So the sixth consecutive girls basketball Class A regional playoff game between Jamesville-DeWitt and Averill Park Tuesday night at Shenendehowa High School ended like the previous five, with the Red Rams on top.
How it got there made this the most memorable of these annual showdowns.
The Red Rams surrendered a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter, and nearly blew a six-point lead in overtime, but overcame it all to defeat the Warriors 65-60 and move a step closer to a fourth straight state title.
Not until Momo LaClair converted on four consecutive free throws in the waning seconds of OT did J-D escape an Averill Park side bent on reversing half a decade of frustration at the Rams’ expense.
Like all memorable contests, this went through several distinct phases. The first part involved a rash of turnovers and few baskets on either side as the two were tied 7-7 through one period.
But Gabby Stickle’s 3-pointer at the end of that period provided some momentum, and Sydney Baker added two 3-pointers of her own early in the second period as LaClair and Stickle added their own deep shots to build a 23-15 advantage.
Six straight AP points made things closer before Andrea Sumida’s basket at the horn left J-D in front 25-21 going to halftime, but this was just the prelude to much more excitement in the second half.
LaClair took over in the third quarter, the Rams sophomore hitting on every kind of shot on her way to 17 points in that period. And they were needed, since the Warriors kept pace most of the way, led by the inside work of Kelsey Wood and Olivia Kelley.
But J-D thought it broke free with a 10-0 run that bridged the third and fourth quarters. When Stickle converted a basket and made the ensuing free throw with 6:37 left, the Rams led 53-40, little dreaming that it would not score again for the rest of regulation.
Increasing its intensity on both ends, the Warriors shut J-D down and ate away at the deficit. And in the final minute, down 53-50, it moved within one on Wood’s basket and, after Baker fouled, Wood returned to hit a tying free throw with 26 seconds to play.
With a shot to win it at the end of regulation, the Rams were well off target, so not only did AP have all the momentum going to OT, J-D had three players – LaClair, Stickler and Paige Keeler – playing with four fouls.
Shrugging this off, it was Keeler’s 3-pointer that ended the Rams’ seven-minute scoring drought in the opening seconds of OT, propelling her side to a 61-55 lead.
Again, it seemed safe – but again, the Rams nearly threw it away. Stickle fouled out, and four straight misses on the foul line allowed AP to crawl back within one, 61-60, as it went to the wire.
Fouled with 10 seconds left, LaClair, in the biggest pressure situation of the season, drained both free throws. Then, after Wood’s tying 3-pointer went off target, LaClair was fouled again and she connected twice more from the line to finally clinch it.
It gave LaClair 27 points overall, Stickle adding 17 points as Baker had eight points, Keeler seven points and Sumida six points. Kelsey Wood had 17 points and Kelley got 16 points as Michelina Lombardi (12 points) and Amelia Wood (10 points) also hit double figures for the Warriors.
