BY: DYLAN O’LOUGHLIN
Tournament MVP junior Jordyn Dyring netted a game-high 17 points including nine in the second half to lead Hornell to its third straight sectional title with a 36-27 victory over No. 8 Mynderse at Finger Lakes Community College on Friday. Trailing 23-22 coming out of the locker room, the Red Raiders allowed just four points; one layup and two free throws, over the final 16 minutes.
“It’s one of those nights where it’s not just outscore the opponent. It was one of those nights where we have to keep them from scoring more than we do and it was a rock fight the whole time,” Hornell head coach James Dagon said. “The defense that we switched to out of halftime was their (the girls) idea. I said ‘You know, I trust you girls,’ and they went out and four points in the second half is just unbelievable. It’s just effort, communication and trusting each other. I trusted the girls, they made the decision what to switch to and we rolled with it.”
The scoring in the third quarter started with a Dyring trey-ball to give Hornell a lead it would not give up the rest of the way. The three-pointer also ignited a 12-0 run that bled into the fourth. The defensive pressure was too much for Mynderse as the Blue Devils could not find the bottom of the barrel throughout the eight minutes of play. Leading the defensive effort for Hornell was junior guard Selena Maldonado who averages four steals a game on the season.
“I think we just had a drive to be better on defense,” Maldonado said. “When they (Mynderse) started getting really close to us, we knew we had to pick it up on the defensive end because offensively, we were doing all right, but we knew defense is where we were lacking and we wanted to keep driving on that.”
Hornell only scored 14 points in the second half, but it was all the Red Raiders needed. To go along with Dyring’s nine, junior Mia Nasca knocked down a three and Maldonado converted on a floater.
In the first half it was a back-and-forth battle. All nine lead changes were in the first 16 minutes of play while five came in the opening quarter. Three players put points on the board for Hornell in the first with Dyring’s six points leading the way. The Red Raiders ended the first frame on a 4-0 run with buckets from junior Payton Bentley and sophomore Raegan Evingham to take a 14-11 lead.
“My mindset was to just to get ourselves going,” Dyring said. “Get to the basket, get foul calls and get to the foul line. We just had to keep pushing it.”
Mynderse responded in the second. Igniting the spark was guard Peyton Verkey as the junior connected on back-to-back triples. The scoring got contagious as three fellow Blue Devils picked up points in the frame.
The defense complimented the offense in the second quarter. The Blue Devils held Hornell to only two field goals and seven points in the frame. Mynderse outscored Hornell 12-7 to take a one point lead heading into the locker room.
In the final quarter it was all defense. Only two field goals were made from both teams combined as the Blue Devils outscored the Red Raiders 4-3 in the frame. Getting points for Mynderse was Hannah O’Brien with a layup while senior guard Eden Prayne knocked down two from the charity stripe. For Hornell, Dyring picked up all three points.
To go along with Dyring’s 17, Bentley and Evingham accounted for six points apiece. Nasca hit from downtown while Maldonado and A’jonay Hawkins tallied two points each. Its Hornell’s second game in a row holding opponents to under 30 points and third time this season.
For Mynderse, Verkey led the way with nine points all from beyond the arc while Hannah O’Brien recorded six points. Prayne and Alessandra Nigro poured in four points apiece while Chelsea Korzeniewski and Reese Markel added two points each.
With the win, Hornell earns its third straight sectional title after winning its first in 2023. The job is not finished for the Red Raiders though as the focus shifts to Class B2 champions Lyons in the regional qualifier.
“The mindset is the same as always. One game at a time and being confident,” Dagon said. “We’re going to prepare ourselves, watch a lot of film, get some good days of practice this weekend and try to stay healthy. We saw the Lyons game before, they’re a good team and every team you see from here on out is going to be a good team. So, you just got to come out and play as a team. You got to work really work your butt off, be as prepared as possible and enjoy the moment.”
Hornell and Lyons are set to face-off in the Class B Regional Qualifier Tuesday, March 11 at a neutral site. Time is still to be determined.
Class B1 All Tournament Team:
Bailey Cooper (Penn Yan)
Makenna Dunbar (Wellsville)
Selena Maldonado (Hornell)
Chelsea Korzeniewski (Mynderse)
Payton Bentley (Hornell)
Peyton Verkey (Mynderse)
Leave a Reply