Pickin' Splinters

Rochester's Independent Sports Source

Schroeder pulls away late to knock off top-seeded Hilton

by Leave a Comment

Webster Schroeder’s Kylie Clement (12) works to go to the basket against the defense of Hilton’s Ella Simonelli (21) and Paige Siciliano (5). Schroeder defeated Hilton, 73-54 in Section V Class AA semifinal action on Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (Photo: LAURA ACCIAIO)

By PAUL GOTHAM

PITTSFORD, N.Y. — A third-quarter rally proved to be the difference as No. 4 Webster Schroeder defeated top-seeded Hilton, 73-54 in Section V Class AA action, Wednesday night at Pittsford Sutherland High School.

Kylie Clement scored 10 of her 18 points during the decisive frame. Clement took a pass from teammate Avery Kroening and finished in the lane. The Warriors, who had trailed by as many as eight in the first half, had a lead they did not surrender at 37-36.

“She’s our X-factor; she’s fantastic,” said Schroeder head coach Codi Mrozek of the junior forward. “So proud of the way she has stepped up and really become a true go-to player for us.”

When the horn sounded for the end of the third quarter, the Warriors had turned a four-point halftime deficit into a nine-point advantage heading into the final eight minutes of play.

VIEW MORE PHOTOS FROM LAURA ACCIAIO.

“Really at halftime, we needed to gather ourselves for a second there,” Mrozek said. “We had to pick our heads up and come out knowing whether it was four or 14 points, the game wasn’t over.”

Addie Morgan sparked an 8-0 run early in the quarter with a rebound and putback. Mya Perales followed with a 3-pointer from the right wing, and Clement connected on a jumper in the lane. Bria Watkins converted 1-of-2 from the free throw line to give Schroeder its first lead of the half at 35-34.

“We just had a little fire going into that third quarter,” the fourth-year head coach said. “We knew offensively, that we had to work the ball inside.”

The Warriors closed the quarter on a 9-3 run.

Coming out of a timeout, Schroeder went to Clement who finished off a drop-step in the lane. Clement then forced a turnover at the other end and combined with Kroening on a 2v1 for a layup. Watkins added a basket, and Morgan connected from behind the 3-point arc for a 54-45 Schroeder lead.

“Kylie and Bria inside, that really just got things going. They (Hilton) were collapsing on defense, and then Addie hit a couple threes for us and that really opened things up for us. Avery Kroening made some great plays.”

On the defensive end, the Warriors had to figure out how to slow Hilton’s Mallory Heise.

“She was having a fantastic game,” Mrozek said. “Bria was in her face, and she was still knocking down everything.”

Heise, who came into the postseason averaging 30.4 points per game, scored 22 in the first half. The St. Bonaventure commit connected three times from behind the 3-point arc in a first quarter that saw the senior guard score 14 points.

Holding Heise to 10 in third was a small victory.

Mrozek pointed to the experience gained from the Warriors’ quarterfinal matchup with Bishop Kearney and having to contain Asia Wilson for 32 minutes in that game.

“That game really helped us because Asia’s a fantastic player as well. We really had to focus for a good week and a half now on containing one player in our zone and finding areas in those gaps to stop the drive, but also knowing where to find their 3-point shooters.

“We knew in that third quarter, we had to first of all, focus on Mallory a little bit more.”

When the third quarter ended, the Warriors had forced as many turnovers (5) during the frame as they had allowed field goals.

“In practice and preparation this week and a half, I do believe playing Kearney with someone like Asia helped us prepare for Mallory.”

Heise fouled out of the game with 7:40 remaining in the fourth quarter.

At one point earlier in the season, Schroeder (17-6) had lost three of four, and they dropped two of four in early February.

Hilton (21-2) had spent the first eight weeks of the season atop the New York State Sportswriters Association (NYSSWA) Class AA poll. The Cadets entered play Wednesday night scoring 67.1 points per game and holding opponents to 40.6.

Two weeks after handing the Cadets their first loss, the Warriors ended the reigning state finalist’s season.

“It’s the journey,” Mrozek said. “Our schedule, if you look at our schedule for a public school, I think we played the hardest schedule for a Monroe County school. We had some losses. When you win you grow, but when you lose, you learn. We had to really learn. Our kids bought in and they stayed dedicated. Being battle-tested is so, so important. It’s not just words. Now they know that that’s the truth. If you’re battle-tested, you can be successful in sectionals.”

The win sets up a rematch with Aquinas for the Class AA championship. The Li’l Irish took a 66-62 decision when the two teams met in late January. The game also pits the head coach against her alma mater. Codi (Battaglia) Mrozek graduated from Aquinas in 2012.

Schroeder won the 2023 Section V Class AA title and went on to later capture the NYSPHSAA championship.

A 7 p.m. tip-off is scheduled Saturday at Finger Lakes Community College.

Hilton’s Mallory Heise (14) looks to split the defense of Webster Schroeder’s Kylie Clement (12) and Addie Morgan (5). (Photo: LAURA ACCIAIO)

WEBSTER SCHROEDER (17-6)
Avery Kroening 3 3-4 10, Addie Morgan 6 4-5 18, Kylie Clement 8 2-2 18, Emma Juliano 0 0-0 0, Jenna DiMarco 0 0-0 0, Olivia Fulkerson 0 0-0 0, Mya Perales 2 0-0 5, Bria Watkins 6 10-22 22, Kinsley Keil 0 0-0 0 TOTALS 25 19-33 — 73

HILTON (21-2)
Elena Graziano 1 0-0 3, Paige Siciliano 0 0-0 0, Paige Dean 0 1-2 1, Madeline Patton 0 0-0 0, Mallory Heise 9 9-10 32, Ella Simonelli 1 5-5 7, Ava Heise 0 0-0 0, Amiyah Miles 0 0-0 0, Maddie Murphy 4 0-0 9, Jayleigh Esposito 1 0-0 2 TOTALS 16 15-17 — 54

WEBSTER SCHROEDER 9 16 29 19 — 73
HILTON 13 16 16 9 — 54

3-point goals: WEBSTER SCHROEDER 4 (Kroening 1, Morgan 2, Perales 1); HILTON 7 (Graziano 1, Mallory Heise 5, Murphy 1).

Note: Game was delayed in the fourth (at 7:08) so that medical attention could be given to a fan in attendance.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

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