Warriors to make second trip to regionals in four years.
By PAUL GOTHAM
HENRIETTA, N.Y. — Less than two minutes remained in Tuesday’s Class AA state qualifier. A nine-point lead had been reduced to four.
Webster Schroeder’s Warriors were in search of a bucket, any bucket.
A full-court press from the Canandaigua Gray Wolves had forced seven turnovers over eight possessions.
It looked like another ballhandling miscue was about to happen when Leah Sheridan forced Avery Kroening to her left, and Lola Schorr denied a pass to Kylie Clement.
Then, as if with eyes in the back of her head, Kroening found teammate Jenna DiMarco on the opposite side of the floor for a layup.
The drought ended, and Schroeder was on its way to a 53-42 victory.
“Whew!” said Schroeder head coach Codi Mrozek. “I’m like holding my breath thinking what do we need?”
The basket, DiMarco’s first of the quarter and second of the game, triggered a 7-0 run to close the game.
“They’ve been in a lot of big games,” Mrozek said of her squad’s ability to close out the win. “We’ve been through a lot of adversity mentally and emotionally.”
Early on, it looked like Canandaigua would be Section V’s representative in the state tournament.
Gianna Buchiere scored eight of her 12 points in the first quarter. The sophomore guard’s layup off a drive early in the second quarter capped a 14-0 run.
Two possessions later, backcourt mate Leah Sheridan scored off the bounce for a 26-14 CA lead.
“They were slicing us with their guards,” Mrozek said. “We were trying to contain [Sophia Frayne], but their guards were going off on us.”
But Schroeder rallied coming out of halftime.
The Warriors used a 22-11 advantage in the third quarter to erase a six-point deficit and take a lead it did not surrender.
“We changed our zone a little to have Kenyatta (6-3 center Hart) play in the paint and less worried about where [Frayne] was.”
At the other end of the floor, Hart scored seven of her team-high 16 points. Hart’s traditional 3-point play off a pass from DiMarco tied the game at 32. Next trip down the floor, Kroening buried a triple to give the Warriors a lead they did not surrender.
“We just needed to bring it a little bit more. We came out flat in the first half.
“Before this game, I said it’s not going to be like Friday night. Friday night you were amped up. You were going for the block. Now it’s Tuesday night. You’re not playing for a trophy, that shiny item that we wanted. Not a lot of fans here. There was no student section. Everyone is playing spring sports. You got to find that energy and get yourselves to Friday. Really, this is a game of champions, and we got the chance to represent Double-A.”
Clement finished with 10 points and 14 rebounds in the win. Kroening added 13 points and four assists. Olivia Fulkerson had eight points, six assists and the three steals. Hart grabbed eight rebounds.
Frayne led CA with 16 points.
Schroeder will play Section VI champion North Tonawanda, Friday in the state quarterfinals. A 6 p.m. tip-off is scheduled at Finger Lakes Community College.
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