By BOB CHAVEZ
CANANDAIGUA — Teams with heart score points in bunches. Teams with heart earn the defensive stops they need, they hit clutch free throws and they grab rebounds or block shots and exactly the right moment.
And on Friday night, the heart of the Webster Schroeder girls basketball team did all that and more. So much more.
The Warriors held off several intense Penfield rallies, then battled through an untimely offensive drought for a 58-51 win in the Section V Class AA1 championship game on Putt Moore Court at Finger Lakes Community College. And for as many emotions an intense game like this one can provide, the motivation for the Warriors makes this Section V title more special than perhaps any other.
“Personally, I’m learning that joy and grief can live together,” said Schroeder coach Codi Mrozek, who lost twin babies earlier this year. “I’m just so, so proud of my kids. They really deserve this.”
That’s not to say top-seeded Penfield (20-2) did not deserve it. The Patriots were recently dealt their own set of challenges with season-ending injuries to two starters. But on Friday night, they showed no signs of lapse as they kept pace with Schroeder until the final seconds of the game.
VIEW MORE PHOTOS FROM STEVEN TWARDZIK.
But when No. 2 Schroeder (22-1) presents a 6-foot-3 eighth grader in Kenyatta Hart and a 6-foot senior in Kylie Clement, the challenge is difficult to overcome.
“She’s going to be a problem for a few years,” Penfield coach Mark Vogt said of Hart.
Schroeder opened a 26-21 halftime lead on the shoulders of an 8-1 run early in the second quarter and Hart and Clement provided the punch for Schroeder. Hart had 8 points in the first half, mostly from down low against a Penfield defense that lacked height to challenge Hart. And when Hart wasn’t doing it, Clement provided the gritty drives to produce 11 firt-half points.
In the third quarter, both sides found their stride and were adjusting to the spaces they had to work with. But a 14-7 run for Schroeder that held Penfield to just two field goals midway through the third quarter made it a 40-28 game that had the makings of a runaway win for Schroeder. Then the Penfield heart kicked in and a trio of 3-pointers, two from senior Bayleigh Freid, cut the Schroeder lead to 45-39 heading into the fourth quarter. Schroeder answered with another run that pushed its lead to 54-43 after Clement’s and-1 with 4:17 remaining in the game.
As it turned out, that was the final field goal of the game for Schroeder and Penfield jumped on the cold stretch. Alivia Duckles drained a 3-pointer to spark an 8-0 run and with 1:45 left, it was a 54-51 lead for Schroeder.
“Penfield is such a powerhouse program,” said Mrozek. “They had their top players hurt but their next kids up are still some of the top players in the County and they would be starters on other teams. We knew they’d bring all their energy and their chaotic defense, we just had to weather the storm.”
That’s exactly what Schroeder did.
Jenna DiMarco’s rebound with 31 seconds left on a Schroeder miss kept the ball away from Penfield and freshman Avery Kroening then sank a pair of free throws with 26 seconds left to make it a 56-51 game. Then, with 17 seconds left, Hart came through with a block of a Penfield shot, but Penfield regained possession for another shot that missed, and Hart came through with a big rebound with 10 seconds remaining.
And with 9 seconds left, Kroening went to the line again to cooly drain another pair of free throws to make it a seven-point game that sealed the title.
As the celebration ensued, the bigger picture was not lost on the Warriors.
“I feel like this one is very special,” said Clement, a senior who was a freshman on the 2023 championship team. “We had a bigger goal than basketball and we all wanted this for coach. We’ve played Penfield before this season and we knew it would be a challenge but we’ve been through other challenges this season and I think that helped us get through this one.”
As tough as it is to lose, Vogt told his Penfield team to walk out of the FLCC gym with heads held high.
“We played with tons of heart,” he said. “They played so hard and did everything possible.”
Mrozek has been processing a lot of thoughts since returning to the team but the big one is the example she hopes to set as a coach and mentor. But she also learned that it works both ways.
“You always hope to have an impact on the girls you coach but they’ve had a big impact on me,” she said. “They really saved me this season.”
Hart led the Warriors with 19 points and Clement added 18 while Kroening scored 17. Olivia Lanning led Penfield with 21 and Reegan Sercu scored 11.
Schroeder advances to the Class AA state qualifier game against Class AA2 Canandaigua on Tuesday night at Rush-Henrietta.
Class AA1 All-Tournament Team
Amiyah Miles (Hilton), Kelly Wightman (Victor), Avery Kroening (Webster Schroeder), Reegan Sercu (Penfield), Kenyatta Hart (Webster Schroeder), Olivia Lanning (Penfield). MVP: Kylie Clement (Webster Schroeder).
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