SYRACUSE – Some teams go after a lofty goal with a combination of expectation and fear, often letting the latter trait take over at the most inopportune time.
Not so with Bishop Ludden girls basketball, who saved its absolute best for the absolutely proper moment and, in doing so, roared to the Section III Class A championship.
The Gaelic Knights’ 68-36 victory over Jamesville-DeWitt in Saturday’s sectional final at SRC Arena was even more lopsided than the score would indicate.
Swarming on defense and productive on offense, Ludden jumped out to a 10-0 lead before the Red Rams got a point, were up 17-2 with the game four minutes old and had a 26-8 advantage by the time the first quarter was done.
“We had to come out with 100 percent intensity, without hesitation, and we did,” said junior forward Amarah Streiff.
Head coach Carm Petrera said that all the adversity her players faced this season, from COVID-19 pauses to numerous injuries suffered by Streiff, made it determined not to squander this championship opportunity.
“I can’t tell you what this means for our school,” said Petrera, who is a Ludden alum.
As it turned out, the pivotal moment in the Gaelic Knights’ playoff run was last Monday’s sectional semifinal against no. 2 seed Indian River, where senior Kaitlyn Kibling had a night to remember with 41 points, all of them needed to beat the Warriors 70-66.
Kibling made sure, from opening tip to final buzzer, that IR paid a steep price for centering its defense on trying to contain Streiff, working her total to 16 points as Ludden clung to a 28-26 advantage at the break
Canisius College-bound senior Adrien LaMora would shine again for IR. Finshing with 28 points, LaMora helped pull the Warriors even with the Gaelic Knights, 45-45, heading into the fourth quarter.
Try as it could, though, IR had no answer for Kibling, who hit on a variety of shots, everything from drives to the basket to pulling up and hitting on four 3-pointers.
And the Warriors couldn’t key on her because Streiff, despite the double teams, still picked up 15 points and eight rebounds as Bridget Dunham had nine points and five steals.
Not until Ludden hit on some late free throws could it escape, Kibling completing her career-best effort and setting up her Gaelic Knights for the championship battle against J-D, who in the other semifinal had stunned top seed Auburn, ending the Maroons’ 17-game win streak.
If the Red Rams had any notion of a similar upset here, it was quickly dashed. Flustered by the Gaelic Knights’ relentless pressure, J-D had to burn three time-outs in the opening minutes.
By then, Streiff had taken full advantage of the Rams’ concentration on Ludden’s outside shooters. From post shots to longer-range jumpers, Streiff, by herself, matched J-D’s entire first-half output by getting 16 points.
Ultimately, Streiff worked her total to 24 points, and Ludden was well-balanced around her, too, with Kibling getting 12 points, Dunham 11 points and senior Sarah Boyea stepping up with nine points.
“Our team goes very deep,’ said Streiff. “We all feed off each other, and when that happens, people don’t know who to guard.”
As if earning a 42-17 halftime lead wasn’t enough, Ludden netted the first 13 points of the third quarter, too, which allowed it to pull its starters early in preparation for entering the state Class A tournament.
This Saturday at Cicero-North Syracuse, the Gaelic Knights play in the regional final against the winner of a game earlier in the week between Averill Park (Section II) and Massena (Section X), with a trip to the March 18-19 state final four in Troy on the line.
