High School Extra: Williamsville North girls advance
Published: December 02, 2009, 12:30 am
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Williamsville North overcame first-half foul trouble and erratic foul shooting in a 42-39 victory over Sacred Heart on Tuesday night in the Rose Pastor Division game of the Cooper-Pastor Memorial Tournament at Daemen College.
It was an early-season showdown between two teams that were among Western New York's best last season.
North tied for the ECIC I championship and reached the semifinals of the Section VI Class AA playoffs while Sacred Heart was ranked No. 1 in The Buffalo News large school poll most of the season and went undefeated until losing to Nichols in the championship game of the Monsignor Martin Association playoffs. The Sharks finished the season at 24-2.
Williamsville North trailed, 17-8, after the first quarter but left the court at halftime tied at 24-all. Sacred Heart led, 32-30, after three quarters.
"We came out flat but after we started playing a little tougher defense it woke us up," said North coach Clare Crowley. "We got some turnovers and points in transition. I think it was just a little bit of jitters in the beginning."
The Spartans triumphed despite making only 13 of 25 free-throw attempts. Also, Corrin Genovese and Nikki Attea, two returning starters from last season, each picked up three first- half fouls. And North field hockey standout Allie Ahern also picked up a couple of fouls in the first half.
Genovese, a junior, led North with 18 points while Attea, a 6-foot-3 sophomore, had 15, and the speedy Ahern stood out defensively.
"Allie is super fast. Her defense really lit a spark for us," Crowley said of the junior guard.
Junior Sarah Pawlak led Sacred Heart with 17 points.
Williamsville North will face Grand Island in the Rose Pastor Division championship game at 5:15 p.m. on Friday at Daemen.
Nowak leads Quakers
Troy Nowak scored 14 of his 21 points in the second period to lead Orchard Park over McKinley, 56-39, in an Al Pastor Division boys game of the Pastor Cooper Memorial Tournament at Daemen.
McKinley led 12-8 after the opening period but the Quakers had a 22-11 advantage in the second.
Defending Niagara-Orleans League champion Medina got a triple double (15 points, 11 rebounds and 12 blocks) from 6-7 senior Levi Pace and overcome a 12-point halftime deficit to defeat MST Seneca, 56-53, in the other Al Pastor Division game.
The Mustangs started the second half on a 13-0 run and outscored Seneca, 22-4 in the third quarter.
"We had seven different scorers in the third, a nice balanced attack," said Medina coach Tom Forrestel. "We switched up our ballhandling, cut down on turnovers and tightened up a little defensively."
Adam Hellwig had eight of his 12 points in the second half and Willie Jacks had nine of his 11 in the second half in the Medina rally.
Bears to face OP
The Immaculata and Orchard Park girls basketball teams won first-round games in the West Seneca West Tournament and will play for the title at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
Jill Fitzner (13 points) was one of three Bears in double figures in a 63-46 win over the host Indians. Shannon Dougherty had 14 points for West Seneca West.
Taylor Swiatek had 20 points as Orchard Park easily disposed of West Seneca East, 66-16, in the first game of the doubleheader. OP's Jaymie Druding had 16 points, 12 rebounds and six blocked shots.
In the Prima Pizza Hutch-Tech Tournament, Kelly Walsh hit a three-pointer with 27 seconds left to give Cardinal O'Hara a 27-26 win over Akron. O'Hara will face Lackawanna for the championship at 7:30 tonight. The Steelers beat Hutch-Tech, 50-43.
Talia Parker's layup at the buzzer gave Cheektowaga a 43-42 victory over Eden in a nonleague game. Kadijah Kidd has 12 points and 17 rebounds for the Warriors. Hannah Herc had 13 points for Eden.
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