For a fleeting moment, the best West Genesee girls basketball team in a generation had an enormous accomplishment within its grasp.
A 15-point deficit in last Saturday’s Class AA regional final against Section II powerhouse Shenendehowa at Onondaga Community College’s Allyn Hall had whittled down to single digits, and more than six minute remained on the clock, ample time for the Wildcats to keep chipping away and, perhaps, catch up to the Plainsmen.
Instead, what had plagued WG early in the game returned at the worst possible moment, as a long scoring drought ended the comeback and Shen went on to prevail, 48-31, securing a return trip to the state final four and a chance to atone for last season’s title-game defeat to Ossining.
Seven days earlier, on this same OCC court, WG had secured its first sectional title since 1994 by roaring out to a 17-3 start against Liverpool and never letting the Warriors catch up.
Here, though, the Wildcats would not reach the 17-point mark until the midway point of the third quarter. Much of it had to do with Shen’s relentless defense, who, when it wasn’t putting pressure on the ball, was tricking WG players into thinking that someone was closer than they were.
The end result was a string of missed baskets, especially from close range, that proved costly because the Wildcats’ own defense was doing a solid job of containment, especially in the paint, where Shen’s 6-foot-4 forward, Catherine Almeida, never got on track.
However, where the Plainsmen were effective was in timely outside shots. A string of 3-pointers in the first half from the likes of Cameron Tooley and Alex Tudor, combined with WG’s struggles on the other end, created a double-digit margin as Shen was up 23-11 at the break.
Even as the Wildcats started to break out of its slump in the third quarter, the Plainsmen extended its lead to 35-20, but as the period ended, Elle Lazore connected on her second 3-pointer, and suddenly WG had some energy.
With the largely partisan crowd roaring its approval, the Wildcats continued its 8-0 run early in the fourth quarterwith a 3-pointer from Mackenzie Smith and a runner from Camryn Chawgo, which made it 35-28, well within reach.
Sensing the danger, Shen tightened its defense – and proceeded to hold WG without a point until Lazore hit another 3-pointer in the final minute. That more than made up for the Plainsmen’s own difficulty to generate baskets, a tribute to the effort of a Wildcats defense that was stellar throughout this game, as it was all winter.
Lazore, in her last high school game, led WG with nine points, just ahead of Mackenzie Smith (eight points) and Madison Smith (seven points). Tooley, hitting a series of late free throws, worked her total to 20 points as Shen teammate Megan Gillooley added 13 points and Tudor got 11 points.
This remarkable WG season that included a 19-game win streak and the ended at 21-3. Head coach Stafford Spreyer will see the likes of Lazore and Chawgo graduate, but with the Smith sisters returning, along with Megan Collins, Mya Case and Kaitlyn Walker, another championship run is quite possible.
