By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Kenya Scott posted a double-double and led four in double figures with 14 points as No. 4 Eastridge girls’ basketball used a dominant defensive effort in the second quarter to pull away for a 55-42 victory over No. 5 Churchville-Chili in Section V Class AA2 quarterfinal action, Friday night on Al Masino Court.
Scott was one of five players who contributed to the offense in the second when Eastridge outscored Churchville, 13-2.
The Lancers forced seven turnovers over the eight-minute stretch to take a 26-14 lead into halftime.
“Intensity, that’s been our word for the week,” said Eastridge head coach Charrise Everett. “We wanted to apply pressure and play with intensity the whole time. We turned up the intensity and hustle that quarter.”
Leading 13-12 after the first quarter, Qa’Mariona Greene opened the second with a 3-pointer from the right wing. Scott followed with a rebound and putback, and Aalviah Green turned a steal into a layup.
VIEW MORE PHOTOS FROM STEVEN TWARDZIK.
Tierra-Nicole Green pushed the lead to double-digits with a triple of her own.
Eastridge led 23-12.
“Defense creates offense,” Everett said of the effort in the second quarter. “We worked a lot on that over the past 10 days since our last game. We focused a lot on that and amping up our defense.”
Aaliviah Green and Alyssa Cowart finished with 10 points apiece in the game. The duo have now combined for 2,206 career points.
But earlier in the month when the two teams met, Cowart did not play because of a concussion. Green was playing in her first game of the season after an injury had sidelined her for the first 16 games of the season.
Churchville came away with a 64-54 decision in the contest.
Cowart (1,125 career points) finished with four rebounds, four assists and six steals in Friday’s win. Green (1,081) had three rebounds, three assists and four steals.
Scott grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked two shots. Tierra-Nicole Green had 11 points and six rebounds. Qa’Mariona Greene (5), Gabriella Rawlins (3) and Lilli Crittenden also scored.
“We have five players who can run the court,” Everett said. “We have girls coming off the bench that can come in and contribute. If we push the ball, we’ll be okay.”
Erin Marone led C-C with 17 points including six in the first quarter. Bianca LiBritz added eight for the Saints (12-10) who closed the regular season with eight wins in their final 10 games.
Eastridge (12-9) will face top-seeded Pittsford Sutherland in the semifinals.
CHURCHVILLE-CHILI (12-10) 42
Mercy Payne 1 0-2 2, Emily Schauf 0 0-0 0, Giovanna Salvia 0 0-0 0, Erin Marone 8 1-1 17, Bianca LiBritz 2 4-4 8, Julia Gaffney 1 0-0 2, Kallie Weaver 0 0-0 0, Bianca Fumarola 0 0-0 0, Cadence Bachmann 2 1-2 7, Isabelle Seaburg 0 2-2 2, Mackenzie Scarlato 1 2-2 4 TOTALS 15 10-13 — 42
EASTRIDGE (12-9) 55
Qa’Mariona Greene 2 0-0 5, Alyssa Cowart 4 2-2 10, Tierra-Nicole Green 4 1-2 11, Aaliviah Green 4 1-2 10, Gabriella Rawlins 1 0-0 3, Aeriyonna Metcalf 0 0-0 0, Lilli Crittenden 1 0-0 2, Kenya Scott 7 0-5 14, Scarlett Kremer 0 0-0 0 TOTALS 23 4-11 — 55
CHURCHVILLE-CHILI 12 2 16 12 — 42
EASTRIDGE 13 13 17 12 — 55
3-point goals: CHURCHVILLE-CHILI 2 (Bachmann 2); EASTRIDGE 5 (Greene 1, Tierra-Nicole Green 2, A. Green 1, Rawlins 1).
Leave a Reply