Jack Leasure Shooting and Skills Camp Regional Preview: Pittsford battles Williamsville South for state semifinal berth

In 2014, these squads squared off in the regional championship. Last time around, the Section V representative prevailed. Pittsford Sutherland aims to down Williamsville South and again reach the state semifinal. Here’s the breakdown:

PITTSFORD SUTHERLAND KNIGHTS (18-6 / Monroe County Division IV)
vs.
WILLIAMSVILLE SOUTH SOUTH BILLIES (15-9 / Erie County Division III)
Saturday, Buffalo State, 12 p.m.

How they arrived here: Sutherland opened the postseason with a 67-41 win over Batavia and then took down Palmyra-Macedon 51-39. The Knights upset No. 1 seed East 74-54 in the semifinals before beating No. 6 Newark 61-45 for the sectional title. Williamsville South defeated No. 6 Grand Island (82-49) and No. 2 Iroquois (98-83) before a sectional finals win over No. 1 Amherst (71-67). The South Billies advanced to the state quarterfinals by topping Depew (75-56) in the regional qualifier.

Scoring offense: Pittsford Sutherland (59.8), Williamsville South (60.5)

Scoring defense: Pittsford Sutherland (43.8), Williamsville South (54)

Trends: Sutherland has won nine straight games, all by double-digits. The Knights won 12 of their last regular season games. Williamsville South is on a four-game winning streak.

Players to watch for Pittsford Sutherland: Petra Hunt So. G 20.1 PPG, 5.9 RPG; Lucy Bush So. G 17.9 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 4.0 APG; Maddie Littlefield Jr. G 6.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG; Taylor Hamilton Jr. G 5.6 PPG; Kenzie Dermody So. F 3.2 PPG, 4.6 RPG.

Williamsville South: Kimora Berry Sr. G/F 20.7 PPG, 10 RPG, 2.4 SPG; Nicole Miller Sr. G 10.1 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 2.0 SPG; Hannah Meetze Jr. G 9.4 PPG, 3.2 RPG; Tessa Petrie Jr. G 8.1 PPG, 2.7 APG, 3.1 RPG, 2.2 SPG; Jayla Young Sr. G 13 GP 9.8 PPG, 2.5 APG, 4 RPG, 1.8 SPG.

Coaches: Daniel Judd (Pittsford Sutherland), Brooke Clark (Williamsville South)

History 101: Sutherland is making its third regional appearance and is 2-0 in the Knights’ previous trips to the state quarterfinals. Sutherland defeated Williamsville South in 2014, 58-36. Williamsville South is making its fifth regional appearance since 2002. The Billies are 2-2 in their previous trips including wins over Pittsford Mendon in 2018 (65-47) and Bishop Kearney in 2015 (58-44).

What’s at stake: The winner advances to face the victor between Ardsley (I) and Johnson City (IV) in the state semifinals.