For 12 months, the Christian Brothers Academy used its close defeat to Jamesville-DeWitt as a spark toward a special 2019-20 season.
Whether it turns into something even more memorable now depends on whether the Brothers can unseat the Red Rams from the Section III Class A throne that it has held for eight years.
On the same floor at Onondaga Community College’s Allyn Hall where the sectional final will take place, CBA and J-D got through their respective sectional semifinals in wildly varying ways.
The top-seeded Brothers used defense and hot outside shooting to roll past no. 5 seed Whitesboro 61-33, while the no. 2 seed Red Rams had to sweat until the final minutes before a strong closing stretch put away no. 6 seed New Hartford 55-46.
Going first in this semifinal doubleheader, CBA had reason to be wary of Whitesboro, who was quite impressive in ousting no. 4 seed Cortland 43-28 in the quarterfinals earlier in the week. And the Warriors did score the game’s first four points.
But then the Brothers seized control with a 21-0 outburst that, in a span of five-plus minutes, gave CBA a big cushion and showcased the team’s vast array of skills and qualities.
On the defensive side, the Brothers swarmed Whitesboro and forced a string of bad shots and turnovers. Then, on the other end, CBA rarely missed from beyond the arc, ultimately hitting on nine 3-pointers by game’s end.
Brooke Jarvis, the program’s all-time leading scorer, netted 15 points by the middle of the second quarter, but even when she had to sit most of the rest of the way due to foul trouble, the Brothers continued to dominate.
All game long, Maura Clare Conan brought the energy on defense and contributed 10 points. The sister duo of Tori and Emily Hall joined Conan in the effort, Tori Hall hitting on a pair of 3-pointers right before halftime to stretch the margin to 37-18.
Then, as CBA’s defense held Whitesboro without a field goal for more than seven minutes, Leana Heittman took over on offense, earning 12 of her 17 points during the second half to prevent any Warriors comeback.
With its spot in the sectional final secure, the Brothers now watched as J-D got challenged by a New Hartford side that beat CBA earlier this season, and would nearly put an end to the Red Rams’ long title run.
That didn’t seem likely when, in the game’s first five minutes, the Spartans were shut out and J-D built an 11-0 margin, but the work of the Spartans’ superb sophomore guard, Kaia Henderson, erased her team’s deficit by the second quarter.
Soon, a theme emerged. Henderson, with 17 first-half points, was carrying her team’s attack, but was doing so with three fouls. Then she got her fourth foul early in the third quarter, even as New Hartford led most of that period.
Paige Keeler’s 3-pointer broke a 32-32 tie and put J-D back in front just before the fourth quarter, but with the Spartans diversifying its attack, it went back in front twice during the final minutes.
It took five consecutive points from Riley LaTray to pull the Rams out of a 44-44 deadlock and give it the lead for good, yet things were still in doubt when Henderson, her team down 49-46, was whistled for her fifth foul with 2:17 left, taking her out of the game.
Without Henderson, who finished with 27 points, New Hartford was shut out the rest of the way, and the Rams closed with baskets from Sydney Baker and Momo LaClair, plus free throws by LaTray.
Baker had earned 11 of her 13 points in the second half, matching LaClair’s total as Keeler got 10 points and Andrea Sumida, playing through her own foul trouble, had seven points.
So just like it did against Bishop Ludden in the quarterfinal round, J-D had struggled, but made it through. Only CBA now stands between the Red Rams and another sectional banner, the two sides squaring off next Saturday at 1 p.m. at OCC five hours before those two schools meet in the boys sectional Class A final.
