By PAUL GOTHAM
GATES, N.Y. – Frontcourt mates Kylie Clement and Kenyatta Hart combined for 32 points, and No. 2 Webster Schroeder girls’ basketball advanced to the Sectional V Class AA1 championship game with a 55-42 victory over No. 3 Hilton, Monday night at Gates Chili High School.
With Hilton’s defense paying extra attention to Hart, Clement scored six in a 12-3 run to close the first quarter as the Warriors took a lead they did not surrender.
“Other teams really have to scheme for Kenyatta,” Schroeder head coach Codi Battaglia Mrozek said of the 6-foot-2 eighth-grader who has among her accolades this year a triple-double. “We know that, and we really worked on that this week. We need to use both of them and utilize their skills.”
Trailing 9-6, Clement took a pass from Jenna DiMarco and finished in the lane. The 6-foot senior forward then hit a jump hook in the lane and then added another bucket for a 15-9 Schroeder lead.
Clement’s next basket early in the second quarter made it a 22-12 game, and the Warriors did not allow Hilton within one possession for the remainder of the contest.
“Kylie stepped up huge for us,” Battaglia Mrozek said. “Not even stepped up. I know that she’s capable of doing that for us. They had to pick. Either you cover Kenyatta or you cover Kylie.”
Hart converted on three rebound and putback opportunities to score 12 of her game-high 19 points in the second half.
She hit a turnaround jumper in the paint, then grabbed an offensive board and finished before catching a pass higher in the lane and finding teammate Avery Kroening unguarded on the opposite block for a layup.
Kroening finished with 10 points on the night. DiMarco had eight.
“It really was a full-team win. Those five on the court were really cohesive. They showed that they wanted to stay on that court, and they really stayed together.”
Schroeder will play either top-seeded Penfield or No. 4 Victor in Friday’s championship game. With Battaglia Mrozek in her fifth year as head coach, the Warriors will make their fourth appearance in the championship game.
Amiyah Miles led Hilton with 16 points. Taylor Anne added nine.
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