Pickin' Splinters

Rochester's Independent Sports Source

Finney holds off late rally, beats Canisteo-Greenwood

by 1 Comment

Finney’s Lucy Broome (11) attacks off the dribble during Friday’s action. Bailey Mullen (1) of Canisteo-Greenwood defends on the play. (Photo: JEROME DAVIS)

By PAUL GOTHAM

PENFIELD, N.Y. — Coming off its first loss of the season, the C.G. Finney girls’ basketball team saw a double-digit lead turn into a two-point deficit with less than four minutes remaining in Friday’s matchup.

How the Falcons responded to that late rally was what head coach Andy Marchand wanted to see.

Kiley Knittle scored five straight points, and Allie Frederickson converted on four late free-throw attempts as host Finney defeated Canisteo-Greenwood, 49-42 in non-league action.

“I was proud,” said Finney head coach Andy Marchand. “We had an emotional loss the other night against Mynderse, a good team. I didn’t think we played well. The girls stepped up, played great defense and they were ready for a battle tonight.”

VIEW MORE PHOTOS FROM JEROME DAVIS. 

With the win, Finney (No. 6 NYSSWA Class D) improved to 10-1 on the season.

Trailing, 38-36 with less than four minutes remaining in the game, Knittle connected from behind the 3-point arc. Then coming out of a timeout, the sophomore guard stepped into a passing for a steal that she turned into a layup at the other end of the floor.

The late rally came after Finney absorbed an 18-3 Canisteo-Greenwood run.

“That is a heckuva team, probably one of the best teams we’ll play all year,” Marchand said of the Chargers. “They’re not going to fold. They’re well-coached. They were going to come out and make their adjustments and make their run. We had to watch and see what they were trying to do and adjust to that.”

Mackenna Mullen scored all 10 of her points and Harlie McCaffery added four to get Canisteo-Greenwood back in the game. Bailey Mullen’s jumper from the free-throw line gave the Chargers their first lead of the second half at 36-34.

“Basketball is a game of runs,” Marchand said. “They were going to make one.”

The Chargers, who had managed to connect for five field goals in the first half, scored on eight of 14 possessions during their second-half comeback.

“We started making some shots and not being scared,” said Canisteo-Greenwood head coach Collin Button. “Early on in the game, their zone (defense) was making us rush. Girls were hesitant to take the shots. We talked about it at halftime and told them ‘if you get a look don’t be afraid to take it because you may not get a better one.’ They play pretty good defense.”

Bailey Mullen grabbed an offensive rebound and fed McCaffery in the lane for a basket and a 38-36 edge. It was the last advantage of the night for the Chargers.

“We hit a couple shots and had a couple roll in for us,” Button said. “We missed some free throws. Kudos to them. They made all the free throws at the end.”

The loss for Canisteo-Greenwood (8-4) was the third this season that the Chargers have dropped to a team currently ranked in the state. The Chargers fell to Keshequa (No. 3 NYSSWA Class C), 58-44 in late December and had a 46-41 setback against Wellsville (No. 15 Class B) last week. C-G also lost to Dansville (7-5), 41-37.

“We’ve had a couple close ones that we’ve dropped,” Button said. “Today, we got the lead. We just couldn’t secure it. We continue to be willing to do that and to work to get there. Eventually, we’ll get over the hump.

Frederickson and Lucy Broome combined for 20 first-half points as Finney took a 26-13 lead into the locker room.

Frederickson converted a steal and layup early in the second quarter. Broome drew contact in the lane when she finished a layup. The eighth-grader then hit the ensuing free throw for a traditional 3-point play and a 23-10 Finney lead. Broome closed the half with a 3-pointer from the left corner.

Of Finney’s first nine wins on the season, eight were by double digits. They fell to Mynderse 45-34 on Wednesday.

“It was a step up in competition from our previous games,” Marchand said. “It was tough. They were probably our second best or best opponent that we’ve played. We weren’t ready for it.”

Broome finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds in Friday’s win. Frederickson accounted for 15 points and 13 rebounds. Knittle had 11 points and six assists. Kailey Vargas added five points including a runner in the lane that tied the scored at 36. The eighth-grader also hit a 3-pointer with under a minute remaining for a 44-40 lead.

McCaffery, a sophomore and McMackenna Mullen, an eighth-grader, scored 10 points apiece to lead Canisteo-Greenwood. Bailey Mullen had six points and 16 rebounds.

The same two teams meet again on Friday, February 7th.

Finney hosts HAC on Wednesday for a 6 p.m. tip-off.

Canisteo-Greenwood returns home for a rematch with Dansville on Tuesday. A 7:00 p.m. start time is scheduled.

CANISTEO-GREENWOOD
Kora Button 2 0-4 6, Bailey Mullen 3 0-1 6, Mackenna Mullen 4 0-0 10, McKenna Ferris 1 0-0 2, Paris May 0 0-0 0, Anna Mitchell 3 0-0 8, Harlie McCaffrey 5 0-0 10, Lyla Greenfield 0 0-0 0 TOTALS 18 0-5 — 42

C.G. FINNEY
Lainey Vargas 2 0-4 5, Kate Frederickson 0 1-2 1, Lucy Broome 6 4-7 17, Kiley Knittle 4 1-3 11, Allie Frederickson 5 5-6 15 TOTALS 17 11-21 — 49

CANISTEO-GREENWOOD 6 8 15 14 — 42
C.G. FINNEY 18 8 8 15 — 49

3-point goals: CANISTEO-GREENWOOD 6 (Button 2, Mackenna Mullen 2, Mitchell 2); C.G. FINNEY 4 (Vargas 1, Broome 1, Knittle 2).

Reader Interactions

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *