Spartans reclaim championship status
UTICA — The South Jefferson Spartans are back on top of the Section 3 girls basketball world, and it's exactly where they believe they belong.
Rachael Bassett hit for 16 points Saturday at the Utica Memorial Auditorium as the top-seeded Spartans defeated No. 6 Jordan-Elbridge 42-37 for the Class B sectional title.
The undefeated and No. 1 state-ranked Spartans (21-0) cooled the hottest team remaining in the tournament in claiming their seventh championship in eight seasons.
In the Class C final, No. 5 Utica Notre Dame knocked off No. 2 Thousand Islands 56-41.
SOUTH JEFFERSON 42,
JORDAN-ELBRIDGE 37
The Eagles (16-6), who ripped through three sectional opponents by an average of 25.7 points, were coaxed into a lower-scoring effort than they would have preferred by South Jefferson's defensive consistency.
The Spartans, meanwhile, claimed a win they'd waited over a year to get, and will play Section 4 champion Oneonta at 1 p.m. Saturday in a state quarterfinal at SUNY Cortland.
The Spartans expressed joy and relief after overcoming last season's disappointment They didn't win the 2009 title, which, to them, represented failure.
"This is the same group that didn't get it last year," coach Pat Bassett said. "There's pressure on this group. The spot is already picked out in the gym for the next sectional banner."
Jordan-Elbridge (16-6), which had already knocked off the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds, shot out to a 5-0 advantage as 6-foot, 3-inch tall Molly Hourigan swatted away most of South Jefferson's early offerings.
But an 11-2 run helped South Jefferson take control by the midpoint of the third quarter. The key was limiting Hourigan, who entered the final scoring 18 points per sectional victory, to seven points, and only three in the second half.
"It was a team effort," Bassett said of containing Hourigan. "Maddy (Wetterhahn) fronted her well, but she needed help because she is so big."
No Eagle reached double figures in scoring.
"It's always intimidating to see a 6-3 girl standing in the lane," guard Leah Williams said. "But when we go out there, we make it a point to not look at the other team. We just focus on what we need to do."
Amanda Roberts added nine points and Wetterhahn tacked on six as South Jefferson slowed a Jordan-Elbridge squad that routed its three previous opponents.
"South Jeff brought it defensively," Jordan-Elbridge coach Leslie Ahern said. "More than we've seen all year. Our girls got kind of scatter-brained by it and didn't really know how to react to the pressure."
The Eagles drew to within six on Liz Caspari's bucket with about five minutes remaining, but Williams and Bassett swished back-to-back 3-pointers to preserve the Spartans' lead. Caspari completed a three-point play in the final minute to make it close again, 39-35, but Bassett canned three free throws to seal the win, and start the celebration.
"We weren't sure how the season would end up because we didn't see a lot of competition in the regular season," Williams said. "It feels great to be here again."
NOTRE DAME 56, THOUSAND ISLANDS 41
The Vikings and Jugglers traded the lead several times during the second quarter, but Notre Dame went ahead for good on a transition layup by Tierney Buckley and enjoyed a five-point halftime edge.
Making its first appearance in the sectional finals, Thousand Islands (20-2) found its niche from the perimeter and sank eight 3-pointers. But Amber Dibble's foul troubles in the paint became the Frontier League "C" Division champion's biggest problem.
The junior forward picked up her fourth personal foul with 4 minutes, 56 seconds left in the third quarter. She represented the Vikings' best chance to challenge the taller Jugglers in the post, but she couldn't do it as a spectator.
Notre Dame, which advanced to next week's state quarterfinals, took advantage right away, and engineered a 10-0 spurt that essentially clinched the victory.
"We definitely wanted to work it inside," Thousand Islands coach Pete Pettit said. "But Amber couldn't do it from the bench, and nobody else was able to step up and create an inside game."
Guard pressure frustrated Thousand Islands through out the game, too, as the Jugglers (17-5) generated 12 points directly off turnovers.
"The only other team that pressured us that hard was South Jeff," said Thousand Islands' Sam Dano, who contributed four points. "We knew they were going to go at us hard on the ball, but you really don't know how hard it will be until you actually see the team."
Pettit agreed.
"They just don't leave you alone," he said. "That frustrated us. And when you only have one or two ball handlers, if they struggle, we all do."
Emily Durr led the Jugglers, winners of seven straight, with 18 points, and Buckley finished with 14.
No players scored in double figures for the Vikings. Leading scorer Bit Hall (13.9 ppg), Alesha Waterman and Kristin McGraw each scored nine points as the team completed Thousand Islands' best season ever.
"We made school history," Pettit said.
