HILTON, N.Y. — Four different players scored during a 10-1 run to close the third quarter as the Hilton girls’ basketball team grabbed a commanding lead en route to a 57-39 victory over Gates-Chili in first-round action of the 2019 Section V Class AA tournament.
With the Cadets holding a five-point edge, Meghan Schiano nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key, and Linzee Reyes followed with a pair of free throws for a double-digit advantage.
Schiano found Katherine Annable with an inside-out feed for a 3-pointer, and Olivia Strauss closed the stanza with an up-and-under move from the right block for a 40-26 Hilton lead.
“We got back to making that extra pass, working together and giving up a good shot to get a great shot,” Hilton head coach Kurt Graupman said.”Making the extra pass, that was the difference.”
Three possessions into the fourth quarter, Annable connected for the third time from 3-point land, and Hilton was well on its way.
“If she comes to life and we knock down shots, that changes things a little bit,” Graupman noted. “I was stressing to them that Gates tends to over-extend their zone and get out of position. That’s when we had to penetrate gaps, so we can find the short corner and the high post.”
The win was the seventh for Hilton (14-7) in its last eight games. The Cadets only loss during the stretch was an eight-point setback to Penfield (currently No. 7 NYSSWA Class AA).
Graupman pointed to the play of Schiano and Meaghan McGwin for the late-season surge.
“They’ve really come to life the second part of the season which in turn has taken some of the pressure off Megan Letta and Linzee Reyes. Those two have become really unselfish. My posts have worked really well together, high-low and getting good shots for each other. That was what we saw in the second half.”
Sydney Carpenter connects from long range to cut the deficit in half. Going to 2nd: @GCSDSpartans 8 @HiltonCadets 5 Section V Class AA pic.twitter.com/0ofbOkZWGu
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 16, 2019
Letta paced Hilton’s offense with 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Schiano finished with nine points and seven rebounds. Annable shot 3-of-5 from long range. Reyes collected eight points, five rebounds and three steals. McGwin chipped in seven, and Strauss had four points.
Megan Letta finds Meghan Schiano in the paint for 2. 1:32 remaining in the 3rd. Class AA GBB @HiltonCadets 35 @GCSDSpartans 25 pic.twitter.com/ReZ2YLBmqd
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 16, 2019
Sydney Carpenter (5), Paige Favor (2) and Maddie Manetta (2) rounded out the scoring for Hilton.
Maylee Kerns paced Gates-Chili (7-14) with 13 points. Sy’Ann Hall-Johnson added 12. Paris Anthony had six points while Mirian Ibezim scored five and Demarieh Martin had three points.
With the win, No. 6 seed Hilton advances to meet No.3 seed Edison Tech. The Inventors downed Wilson Magnet, 80-36 earlier in the day. Edison beat Hilton 58-40 when the two teams met on January 2nd.
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