By BOB CHAVEZ
HOPEWELL — One shot does not win a basketball game, but Teghan Trocki’s half-court buzzer beater to end the third quarter pretty much did just that for the Frewsburg Bears.
The prayer as the horn sounded tied the score of Saturday’s Class C state quarterfinal and sparked the Section VI champion to a thrilling 75-67 win over Dundee/Bradford on Putt Moore Court at Finger Lakes Community College.
It was one of eight 3-pointers in the game for the junior guard and it tied the score, 57-57. And when Trocki opened the fourth quarter with two more 3s, the Bears (21-3) had a 63-59 lead and the BraveScots (23-2) never recovered.
“We work on half-court shots like that in practice for Tim Horton’s,” Frewsburg coach Sierra Beaver said of the incentive. “And when she hit that, she looked at me and said that’s a Timmy shot!”
Trocki’s shooting was just a sample of a superb shooting night for both teams. From the get-go, the perimeter shooting was on point and the teams combined for seven 3-pointers in the first quarter alone. At that point, Frewsburg had a 23-17 lead but Dundee/Bradford turned the tide in the second quarter, outscoring the Bears 16-7 with five points from senior Kailey Yeoman and junior Bruna Crespo.
That gave the BraveScots a 33-30 halftime lead and they pushed it to as much as 57-49 after a Crespo basket late in the third. But the Bears responded with a Taytum Jimerson basket and an Ava Jimerson basket and free throw to cut the lead to three.
Then, Trocki drained the half-court dagger.
“I didn’t see them hanging their heads, but internally I think it was a bit of an ‘oh crap’ moment,” said Michael Strait, the Dundee/Bradford coach.
“Definitely, that was big for them,” said Bradford/Dundee junior guard Kendall Parker. “I don’t know if we started to get tired but we really had to key down on their two players and that was tough for us.”
Frewsburg, which boasts former Bills linebacker Shane Conlan and former NASCAR driver Lloyd Moore as native sons, opened the fourth with another 3-pointer from Trocki and after Parker hit a basket, Trocki drained her sixth 3-pointer, this one from the corner, to make it a 63-59 game. Her seventh 3 came after a Crespo free throw with 5:55 left and when freshman Jadyn Trocki scored, the Frewsburg lead was 68-61.
Parker hit a pair of free throws with 1:55 left to cut the lead to 72-65, but Teghan Trocki’s eighth 3-pointer followed at 1:05 and that pretty much put the game out of reach for the BraveScots.
“This group of kids are such hard workers,” said Strait. “They love to play.”
It’s never easy to accept defeat, said Parker, but the bigger picture isn’t lost for a program that won its first Section V championship since 1991.
“That’s big for us,” she said. “It’ll be nice to hang that banner as Section V champs. We came into the games after that with no pressure but we still wanted to win it.”
Overall, the teams combined for an eye-popping 21 3-pointers. Frewsburg made 13 and Dundee/Bradford converted eight.
Frewsburg advances to the Class C state semifinals next weekend in Troy, Rensselaer County.
Frewsburg 75, Dundee/Bradford 67
FREWSBURG (75): Jadyn Trocki 10-3-27, Teghan Trocki 8-0-24, Taytum Jimerson 4-2-11, Abery Harvey 1-0-2, Ava Jimerson 3-5-11. Totals: 26-10-75.
DUNDEE/BRADFORD (67): Kendall Parker 7-3-20, Korrin Yeoman 3-0-7, Alissa Eaves 1-0-2, Kailey Yeoman 3-2-9, Bruna Crespo 8-3-19, Mikayla Schoffner 5-0-10. TOTALS: 27-8-67.
Three-point goals: T. Trocki 8, J. Trocki 4, T. Jimerson 1; Parker 3, Korrin Yeoman 1, Kailey Yeoman 1, Crespo 3. Fouled out: none.
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