Harrisville girls look to keep the magic margin going

To reach the state final four, the Harrisville girls basketball team had to win two close games against Westport and Argyle.

But the Pirates (18-4) were not worried about the quality of competition they'd face in the state tournament. They were just glad to finally find a way to get into the state tournament after years of fielding competitive teams, only to come up short against Hammond in the Section 10 playoffs.

Harrisville will continue its quest to win a state Class D title Saturday morning when it faces Section 4 champion Davenport (20-3) in a semifinal at 10:45 a.m. at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy. The winner will face either Section 6's Clymer (18-4) or Section 9's John A. Coleman (17-3), the defending state champions, in the championship game at noon Sunday.

"They are all going to be good once you get to this level," said Harrisville senior Patty Coloney. "We'll be expecting that we'll have to play hard against any team we play this weekend."

The Pirates won both of their state-playoff games in similar fashion, edging Section 7's Westport by four points (43-39) and then knocking off Section 2 champion Argyle by four points (55-51).

"They've held a pretty even keel," Pirates coach Pete Wood said of his team. "Of course they are excited about the state playoffs, but once game time rolls around, they are down to business and get the job done."

This will be the first final four for the girls basketball program, but the older girls on this team have been on state tournament squads in soccer in two of the last three years.

"I think it helps them," Wood said. "The experience of being in those situations and those type of games. Certainly the pressure, I don't think they feel that as much."

Said senior Katlyn Hart, "We kind of knew what to expect."

The past three years Harrisville has challenged in Section 10, but watched Hammond win the title each season. Two of those years, the Red Devils went on to win a state title, and last year the team reached the final four.

But Hammond's success, and knowing how well Harrisville competed against the Red Devils in those years, gave the Pirates confidence going into states.

"Last year we beat Hammond once and knowing they got to the final four kind of make us realize that maybe teams outside our section weren't as tough as our section," Hart said.

Said Coloney, "It's like we've been getting closer and closer each year to beating (Hammond). To be them during the season is a big deal. Last year when they went to the final four, we were very close each time we played them. We thought if we could get out of our section we'd have a good chance to get to a final four."

Harrisville's next challenge will come from a solid defensive team in Davenport, which reached the semifinals with a 34-24 win over Section 3 champion Hamilton on Saturday.

The Wildcats are led by senior Samantha Meyerhoff, who has scored 2,000-plus career points and had 20 of the team's 34 points on Saturday.

"They have good guard play and they do a lot of pressing," Wood said.

Since scouting opportunities are limited at the state level, the Pirates spent more time this week working on their own game, instead of devising strategies for any of the teams they'll face.

"We're really excited," Coloney said. "We've been working hard all season and it finally paid off. The school is excited. I think we're going to see a lot of people going down. It's kind of a big thing for our town."