Getting major contributions from a trio of area standouts, the Central region team claimed the girls championship of the Basketball Coaches Association of New York Summer Hoops Festival.
West Genesee’s Catie Cunningham, Bishop Ludden’s Amarah Streiff and Westhill’s Catherine Dadey were all on hand for Central, who were perfect in its five games on the way to the title.
Held each August in Johnson City, near Binghamton, the Summer Hoops Fest matches teams from all the regions of New York State. Each team plays three games in pool play, followed by semifinals and finals.
Central had finished second in this event the year before and were determined to do one better in 2019, even if it would play without two 2018 contributors, Lindsey Lawson (Cazenovia) and Momo LaClair (Jamesville-DeWitt), each out with injuries.
In Friday afternoon’s opener, Central roared past Buffalo 79-63 as each of the 12 players on the roster got on the scoreboard, led by LaClair’s J-D teammate, Gabby Stickle, whose 19 points included five 3-pointers.
Two games followed on Saturday, Central cranking up its defense against Capital District and pulling away to a 50-29 victory, Streiff leading with nine points as Cunningham and Jessica Cook (Cicero-North Syracuse) had eight points apiece.
Later in the afternoon, Central beat Southern Tier 76-69, helped by its inside game as Streiff gained a team-best 1 points and Cook got 16 points.
Sunday morning’s semifinal had Central trailing Rochester 25-24 at halftime, but its depth and balance made the difference in the second half of a 60-46 win, with Lexie Roe (Fayetteville-Manlius) and Kaia Henderson (New Hartford) each producing 11 points.
Back in the championship game for the second year in a row, Central met Hudson Valley. Again, it was down one at halfime (31-30), but Cook took over in the third quarter with 16 consecutive points.
Cunningham was potent throughout the game, earning 19 points, while Streiff earned 11 of her 14 points in the second half and Central defeated Hudson Valley 73-53 for the championship.
In the boys edition of the BCANY Summer Hoops Festival, West Genesee teammates Will Amica and Adam Dudzinski returned to the Binghamton area, where they helped the Wildcats win its first-ever state championship earlier this year.
They were joined by Skaneateles teammates Nate Fouts and Keif Timmins, along with Bishop Ludden’s Monte Johnson and My’kell Kaigler, with Ludden’s Gallagher Driscoll coaching the team.
After a narrow 87-86 loss to Mid-Hudson on Friday, Central’s boys team defeated North Country on Saturday morning and then outscored Suffolk County (Long Island) 82-75.
In the semifinals on Sunday morning, Central lost a 79-64 decision to Hudson Valley, who eventually dropped the championship game 80-72 to the same Suffolk side Central had beaten a day earlier.
