Perhaps the Jamesville-DeWitt girls basketball team heard the loud talk coming from Averill Park in advance of Saturday’s Class A regional final at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy.
The Section II champion Warriors said to anyone that would listen that this time it would be different, that the scar tissue of four consecutive state tournament defeats to the Red Rams would get wiped out.
Well, it was different – and more lopsided in J-D’s favor.
Unlike some of those previous regional clashes, the Rams put AP away early, a dominant first half on both ends turning into a comfortable 55-41 victory and a step closer to a third straight state championship.
If there was a single concern, other than familiarity, that J-D carried into the game, it was the physical advantage the Warriors possessed thanks to a solid group of post players that could, at the very least, occupy Rams senior forward Jamie Boeheim.
Indeed, Boeheim was held to a single field goal in the first quarters and picked up two early fouls. But that did not matter one bit because everything else went in J-D’s favor.
It began and ended with a defense that had struggled in earlier games, especially the March 3 Section III final against Indian River at the Carrier Dome where Paige Leonard had burned the Rams for 35 points.
Here, AP could not get anything going, J-D forcing 12 turnovers and holding the Warriors to six field goal in 20 tries, giving the Rams ample time to establish control.
Meg Hair, who is not accustomed to getting off to quick starts, did so here, outscoring AP by herself, 8-7, in the first quarter, capped by a 3-pointer right before the horn.
The rest of the Rams fed off Hair’s contributions, and in the second quarter things got away fast. Already with a 24-10 lead, J-D closed the half with a 10-2 run. Gabby Stickle hit back-to-back 3-pointers and Momo LaClair also hit beyond the arc as the period wound down.
Even in its most optimistic scenario, the Rams did not imagine a 34-12 halftime cushion. But it didn’t get content, either stretching the margin to 45-21 late in the third quarter.
Only then did AP’s offense come to life, putting together a 16-4 run that stretched into the fourth quarter, but back-to-back baskets from LaClair and Boeheim allowed J-D to get clear for good.
Hair finished with a game-high 16 points, closely followed by Stickle, whose 15 points, combined with the 12 points put up by LaClair, gave J-D three viable options throughout the game.
Stephanie Jankovic did score 17 points for AP, but most of that came after the Rams had built its big margin. Sisters Kelsey and Amelia Wood were held to nine and seven points, respectively.
As it has needed to do several times before, J-D had to win two regional games in order to reach the state final four.
The first of them took place last Wednesday night at SUNY-Canton, where the Red Rams had a few minutes of stress against Section X representative Massena before rolling past the Red Raiders 64-29.
Whether it was the long road trip or some other factor, J-D did not play well at the outset, and coach Rob Siechen was concerned enough to use a timeout midway through the first quarter.
From there, a one-point margin turned to double digits, 22-11, by the end of the first quarter. Then the Rams’ defense really took over, limiting Massena to just two points the rest of the half.
It kept building from there, Hair getting 21 points as Boeheim earned 11 points. Stickle and Andrea Sumida each had seven points and Kasey Vaughan added six points.
When J-D goes back to HVCC on Friday night, it will face Binghamton Seton Catholic in the state semifinals. The Saints won the state Class B title a year ago before getting moved up to Class A this winter.
This clash of two reigning state champions will determine who plays Elmont (Section VIII) or Williamsville South (Section VI) in next Saturday’s state final at 8:45.
