Pickin' Splinters

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Gates girls hold off late Schroeder rally

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Webster Schroeder’s Lill Northrup goes to the basket during second-half action Tuesday night. Gates-Chili’s Maylee Kerns (20) and Paris Anthony (3) defend on the play. (Photo: SUE KANE)

By PAUL GOTHAM

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Terah Echols scored eight of her team-high 18 points in the second quarter, and the Gates-Chili Lady Spartans held on to beat Webster Schroeder, 66-56 Tuesday night.

With Gates leading by three early in the quarter, Echols finished a bucket in the lane. By the time the sophomore converted a layup in transition nine possessions later, Gates had a double-digit advantage on its way to a 16-point lead at halftime.

“We’ve preached defense and team basketball all year, so we ended up starting to be able to make our runs and look up,” Lady Spartans head coach Rachel Leonard said. “We get a lot of our energy off those steals and rebounds. We were able to string a few of those together which was great.”

With the win, Gates (No. 16 NYSSWA Class AA) improved to 8-0 on the season. Five of the wins have been by double digits.

“I’m particularly fond of this group,” said Leonard who also coached the current players at the JV level. “Last year we had some injuries, but we saw pieces coming together. It’s great to see all the kids’ hard work pay off.”

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Paris Anthony drove across the lane for a basket and hit a pull-up jumper in transition as part of the second quarter. Maylee Kerns converted five of six free throw opportunities, and the Lady Spartans led 33-17 at halftime.

“We’ve worked so hard that we know all of our kids can score,” Leonard noted. “We just ask them to contribute. Find a way to contribute and the offense will come.”

Gates took a 48-30 lead into the fourth quarter, and Miriam Ibezim scored on back-to-back possessions pushing the advantage past 20 points. Anthony got ahead of the defense after a rebound and outlet to give the Lady Spartans their biggest lead of the game at 54-30.

Lill Northrup and Mariah Watkins paced a 17-2 Schroeder run as the Warriors cut the margin to seven.

“This is a really close group; they never stop,” Schroeder head coach Mike Grasta said. “One of the biggest things that we have focused on is resilience. Persistence is one of our core values. Last year as a young team we struggled with staying at it when times were tough. They’ve started to really believe in themselves. We’re getting close. We’re competing with good teams.”

Northrup, a junior, and Watkins, an eighth-grader, combined to hit six 3-pointers in the quarter. Northrup started the rally with triples on back-to-back possessions.

“It’s a testament to how mature these kids are for how young they are,” Grasta said pointing that the squad’s lone senior, Kaitlyn Brewer, was sidelined with an injury. “They’re ready to fight with anybody. We competed all off-season against the best teams that we could, so that we were ready.”

Northrup grabbed the rebound off a missed free throw and set up Watkins for a three. Next trip down the floor, Watkins hit again to make it a 60-53 game with 37.1 seconds remaining.

“They expect a lot out of themselves,” Grasta said. “I’m excited about what this group will do going forward.”

Watkins finished with a game-high 21 points. Northrup added 17.

Anya Watkins added 16 points.

“Anya’s presence was huge tonight,” Grasta said of the junior forward/guard. “When you have a player like Anya, you really can stay in any game.”

Ibezim scored 13 of her 17 points in the second half. Anthony had 12 points. Kerns chipped in with nine. McKenzie Clifton (2) and Sy’Ann Hall-Johnson (2) rounded out the scoring for Gates-Chili.

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