By CHUCKIE MAGGIO
Alahna Paige fired off a fist pump and exclaimed in her teammates’ direction, the significance of the 9-0 run Irondequoit was on not lost on the senior guard.
Offense was at a premium all night on Tuesday, highlighted by the Eagles’ six-point third quarter that saw them go 5:40 without a field goal. Despite scoring its fewest points since a Jan. 4 victory over Frontier, Scott Smith’s team held on to defeat Canandaigua 45-35 to advance to Friday’s Class A sectional final against Pittsford Mendon.
“We’ll take it,” Smith said. “At this point in the season, it’s only gonna get tougher. Like I said earlier, survive and advance. We had a great game plan. We played them twice… (Canandaigua coach Michael Brennan) did a nice job of trying to contain her. It was a wake-up call for us. We did enough, we worked hard, played good defense but we’ve gotta do a better job executing on the offensive end.”
After being held without a three-pointer for three quarters, Paige hit two in a row as part of a 10-point fourth quarter. She scored 27 total points to lead all scorers, outdueling Canandaigua freshman Mya Herman and senior Maddie Ryan, who scored 15 and 11, respectively.
The Eagles led for the majority of the first half as Paige outscored the Braves by herself with 12 first-half points in a 20-10 locker room advantage. Irondequoit prevented the Canandaigua attack, holding its offense to four second-quarter points; Herman made two field goals but Paige, Leah Memmott and Tatum Clarke each knocked down shots for the Eagles.
Canandaigua made a third-quarter push, galvanized by a 14-2 run where Irondequoit went 3:20 without points. Herman posted eight points in that span, while Ryan, Kyleigh Chapman and Kate Stocker chipped in free throws.
The Eagles returned to the scoring column by drawing four fouls in the last 1:20 of the third. A driving Paige made five of a possible six free throws, while Amiyah Nunn split a pair. Chapman stopped the 6-0 run with two free throws to end the quarter.
Irondequoit’s key run at the beginning of the fourth quarter included a mix of opportunistic plays and smart design. First, Morgan Nicholas corralled a missed three-pointer and put it back for two. Paige then hauled in a long Braves miss and got out in transition for a layup. Smith designed a seamless baseline out-of-bounds play for a Nicholas layup, followed by Paige’s off-balance three that set off “The Roar” and forced a Canandaigua timeout.
Paige’s three after the timeout and layup on the next Eagles possession made it a 14-0 run and comfortable 15-point lead with 2:30 to go. Even as Paige was charged with her fifth and disqualifying foul at the 2:23 mark, her teammates maintained a double-digit advantage.
“They’re a true team,” Smith remarked about Paige’s foul-out. “It could’ve affected them, but they stuck together, they found a way… at the end of the game when they had to move the ball and they were trying to foul us, we were able to burn time. I’m very proud of the way they stuck together and managed the last two minutes of the game, without their leader.”
Mendon looms, and the 20-3 Vikings are a worthy championship opponent. The teams did not meet in the regular season, but Irondequoit has an idea of what to expect.
“We’re gonna see a really good defensive side,” Smith assessed. “We’re gonna have to execute better than we did tonight. We’re gonna have to play a little better, a little bit more cohesive on the offensive end. And we’ve gotta do a good job guarding. We’ve gotta guard the ball and we’ve gotta box out.
“Limit the number of second-chance points they get. They live off that.”
Irondequoit scorers: Paige 27, Memmott 7, Clarke 4, Nicholas 4, Drew Kemp 2, Amiyah Nunn
Canandaigua scorers: Herman 15, Ryan 11, Stocker 6, Chapman 3
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