By PAUL GOTHAM
WEBSTER, N.Y. — Dee Dee Allen takes responsibility for the music selections played during the Brockport Girls’ Basketball practices. So when the familiar melodies were missing at the beginning of Thursday’s pre-game routine, it was only fitting that the senior was the one who helped her team out of a funk.
Allen scored 17 of her game-high 21 points in the third quarter and claimed Tournament MVP honors as Brockport downed Webster Schroeder, 53-45 in the finals of the 2019 Coach Chow Classic.
“There are a lot of things that go into the choppiness that was tonight,” second-year coach Justin Laureano said. “It’s no JV game. It’s traveling here and getting off the bus and not sitting and watching the JV game and shooting the breeze like they normally do. The pre-game routine was even choppy. We came out; there’s no music. We like the music. All of those things factor in.”
Five minutes into the contest, Brockport, which came in averaging better than 55 points per game, had scored all of four points. After Shinya Lee opened the game with a bucket in the paint, the Blue Devils failed to add to their total on seven of the next eight possessions.
It looked like they found their stride late in the first quarter, and a GG Allen steal and layup early in the second pushed Brockport’s advantage to double digits at 18-7. A Bryn Hayes pull-up jumper made it 23-12.
But a young Schroeder squad refused to go away. Lill Northrup scored off an inbound pass and made it a 23-18 game shortly after halftime.
Dee Dee Allen took over from there scoring 10 of Brockport’s next eleven points.
“She was getting a lot of shots in the first half, but it just wasn’t shots in her rhythm” Laureano explained. “We talk about her not being fantastic with her back to the basket, but she’s deadly when she’s squared up and facing the basket.”
DD Allen on the finishing end of the press break. End 1st @BCSDBlueDevils 12 @SchroederGBball 5 pic.twitter.com/nGLC02nTzr
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) January 25, 2019
Allen started by converting a rebound and putback. She followed with a steal and layup. After getting ahead of the defense for a layup, the 5-foot-9 forward scored inside to make it a 31-20 game.
“In that third quarter she went to the glass really hard. She got herself in open spots where we can hit her for short jump shots. She made the shots she’s accustomed to making.”
Allen scored the last seven points of the quarter capping the effort with an and-one to give Brockport a 45-33 lead.
“A lot of those baskets were scored on passes from Bryn (Hayes),” Allen said of her teammate. “She was finding me with good passes.”
Hayes finished with 15. Lee had 10 points, 11 rebounds, four blocks and three steals as the Blue Devils (14-1) won their fourth straight. Allen collected a game-high five steals.
Bryn Hayes gets in the lane for the bucket. Midway through the first @BCSDBlueDevils 4 @SchroederGBball 3 pic.twitter.com/82CIlwORGa
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) January 25, 2019
“From the beginning of the year even before the year starts we talk about one thing and that’s being prepared when the tournament gets here and being the toughest out we can be,” Laureano said. “We’re moving in that direction. We’re not there yet. We got some hard games coming up. I think it’s going to be good for us moving into the tournament to play great competition.”
Schroeder sophomore Olivia Reschke connected four times from 3-point land and led the Warriors (3-10) with 15 points. Freshman Andraia DiPisa added 11. Northrup, a sophomore, had eight points.
Olivia Reschke connects from long range for @SchroederGBball 2:16 remaining in the half @BCSDBlueDevils leads 23-15 pic.twitter.com/cBtt7EP0GZ
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) January 25, 2019
“I watched two game films on them,” Laureano said of Schroeder. “Both of the game films that I saw they gave maximum effort the whole time no matter what. They never gave up. They never quit and that’s the same thing that they did tonight. They play hard for their coach. He should expect some good things coming in the future.”
Other scorers: Brockport – GG Allen (4), Emma Laureano (2) and Erynn Hogan (1). Schroeder – Anya Watkins (5), Kaitlyn Brewer (4) and Jessalyn Willmott (2).
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