BY PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Mark Vogt wanted to hold for the last shot.
Reegan Sercu knew she had an open look.
The senior followed her instincts, and Penfield girls’ basketball gained the benefit.
Sercu’s 3-pointer with 25.8 seconds remaining proved to be the game winner as top-seeded Penfield (20-1) outlasted No. 4 Victor (13-8), 47-44 in the Section V Class AA1 semifinals, Monday night at Gates Chili High School.
“I was wide open, so I was like why not?” said the senior guard. “I feel like I was confident with it.”
It was her only made shot of the night.
VIEW MORE PHOTOS FROM LAURA ACCIAIO.
“We’ve had a lot of close games this season, so we just know what we need to do,” she said. “I knew it was going in. I’m a confident shooter.”
Sercu’s settled what was a back-and-forth affair in the second half.
The Patriots, winners of 11 straight, led 24-18 after two quarters of play.
But Victor opened the third on a 10-2 run, and Vanessa Chumacero’s pull-up 3-pointer from the top of the key gave the Blue Devils a 28-26 edge with less than two minutes remaining in the frame.
The teams traded the lead four times in the fourth before Bella Cohoon took a pass from Olivia Lanning and finished in the lane to knot the game at 44 with 50.8 seconds left on the clock.
It was Lanning who grabbed an offensive rebound and set up the game winner with a pass to Sercu.
“We got a good look and didn’t score,” Vogt said of the first shot of the possession. “I’m yelling ‘Take it out. Let’s hold for a last shot.’ She turns and shoots it, so I, of course, I said ‘Good shot!’
“We’ve been saying, too, at the very end of the game, take the best shot. Too often when you wait for the last-second shot, you rush and you don’t get a good shot anyway.”
Both teams played short-handed.
Penfield was missing starters Jordan Rasmussen, the Monroe County Division I Player of the Year and leading rebounder Sara Petre. Both suffered season-ending injuries.
“My daughter summed it up best,” Vogt said. “She goes, ‘You guys practice so hard that just because some of these kids haven’t been in at the end of the game doesn’t mean that they’re not ready. She’s right. Anna Ferraro played great. Nina McVean played great off the bench.
“These kids are special. They love competing. They love being with each other. We’ve had three overtime games this year. Six of them were on a New York State champion for lacrosse. They’ve been in big games, and they have composure. Usually, a lot more composure than I do.”
Victor played without starting point guard Allie Pisano who was also sidelined with an injury.
Penfield will face No. 2 Webster Schroeder in Friday’s championship game.
Cohoon topped all scorers with 17 including seven in the fourth quarter. Lanning added 11 points.
Kelly Wightman led Victor with 10 points.
VICTOR (13-8) 44
Maddie Lennon 3 0-0 7, Lilly Stewart 4 0-0 9, Kelly Wightman 4 2-5 10, Grace Janczak 3 0-0 7, Vanessa Chumacero 3 0-0 7, Addison Hopkins 2 0-2 4, Sara Stear 0 0-0 0 TOTALS 19 2-7 — 44
PENFIELD (20-1) 47
Reegan Sercu 1 0-0 3, Riley Corcoran 0 0-0 0, Adriana Ferraro 1 0-0 2, Bella Cohoon 7 2-4 17, Olivia Lanning 5 1-4 11, Nina McVean 2 2-3 6, Alivia Duckles 3 0-0 8, Bayleigh Freid 0 0-0 0 TOTALS 19 5-11 — 47
VICTOR 5 13 10 16 — 44
PENFIELD 5 19 5 16 — 47
3-point goals: VICTOR 4 (Lennon 1, Stewart 1, Janczak 1, Chumacero 1); PENFIELD 4 (Sercu 1, Cohoon 1, Duckles 2).
Leave a Reply