By DYLAN O’LOUGHLIN
HILTON, NY — Sophomore Madison Murphy and senior Mallory Heise netted 23 points apiece to lift Hilton over Victor in the 2024 Class AA sectional final rematch, 58-53. Up 39-38 after three quarters, Murphy poured in 13 points in the final eight minutes as the Cadets outscored the Blue Devils 19-15.
“We need to be composed for 32 minutes. I told the girls’ it hasn’t even gotten hard yet,” Hilton head coach Davide Heise said. “We need this style game, we need physical games, we need games that are going to be possession to possession. I went heavy on offensive and defensive substitutions, they’re a tough team. They guarded the ball very well so I had to use girls that could attack the rim. Maddie Murphy stepped up and had a huge second half and Mal (Mallory) and (Ella) Simonelli provided the other scoring.”
After a quick eight points in the first half, Murphy went quiet. The sophomore came back to life in the fourth quarter, though, as she scored Hilton’s first nine points to keep the Cadets in the lead against a three-point shooting Victor squad. The Blue Devils knocked down three triples in the quarter alone, but Murphy responded with crucial buckets in the paint while going 3-for-3 from the charity stripe in the quarter.
“I really was just focusing on powering through and keeping my composure throughout whatever is happening,” Murphy said. “The chaos that’s always happening especially in the fourth quarter where the score is really close. I just got to make sure that our team is engaged with each other and we’re working together as a team.”
In the opening frame, it was a defensive battle. Six field goals were made combined from both teams as Victor connected on four and Hilton two. Leading the way for the Blue Devils was junior Vanessa Chumacero who tallied seven while Heise registered seven of her own to lead the Cadets. After one quarter of play, Victor held a three-point lead thanks to a triple from eighth grader Grace Janczak right before the buzzer.
The second quarter was a game of runs. Victor opened up the frame with a 7-0 run to open up a 22-15 lead, but the Cadets responded as Hilton went on an 8-0 run to take its first lead since 4-2 in the first. At the end of 16 minutes though, the game remained tied 25-25.
“Victor’s tough, we knew they were going to be tough,” Mallory Heise said. “Playing them in the sectional final last year, it wasn’t a walk in the park and we know that every time we’re on the floor with them it’s not going to be easy. We knew what to do and when to do it. We knew Maddie could get some good looks when she’s hot and we’re really proud of the way everyone fought through.”
In the third, it was back and forth. Seven of the 11 total lead changes happened in this quarter alone. It was Heise this time as she scored a quick six points along with a triple from senior Ella Simonelli opened up a five-point lead.
The momentum shifted, though, after a triple from Janczak cut the lead to two. The following possession, a technical foul was assessed to Heise which rewarded Victor with free throws and possession. Chumacero took advantage of the opportunity as she made it a four-point possession to take the lead once again.
That was the last lead Victor held the rest of the way. A shooting foul by Victor senior Morgan Livingston on Heise in the corner gave her three shots at the stripe before the end of the quarter. The senior connected on all three to finish with nine points in the quarter and take a lead the Cadets did not relinquish.
It wasn’t without a fight from the Blue Devils. After Hilton extended its lead to seven, Chumacero and freshman Kelly Wightman knocked down a triple while Chumacero converted an and-one attempt to cut the lead back down to four. Hilton responded with buckets from Heise and Simonelli to extend the lead to seven again, but Janczak took over again as she hit two shots from beyond the arc to keep Victor in contention.
Murphy got the last laugh though, as when the lead was cut to as close as three, she connected on another lay-up and iced the game at the charity stripe to keep Hilton undefeated.
“She’s a tough kid, last year she was a fourth option…a really good fourth option,” Coach Heise said. “She’s always been incredibly tough defensively, but we try to get her the ball in space and attack the rim. She can step out and shoot it, but we needed her to stay aggressive and attack the rim and even though a shot got blocked your attacking the paint I’m fine with it. But yeah, she was huge for us tonight.”
Murphy and Heise’s 23 points along with Simonelli’s 12 points was all the Cadets needed to pull out the victory. Heise also hauled in 10 rebounds to finish with a double-double on the night. To go along with that, the trio went a combined 17-for-19 from the line.
For Victor, Chumacero led the way with a team-high 20 points including going 9-for-10 from the free throw line. Janczak added 12 points all from beyond the arc while Allie Pisano netted eight points including two triples. The young Victor squad with only two seniors hit 10 threes on the day to Hilton’s three.
“I told the girls after the game, by February you want to be on your uphill slope, you don’t want to fall. You want to be at your best and we’ve been working and working and working to find our identity. I think the light is coming on and this game showed that, and we’re ready to go,” Victor head coach Ashley Zahn said. “We’re going to be at our best in February and I think we’re going to shock some people. We’re goin to play as hard as we can and we’re going to be a completely different team you saw in December.”
The Hilton Cadets improved to 15-0 and look ahead to Friday, February 7 as they host Greece Athena/Odyssey at 6 p.m. On the other hand, Victor fell to 6-9 and move on to Friday night as they travel to Webster Thomas for tip-off at 7:15 p.m.
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