Twelve months ago, when the West Genesee girls basketball team reached the Section III Class AA final, there was a sense that modest expectations were already exceeded, and that a championship was just a bonus.
That’s not the case this season, though.
Favored from the outset, undefeated in the CNY Counties League and sporting an 18-game win streak, the Wildcats expect to claim that sectional banner, and are now one win from doing so.
WG got a serious test from no. 4 seed Utica Proctor in Sunday’s AA semifinal at SRC Arena, only to respond with a series of timely second-half runs that produced a 60-49 victory over the Raiders.
This game went through several distinct phases – a rough opening period where both sides had immense struggles generating any kind of offense, followed by a second quarter where they each flourished.
In both instances, Proctor proved unafraid of WG’s overall quality, forcing turnovers and bad shots in the early going and matching baskets later in the half. When they went to the break, the Wildcats clung to a 22-21 lead.
Having run away from so many opponents early in games this season (including Cicero-North Syracuse in the AA quarterfinals), WG had to prove it could do the same late in a contest.
It started to do so in a 45-second stretch early in the third quarter where full-court pressure led to extra WG possessions and six straight points, four of them from Haley Collins, to establish a 28-21 lead.
Another mini-surge came at the end of the period, courtesy of Elle Lazore’s basket and Camryn Chawgo’s 3-pointer that gave WG a 40-30 cushion heading to the fourth quarter.
When the Raiders closed the gap to 41-37, the Wildcats offered one more decisive push. Seven straight points, earned by the trio of Chawgo, Madison Smith and Kaitlyn Walker, ignited a 12-2 run, and Lazore’s 3-pointer with 1:55 left all but sealed it.
Again, WG spread around its production. Madison Smith, steady with her inside game, led with 15 ponts, but Collins, with 13 points, was close behind. Walker came off the bench, joining Mackenzie Smith as they each earned nine points. Lazore added six points.
Proctor, in defeat, found more success against the Wildcats’ defense than most of its recent foes. Da’najay Miller-Peak (15 points), Achol Ajang (14 points) and Namir Davis (10 points) all scored in double figures.
This Saturday at noon at Onondaga Community College’s Allyn Hall, the Wildcats will go after its first sectional title since 1994 when it meets no. 6 seed Liverpool, a team it beat twice during the regular season. The Warriors knocked off no. 3 seed Fayetteville-Manlius 48-33 in the quarterfinals and then topped no. 2 seed Central Square 59-50 in the semifinals.
