By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Tournament MVP Morgan Caraballo scored nine of her game-high 22 points during a decisive 25-2 run to close the third quarter, and the top-seeded Waterloo girls’ basketball team claimed its third straight sectional title with a 65-57 win over No. 2 Palmyra-Macedon in Class B1 action, Saturday morning at Rush-Henrietta high school.
Caraballo sandwiched a bucket in the lane from teammate Jazzmyn Lewis with a length of the floor layup and a pull-up jumper as Waterloo turned a halftime deficit into a double-digit lead at 45-32.
“I was talking to (teammate Natalie DiSanto) Nat and Jazz ‘this is our last chance. We’re seniors,’”the 5-6 guard said. “‘We don’t want to go out like this, so we have to pick it up.’”
DiSanto started the outburst with back-to-back 3s, the second of which gave Waterloo (22-1) a lead it did not surrender at 34-32.
Caraballo converted one-of-two free throws and Lewis followed with baskets on consecutive possessions.
Pal-Mac took a timeout with 3:50 remaining in the third quarter. The stoppage did not bring a halt to Waterloo’s surge.
Morgan Caraballo uses the ball screen to bury another triple. Waterloo closes the third on a 25-2 run to take a 53-34 lead into the final eight minutes of play. @SecVGBasketball pic.twitter.com/T0c3eWgmWx
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) March 4, 2023
“This group hasn’t been down very much at half,” Waterloo head coach Mike Bree said of the talk in the locker room. “I think they were upset enough with themselves.
“Even though we were frustrated, I think our girls still thought as long as we keep playing the way we were, maybe play a little bit faster.”
The run started after Caraballo hit from distance and Bree took a timeout less than two minutes into the third quarter.
“I called the timeout just because I wanted to go into halftime and really get on them, but I didn’t,” Bree said. “I did get on them over here (on the bench). I was just like ‘let’s go. We hit one. It’s time.’ And it was.
“They got that run. That’s how they like it. We’re always screaming ‘slow down, slow down.’ But they don’t like that.”
Caraballo connected on another trey before Maci Mueller found the range from distance to close the third.
Any chance of a Pal-Mac rally in the fourth was quickly dismissed when Caraballo took a pass from Lewis and finished in the lane.
“Speaking of frustration in the first half, I think she was the most frustrated. It wasn’t anything special they were doing. She was just missing, but it’s only a matter of time with her. She’s going to find a groove. She’s been such a consistent scorer this year for us.”
Lewis and DiSanto joined Caraballo on the All-Tournament team. Lewis finished with 17 points. DiSanto had 10.
Addison Bree added nine points in the win. Mueller had five and Logan Amidon rounded out Waterloo’s scoring with two points.
Waterloo will play either Dansville or Hornell in the Class B regional qualifier.
Taryn Goodness and Georgia Wirth led Pal-Mac (19-4) with 10 points apiece. Molly Seither and Erika Mitchell both scored nine. Marianna Hodgins scored seven.
Goodness and Hodgins joined Kylie Buckley (Livonia) and Grace Murphy (Midlakes) on the All-Tournament team.
Waterloo, the reigning state finalist, came into Saturday’s action with a record of 94 wins and five losses over the past four seasons. Pal-Mac had four wins over the Tigers during that stretch including once during the regular season.
Morgan Caraballo from Jazzmyn Lewis to start the fourth-quarter scoring. pic.twitter.com/5UbtUUYXBF
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) March 4, 2023
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