By MIKE ROSE
BATAVIA, N.Y. — Ava Amorese drilled the go-ahead triple with just over two minutes to play as Caledonia-Mumford defeated Pembroke 46-40 to capture the 34th Annual Batavia Rotary Club Tournament championship. Hazell Nickerson was named tournament MVP and added 14 points and 15 rebounds for the Raiders in the win. Shea Drazkowski scored 12 of her team-high 16 in the second half for Cal-Mum while Amorese finished with 12 points, five rebounds and five assists and earned All-Tournament honors. Drazkowski was also named to the All-Tournament team for her performance. The win pushes Cal-Mum to 8-2 on the season while the Dragons fall to 7-3.
“I think we executed down the stretch,” Cal-Mum head coach Mike Reed said. “We were able to get a couple of loose balls in those last couple of possessions and extend the play and make a basket because we didn’t make it in the first one because their defense was good and gave us problems all night. So that was the big difference.”
The Raiders jumped out to an early lead 21-18 lead at the half before Pembroke rallied in the third quarter. Peyton Liss scored nine of the Dragons’ 13 points in the third quarter as they took a 31-28 lead into the fourth quarter.
“We have a group of girls who have played and have experience playing,” Reed said. “We talk at halftime about there is going to be runs and you need to make a run of your own. That was the sense of it. We came out heading to the fourth down three, they beat us by six in the (third) quarter. And I told the girls that was their run and now it’s our turn to get on a run and turn it around.”
In the fourth, the Raiders made their run. Drazkowski, Nickerson and Amorese combined for 16 of the Raiders’ 18 points in the final frame. As the teams traded blows down the stretch Liss knocked down a go-ahead triple to give Pembroke a 40-39 lead with minutes to play. Amorese completed the Raiders’ comeback effort answering with a three with 2:24 to play to put Cal-Mum in front for good.
The Raiders have become frequent participants in close games this season with half of their contests being decided by single digits. After starting 1-2 on those games, including a two-point loss to Oakfield in Cal-Mum’s holiday tournament, the Raiders went 2-0 in single-digit games during the Rotary Tournament.
“I think it’s a really great sign of growth,” Amorese said. “I think as a team we’ve just really started to understand each other and I’m just so proud. I think we’re really moving in a great direction and I’m glad those losses didn’t define us.”
Early on Cal-Mum was in control, leading by three after one. Nickerson and Drazkowski each scored four and Amorese scored three in the opening quarter. Elle Peterson, who scored 15 in the Dragons’ first-round win, scored her lone three points in the first quarter while Liss led with five.
Nickerson posted six more in an 8-8 second quarter before Pembroke’s third-quarter rally led by Liss. Drazkowski was the lone Raider to score in the third quarter, tallying seven points to keep her team within striking distance. Despite her efforts down the stretch, she credited her teammates.
“The biggest thing was being confident and shooting when I was open,” Drazkowski said. “I know my teammates have a lot of trust and confidence in me so just instilling that in others by passing it around and taking those open shots is what pushes me but mostly it’s my teammates.”
Amorese, Nickerson, and Drazkowski scored the final seven points of the night to put the game away for good. Liss scored a game-high 22 points on her way to earning All-Tournament honors for Pembroke. Seneca Calderon added seven points, three assists and two steals for the Dragons.
Peterson joined Liss and the trio from Cal-Mum on the All-Tournament team. Batavia’s Jamin Macdonald and Notre Dame’s Nina Bartz rounded out the All-Tournament team.
The Raiders hope that winning a tournament against a trio of quality programs can jump-start them as they get set for the meat of their schedule.
“We’ve only lost two,” Reed said. “We lost by one point to Livonia on a last-second shot and we lost by two to Oakfield and had a chance to tie it at the end. So I think the girls just gain that confidence that we can finish and we can perform at the end when there is a lot of pressure.”
“This just gives our team a lot of confidence that we can win those games and we can beat those tough times and show that we’re ready,” Nickerson said.
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