For the third time this season, Rush-Henrietta and Fairport clash, this time with the Section V Class AAA title on the line. One school looks for its first title since 2011. The other aims to end an eight-year drought. Here’s the breakdown:
No. 1 RUSH-HENRIETTA ROYAL COMETS (19-2 / Monroe County Division I / No. 21 NYSSWA)
vs.
No. 2 FAIRPORT RED RAIDERS (18-3 / Monroe County Division I / No. 28 NYSSWA)
Saturday, Blue Cross Arena, 9 p.m.
How they arrived here: Top-seeded Rush-Henrietta defeated No. 5 McQuaid (65-57) to reach the title game. Fairport beat Aquinas 71-70 to advance to the championship.
Scoring offense: Rush-Henrietta (67.2), Fairport (77.7)
Scoring defense: Rush-Henrietta (56.8), Fairport (60.3)
Trends: Rush-Henrietta has won two of its last three games. The Red Raiders are winners in nine of their last 10 games.
Players to watch for Rush-Henrietta: Talhah Ali Jr. G (4.7 PPG, 2.3 RPG, two SPG); JahQuin Brown Sr. F (6.7 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 2.5 SPG); Jalen Taggart Jr. G (25.2 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 2.3 APG); Avery Council Jr. G (19 PPG, five RPG, 5.4 APG); Amir Abdul-Haqq-Bradford Sr. C (6.4 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 2.1 BPG).
Fairport: LaShard Lowry Jr. Sr. G (24 PPG, five RPG, five APG); Landon Brunken Sr. G (12 PPG, four APG); Drew Sisson Sr. G (10 PPG); Alex Grejda Jr. G/F (10 PPG, seven RPG); Hadi Dergham Jr. G/F (seven PPG, five RPG).
Coaches: Calvin Betts (Rush-Henrietta), Scott Fitch (Fairport)
History 101: Rush-Henrietta enters the championship game for the first time since 2022. The Royal Comets are looking for their first title since 2011 and seventh in program history. An additional three titles came as Rush-Henrietta Sperry (1976) and Rush-Henrietta Roth (1980, 1981). Fairport last captured a sectional title in 2017 and has four titles in program history. These two squads last met in the 2010 AA1 final with Rush-Henrietta winning 75-49.
What’s at stake: A spot in the Class AAA Far West Regional against the Section VI winner.
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