By PAUL GOTHAM
BROCKPORT, N.Y. — Charrise Everett didn’t need to see a double-digit lead shrink to six to find out about her young Eastridge girls’ basketball squad.
But there she was taking a timeout with 4:38 remaining after a comfortable advantage had slipped to a near single-possession game.
Everett’s Lancers responded with 10 unanswered points for a 58-42 victory over Spencerport.
“They wanted to play basketball,” Everett said after Eastridge’s 58-42 victory over Spencerport in the opening round of Brockport’s Katie Sweeting Tournament. “We’ve been talking about adjusting. We just got to be prepared that if the play doesn’t work out, to play basketball. And that’s what they did.”
Aaliviah Green scored 11 of her game-high 18 points in the second quarter when the Lancers pulled away from a one-possession game.
Leading 14-12, Green got ahead of the defense for a layup. Two trips down the floor later, the ninth-grade guard added another bucket before converting a pair of traditional 3-point plays for a 34-21 Eastridge lead at halftime.
“Her willingness to play hard and for everybody else,” Everett said when asked sets Green apart from others. “You have to see her in practice. She wants it for herself and for everybody else as well. She finds ways to score, and she finds ways to get people the ball.”
Eastridge took its largest lead of the game early in the third quarter when Ada Krupa connected on a 3-pointer for a 39-23 advantage.
The lead was still 16 when Qa’Mariona Greene made it a 43-27 game.
Everett credited a defensive change for her squad’s ability to extend the lead.
“We went from a zone to a man (defense), and that’s where we able to get pressure. We were able to get out and push the ball.”
Eastridge led 47-34 after three quarters, but Spencerport’s Elena Zaher set up teammate Jayda Solomon for a bucket and then followed with a free-throw line jumper to cap an 8-1 Spencerport run to start the fourth quarter.
The lead was cut to six at 48-42.
“We realized they were in a 1-3-1,” Everett said of the Spencerport defense. “We just went over it, and I said ‘Hey, this is going to be simple. You split the top and work the corners. We figured it out. This group, they want it, so they were ready.”
With the win, Eastridge advances to Saturday’s championship to play either Brighton or host Brockport.
TT Green had 13 points in the win. Alyssa Cowart and Qa’Mariona Greene added eight apiece. Madyson Fizer closed out the scoring for Eastridge with three points.
Zaher led Spencerport with 12 points. Jorja Gray accounted for nine points. Solomon, Addy Lynch and Leigha Pokracki had six apiece. Alia Gatto (2) and Emily Peacock (1) also scored for Spencerport.
Saturday’s championship game is scheduled for a 5 p.m. tip off. The consolation match is a 3 p.m. start.
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