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By TIM IRVING
Bishop Kearney’s girls basketball team’s quest to win the Sectional Class AA title began last year after a loss to Penfield in the finals.
“All of these girls told all the seniors from last year’s team we’re gonna win it next year, we’re taking it back, they took it personally,” coach Kevan Sheppard said after the Kings won a battle against Fairport, 58-52 to earn their fourth title in five years.
Both teams made runs in a high-scoring first quarter as Amaia Jackson hit two three-pointers in the early going as Kearney opened an 11-4 lead before the Red Raiders ended the quarter on a 19-4 run. Bella Pucci scored eight points in the run while Ne’Vaeh Buntley and Emma Meabon scored six each as Fairport built a 25-18 lead after the first eight minutes.
The scoring dropped off dramatically for Fairport from there. Buntley and Abigail Smith hit three-pointers in the first three minutes of the quarter to get the lead to 31-22.
The Kings then went on a 10-0 run to end the half. Allie Hall provided some key minutes in the paint for Kearney, scoring six points in the second quarter.
But it was sophomore guard Aniya Rowe taking the opportunity to get out and run that pushed Kearney to a 32-31 halftime advantage.
“I’ve been telling her for two years, you’re more talented than you know, you don’t understand how good you’re gonna be and I’m glad she doesn’t know because she can just go out and play freely,” Sheppard said about Rowe, who scored 15 first half points.
The two teams came out cold in the second half and the Kings’ only senior, Kaia Goode, got in foul trouble but continued to play. The lead changed hands three times before Meabon scored a couple of baskets inside to make the lead 44-39 lead and the Red Raiders carried a 45-42 lead into the fourth.
Sheppard said, “Because of the fouls, it was hard for us to press full court the way we normally do and we tried to adjust but because that’s not how we normally play, they were able to take advantage of it.”
Sheppard knew they were going to have to chance Goode fouling out of the game to get some pressure on Fairport and it worked. Rowe scored twice on turnovers to tie the game at 49 with 4:37 to play.
Two key factors in most basketball games allowed the Kings to pull away; turnovers and missed free throws.
Klarissa Goode scored off of two Rowe steals and Fairport shot 2-for-12 from the the free throw line in the second half.
Rowe finished with 22 points and MVP honors and was joined by Buntley, Bella Pucci of Fairport and both Goode sisters on the All-Tournament team.
“I’ve been watching Fairport for the last three weeks and I think they were on a 12, 13 game winning streak so they looked like world beaters and when I watched them against Penfield, I thought, we got a lot of work to do and because this was such a hard-fought victory, that’s special.” Sheppard said.
Kearney plays in the Far West Regional at Rush-Henrietta next Saturday, scheduled to begin at 11am.
SCORING
2-Fairport 52
Ne’vaeh Buntley 17, Abigail Smith 7, Ella Meabon 10, Bella Pucci 8, Riley DeRue 7, Macy Ostrander 3.
1-Bishop Kearney 58
Klarissa Goode 8, Aniya Rowe 22, Kaia Goode 13, Amaia Jackson 6, Caydence Hadley 2, Allie Hall 7.
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