By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — When Tom McDonough went to sleep on Tuesday, he wasn’t sure what his lineup would look like the next night.
Over the previous 24 hours or so, the Our Lady of Mercy coach received a series of text messages from players and parents all mentioning flu and cold symptoms: high fever and upset stomach to name a couple.
Instead of their usual day-before-a-game practice with a walk-through and discussion of a scouting report, McDonough had a shoot-around with five players in the gymnasium.
“We had a team dinner scheduled, Tuesday night,” McDonough said. “I had to cancel it because we had so many players that weren’t going to make it.”
Credit the Monarchs with the ability to recover.
Emerson Wandtke finished with a team-high 20 points. Laura Kosten added 11, and Mercy (15-9) advanced to the NYS Class A quarterfinals with a 54-46 win over Section VI champion, Lake Shore (19-6).
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“I didn’t know what to expect today,” McDonough said. “We’ve never gone without a practice especially for a game like this.”
Despite it all, Mercy led 32-25 at halftime.
Laura Kosten and Robin Jones scored seven apiece in the second quarter. Wandtke had eight in the frame, and the Monarchs, after managing just three field goals over the first eight minutes of action, used a 26-14 advantage to take a lead into the break.
“The girls played their hearts out.”
A pair of Wandtke free throws early in the third quarter gave Mercy a double-digit lead at 38-28, and they did not allow the game to become a single-possession affair for the remainder of the contest.
“I wrote two things on the board: turnovers and rebounding,” McDonough said when discussing halftime. “They played hard. That’s the way these girls are. They’re such a fun group to be around.”
Mercy returns to the state quarterfinals for the first time since 2017 when the Monarchs beat Clarence, 44-40 in AA.
This time, though, might be a first for Section V Athletics. With the three-region system adopted by the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA), Honeoye Falls-Lima received an at-large bid to the tournament. The Cougars defeated Norwich of Section IV, 43-34 to set up a rematch between the two teams in Saturday’s quarterfinal.
“We got HF-L again. It’ll be a good game. They’ll come back with something different.”
That game is scheduled for Saturday at Finger Lakes Community College. Time is TBA.
“After the regular season ended, we said okay, now we start a new season. Let’s go win a sectional (title). We never thought about states. You don’t think about it until it happens.”
Jones had eight points and 14 rebounds in the win. Wandtke grabbed eight boards. Bridget Wise had nine points and seven rebounds.
Allison Barone (3) and Madelyn Goetz (3) also scored.
Lake Shore’s Chasity LeRoy led all scorers with 24 points. Brooke Delprince had 11.
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