st quarter probably did the job. The vibe in the air was more than your typical Saturday afternoon game, and everyone delivered at the jump. Ava Kariam (Susquehanna Valley 2029) steered the ship in the early going while receiving primary defensive attention, and Raegan Evingham (Hornell 2027) did the same for the visitors. Back-to-back threes from Evingham and SUNY Canton commit Jordyn Dyring (Hornell 2026) gave them an early 8-4 lead. Kariam scored twice for the Sabers to level it off at 10, and a Madison Lewis (Susquehanna Valley 2027) long left wing three and Liv Hughes (Susquehanna Valley 2028) score before the 1st quarter buzzer capped an 8-2 run and gave them a 15-12 lead.

Back & forth we went in the 2nd quarter. Evingham continued to shine with exceptional play on the offensive end, and for SV, production shifted to the bigs. Forward duo Ella Kariam (Susquehanna Valley 2027) and Amanat Dhillon (Susquehanna Valley 2026) established themselves as the half wore on, Kariam in particular from a scoring standpoint but both on the glass as persistent physical presences. Evingham had a highlight assist on a diagonal pass with some mustard to Selena Maldonado (Hornell 2026) and added 8 more points in the frame, the last of them giving Hornell a 26-24 lead on two free throws with 2:12 left in the half. From there, things quickly flipped on the scoreboard. Ella Kariam scored her tenth point of the quarter to create the game’s sixth tie, then Lewis delivered its eighth lead change – which proved to be the final one – with back-to-back threes less than 30 seconds apart. The Sabers reeled off 10 straight in all to close the half and went into the locker room surging with a 34-26 lead.

… which only grew after intermission. A Dhillon free throw, Ava Kariam bucket, and Ella Kariam and-one swelled the run out to 16-0 as Hornell went over three minutes without scoring to start the 3rd quarter. True to form in this game, it was Evingham that got on the board to stop the bleeding, but it was only temporary as the typically jump-shooting team went ice cold without much balance. In addition to that… enter Liv Hughes. Hornell came out in a triangle & 2 to start the 2nd half, sticking its defensive attention on lead guard Ava Kariam along with Madison Lewis, who hit 3 threes in the opening half. Hughes, only briefly mentioned above, took advantage of some added freedom & made them pay. She hit back-to-back threes sandwiching another Evingham score, the second one a high-arcing bomb off the glass, and added two more makes in quick succession to give her 10 in the quarter & cap a personal 7-0 spurt. The last of it swelled the margin to 18, matching their largest of the day. It inched back to 50-35 after three after a Maldonado corner triple.

Maldonado technically had her own personal 7-0 spurt in response to the one Hughes delivered, as she started the 4th quarter with a drive & score followed by a steal & layup. In the moment, it felt like exactly the sort of thing Hornell could use to find the necessary game-shifting momentum. In reality, Susquehanna Valley wasted little time quelling the threat. Ava Kariam was left alone at the top of the key – bad idea – and her three rang true to stop the run. By the middle of the 4th, SV had it back up at 18 after another Hughes three made it 57-39. Hornell finally found the touch & saw a trio of threes fall in less than 70 seconds, two off the right hand of Dyring, but they got no closer than 11 as SV wrapped up an exceptional win.

Ella Kariam led four Sabers in double figures with 17 points, 10 of them coming in the 2nd quarter. Liv Hughes was a great spark off the SV bench and had all but 2 of her 15 points in the 2nd half. Madison Lewis chipped in with 11 including 3 first half threes, and Ava Kariam handled lead guard duties & contributed 10 to the cause. Hornell received a game high 21 points and an all-around strong performance from Raegan Evingham. She was joined in double digits by Selena Maldonado (13 points) and Jordyn Dyring (11 points). The Hornell ‘big three’ was responsible for 90% of Hornell’s scoring.

Next Up: From one big Class B showdown to another, all eyes are on Susquehanna Valley’s next matchup. This seems to be the case more often than not, but two of New York’s best in the class are in the Binghamton area, and they connect for their only scheduled regular season matchup on Tuesday as the Sabers host Chenango Forks. Hornell continues their ‘road warrior’ stretch with the schedule not getting any easier. They head up to Rochester on Monday to take on Upstate 20 ranked Class A East High, then make a journey to the Buffalo Northtowns on Friday for Upstate 20 Class AA #1 North Tonawanda. Both of these teams will undoubtedly be battle tested when the experience matters.

#ThoughtsFromTheBaseline

• Shoutout to everyone at Susquehanna Valley for understanding the assignment. Saturday afternoon has a tendency to create some ‘blah’ environments even for big games. This was not that. The buzz was a little different. You knew it was supposed to be a big game even if you didn’t know much about either team. Student section was present, full, organized, and into the game. SV’s side of the bleachers was pretty well-packed. Nice to see that kind of support for a girls’ game.
  • Side note: a full, organized student section vs. JULIO on his own… is a pretty good matchup. The superfan of all superfans was on it. One of my favorite things at Hornell games is to watch an unfamiliar opponent go from thinking he’s crazy or being nervous early in the game to having the utmost respect for him by the end of it. A tale as old as time. He is as good as it gets.
• Looking ahead… in case you haven’t done that yet, we have a new “three-region model” to be unveiled this season for state playoffs. I wish the new model was able to account for competitive balance, but no such luck. There’s no arguing that the most difficult regional pod in Class B features both of these teams. Champions from Sections IV, V, VI, and the new “at-large” selection (second-place finisher) – Section VIII, aka Nassau County on Long Island, gets that bid this year – are in that region. I don’t have high hopes for the level of play from Nassau’s second-best B, but this game – which is an HVCC level matchup – potentially ends up as a regional final for the right to make it there. That’s if Susquehanna Valley can get by two-time reigning champ Chenango Forks, who seems to be figuring things out. Between SV, Forks, and Hornell, we’re talking 3 of NY’s top half-dozen Bs, and only one can make it to HVCC.
• Susquehanna Valley is very good, but this was probably above the norm and an example of what they can look like when everything is clicking. It was a different player or positional group leading the way each of the first three quarters, with all of them chipping in to close it out, and all-in-all, everyone that saw minutes carried weight. Their depth might be the best among Class Bs in New York. Several players on the roster that I trust to provide positive play. When they all do it in the same game & not a soul plays poorly, mid-March is very much in play. If they bottle this and carry it forward to remaining competitive opponents, look out.
• Hornell is 1-2 in the games I’ve attended this season. That’s fair – they’re really good, and I’m not trying to watch a team 4 hours away from my home against teams they can beat the snot out of. One common denominator against those competitive opponents is that Raegan Evingham was solid for them. ‘Solid’ was an understatement on Saturday… the standout Hornell 2027 was great. In the midst of her 21 points and whatever else the official stat line featured, Raegan showed all facets of her versatile skill set. She scored at all levels, from deep range to shooting off the dribble to crafty rim finishing in traffic. She handled effectively not just to get to spots, but to put SV on its heels defensively and create scoring opportunities for herself & teammates. And create for teammates she did, as Raegan balanced the aggressive scoring mindset with some kicks to shooters against help and a few highlight finds on the aforementioned diagonal zip to Selena along with dumps to the block or lifts on baseline drives. Good size at the wing, 5’9″ with a strong frame, well-rounded skill set that can continue to refine – I expect many questions & comments from coaches about Raegan in coming months as the 2027 class moves to the forefront of recruiting.
• In terms of pure stats, this wasn’t a big day for Ava Kariam in respect to what she’s often put up this season. But it was another strong showing regardless of the numbers and another display of her becoming one of the leaders of the Southern Tier. This was the Class B edition of ‘big dog basketball’, from the level of play to the spotlight to the energy. As a freshman, she received older, experienced Hornell’s primary defensive attention – understandably so. And I thought all-in-all, she was rock solid. 10 points, which is definitely below her average this season but it wasn’t a game where 25 was needed, pretty good efficiency, strong floor game at the lead guard that helped control pace/style, and a positive factor defensively. Skilled PG with basketball IQ, moxie, and maturity beyond her years. Ava has been on my radar since 7th grade and is already one of the Southern Tier’s better players as a 2029. Susquehanna Valley is in good hands for the next few years.
• Credit to both teams for not ducking the smoke. This was supposed to be out in Hornell’s country at Alfred University, which shows that SV was down with making this a road game for them, but weather forced a postponement in December. Instead of bailing on the matchup, Hornell opted to make the trip out to Binghamton to make it a road game for them instead. Mutual approach to scheduling tough that could pay dividends in a few weeks for the teams, definitely pays dividends for developing the players in general, and regardless of how things shake out, I respect it.
• Didn’t get to hit all my Binghamton area favs… but I did get to Nirchi’s. So yeah, I’m happy.