By PAUL GOTHAM
PITTSFORD, N.Y. — The Penfield girls’ basketball team went looking for an offensive spark. The Patriots found what they needed in reserve player Jessica Rinere.
Trailing by seven midway through the second quarter of Thursday’s Class AA semifinal, Rinere highlighted an 11-2 run as top-seeded Penfield grabbed a lead and never trailed again.
Rinere’s runner off a drive from the left corner kickstarted Penfield’s offense. Three possessions later, the junior guard connected from 3-point land to knot the game at 18.
“We needed everything she gave,” Penfield coach Mark Vogt said after the Patriots defeated No. 5 seed Our Lady of Mercy 61-53. “Jess is a competitor, and she’s fearless. She made some really big shots when we needed them. Jess gave us some points off the bench in a game where we were struggling.”
Averaging less than four points per game, Rinere finished with 13. She connected five times from the floor including three from behind the 3-point arc. Her triple on an inside-out feed from teammate Haley Emmick pushed Penfield’s advantage to seven late in the third quarter.
Jessica Rinere gets the runner to fall, Penfield trails Mercy 18-13. pic.twitter.com/lREEo2p6g2
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) March 1, 2019
“We always try to move the ball and get it into the post to get post touches, so we can play our inside-out game,” said Rinere. “That’s how we like to play it. They just kicked it out, and I shot it from the top.”
After committing nine turnovers in the first quarter, Penfield took its first double-digit lead when Katherine Rinere finished in the lane for a 43-33 advantage early in the fourth quarter.
“It wasn’t our best in the first half, but sometimes you got to grind it out,” Vogt stated. “The defense kept us in the game, and then we started making plays as the game got a little more fluid.”
Katie Whitaker scored 13 to pace Mercy over the first 16 minutes. The 6-foot-4 sophomore scored seven straight from the end of the first into the second quarter. Whitaker nailed a jump hook in the lane before converting a rebound and putback. Her trey from the top of the arc gave the Monarchs their largest lead of the night at 18-11.
Katie Whitaker completes the rebound and putback, but Mercy trails Penfield 32-30. pic.twitter.com/Wue5pUArNt
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) March 1, 2019
“Mercy did great,” Vogt said. “That’s a very competitive, well-coached team.”
Penfield, though, limited Whitaker to just six points in the second half.
“I thought we did a great job of keeping her away from the basket, but it was collapsing on the catch and making her pass,” Vogt explained. “We weren’t doing that. Our double teams weren’t as good in the first half.”
Emily Tabone scored all seven of her points in the fourth, and Caroline Murphy added five of her seven in the final stanza as Mercy eventually cut the deficit to four. Murphy found Maggie McDonough in the left corner for a 3-pointer to make it a 54-50 game with less than two minutes remaining.
Mercy did not get any closer.
McDonough finished with 12 points. Jenna Babcock (4), Holly Bagley (2) and Mary Grace McCann rounded out the scoring for the Monarchs (17-6).
Baylee Teal led Penfield (20-1) with 18 points. Brianne Moxley and Nyara Simmons added 11 apiece.
Simmons also had 10 rebounds, a steal and an assist.
Nyara Simmons converts the rebound & putback. Early in the 3rd Penfield 24 Mercy 20 pic.twitter.com/1vEWXHAhPZ
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) March 1, 2019
Katherine Rinere grabbed six rebounds, handed out four assists and scored three points.
Nina Nesselbush grabbed seven rebounds and scored five points.
Penfield will meet No. 2 seed Bishop Kearney in Saturday’s final. Kearney took a 64-51 decision when the two teams met earlier this season.
“That’s the game everybody said was going to happen,” Vogt said. “They held up their end. We held up our end. We’ll have a good day of practice tomorrow. We’ll have a shootaround on Saturday. We’ll show up and we’re going to play 32 minutes of Penfield basketball.”
A 7 PM tipoff is scheduled at Victor High School.
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