Rochester wins first BCANY title since 2018.
By PAUL GOTHAM
JOHNSON CITY, N.Y. — Molly O’Toole (Aquinas) connected on four 3-pointers to lead five in double figures, and the Rochester Girls used a 20-point advantage to open the second half on the way to an 81-69 victory over Southern Tier in the championship of the 2023 Basketball Coaches Association of New York (BCANY) Summer Hoops Festival, Sunday at Johnson City Elementary School.
O’Toole scored five points late in the first half to help hold off a Southern Tier rally. The 5-foot-10 junior then buried one of her triples coming out of the break as Rochester pulled away from a single-digit game.
“I give all the credit to my teammates,” said O’Toole who finished with a game-high 17 points. “They found me when I was open. I was just hitting shots.”
Molly O’Toole gives Rochester a 26-21 lead late in the first half. pic.twitter.com/8nTrMVtOBH
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) July 30, 2023
O’Toole was the fourth different player in the six-game tournament to lead Rochester in scoring. She joined Ne’veah Buntley (Fairport), Rhylin Fehrenbach (Victor) and Mallory Heise (Hilton) in topping the effort on the offensive end.
“It’s our chemistry,” O’Toole said. “We clicked from the start of the tournament, and it just worked all the way through.”
Buntley scored 16 points in the championship game including nine in the second half.
“Last year we fell short,” Buntley said referring to a loss to eventual champion Central in the 2022 semifinals. “I knew this year we had to come back out strong. We came out strong, and we played all the way through and won six in a row.”
Loren Green (Aquinas) opened the second-half scoring with a layup and trey of her own. Lena Lipani (Penfield) followed with a three-ball and a traditional 3-point play. Heise drove the lane and finished. Rochester led 51-34 and did not allow Souther Tier within single digits for the remainder of the contest.
“It started with the defense,” Buntley said. “Once we got the defense going, the offense followed from there.
“For us, it was the energy on the defense. Once we got one steal, we were on to a layup at the opposite end.”
Southern Tier hit five 3-pointers during the first half but could only connect once from long range during the first eight-plus minutes of the second half when Rochester held its opponent to 10 points. A stretch in which Rochester allowed just four field goals.
Lena Lipani takes the Mallory Heise feed and connects for 3. pic.twitter.com/L0zrrjVWNK
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) July 30, 2023
“We talked about stopping the ball sooner in transition,” head coach Jeff Parizek said. “We knew that they had good shooters all around. We talked about playing a little higher and bringing more ball pressure.
“Our forwards got back and protected the rim, and we started talking more on defense to eliminate easy opportunities. They (Southern Tier) could not get an open shot. It frustrated them early in the half. Then we made big shots. It turned the momentum in our favor.”
The championship was Rochester’s third in the 11-year history of the tournament. The last Rochester title coming in 2018 when current Syracuse star Dyaisha Fair led the local contingent to a title.
Ne’vaeh Buntley finishes in traffic. The lead balloons to 21. Rochester 63-42. pic.twitter.com/saLou0Vtjv
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) July 30, 2023
“It’s a special group,” Parizek said of the current squad. “At any given time, any kid can go for double digits. Molly really struggled in the previous game. She didn’t shoot it well, and she didn’t missed some easy opportunities. I told her to have confidence and get some shots in warm-ups to get a feel. She came out and was lights out.”
Lipani had 14 points in the win. Heise scored 12. Green accounted for 10 while Fehrenbach chipped in five points, Addison Morgan three, Takyla Vaughn two and Allie Hall one point.
Rochester needed less than five minutes to grab its first double-digit lead of the game. Buntley converted a steal and layup for a 13-3 lead. Vaughn followed with a bucket in the post.
Six different players connected from long range for Rochester which hit 11 threes overall.
Souther Tier’s Adriana Fontana hit a jump hook in the lane to make it 26-25 with less than four minutes remaining in the first half. Rochester did not surrender the lead, though.
Fontana led Southern Tier with 14 points. Sophia Bonnell had 13.
FINAL RESULTS
Rochester (Girls) 90 North Country 35
Rochester 65 Central 41
Rochester 64 Mid-Hudson 63
Rochester 61 Long Island 60
Rochester 55 Long Island 50 (semi-final)
Rochester 81 Southern Tier 69 (championship)
Buffalo 68 Rochester (Boys) 62
Central 93 Rochester 86
Rochester 74 Suffolk 69
Rochester 77 Hudson Valley 65
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