By DYLAN O’LOUGHLIN
CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. — Senior Maggie Warpus netted nine of her game-high 20 points in the opening eight minutes as Section IV champs Chenango Forks jumped out to a 11-5 lead it did not relinquish to advance to the New York State Semifinals with a 48-40 victory over Section V champions Waterloo. With the victory, it is now the second time in program history the Blue Devils have reached the Final Four.
“We knew it was going to be a tough team that we had never seen before so we had to prepare in practice and watch film,” Warpus said. “We fought some adversity in the game, but we came through, reset in the second half and pulled it out in the end.”
Chenango Forks came out hot as five different Blue Devils put points on the board in the first half. Warpus, the Oregon State commit led the way with 14 as Chenango Forks opened up as large as an 11-point lead, but Waterloo ended the second quarter on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to five heading into the locker room.
The Tigers carried that momentum into the third quarter. Both teams traded buckets with each other throughout the eight minutes, but Waterloo’s Gwyn Panek and Addison Bree took over the quarter as the duo combined for 12 of the Tigers’ 15 points in the third. Waterloo ended the quarter on a 10-5 run to make it one-point game heading into the fourth.
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“We’ve had such a great run these last several years that I don’t think they ever think they’re out of the game,” Waterloo head coach Michael Bree said. “We do have the capability of putting the ball in the basket in a hurry and we did that a little bit in the stretch there in the second quarter and then brought it all the way back to one point there in the third and early fourth. We just didn’t make enough shots today.”
With the lead being the closest since 5-4 in the first quarter, the Blue Devils took over. Warpus and sophomore Jordyn Ericksen-Hrehor led the way with six points apiece in the final eight minutes. In the second half while Warpus was in foul trouble, Ericksen-Hrehor netted 12 of her 13 points.
“There were so many fouls on both sides, but my teammates, especially Jordyn [Ericksen-Hrehor] has been pulling through so much,” Warpus said. “She’s young, she works hard and everyone works so hard in practice so they step up when they’re needed. And, when I’m not pulling my weight, they’re all right there to back me.”
In the fourth quarter Chenango Forks caused multiple turnovers and capitalized on the offensive end thanks to the full-court press. The Blue Devils won the final eight minutes 14-9 to pull out the victory and hold Waterloo to its third-lowest scoring outing of the season. Chenango Forks held the Tigers 13 points under their season average of 53 points per game.
“That’s our goal, to try to hold them to 10 points a quarter,” Chenango Forks head coach Mike Curtis said. “We gave up 15 there in the third and then came back and held them to nine in the fourth quarter. We talked about it at halftime, just got to string some stops together. We knew our offense was going to come along, we knew we were going to get paint touches and some layups on them and we did that in the second half. But, it starts on the defensive end for us all year and that’s where it’s been.”
To go along with Warpus’s 20 and Ericksen-Hrehor’s 13, Maggie O’Connor added six points while Kenzie Curtis picked up four. Mari Pourby (2), Molly Derr (2) and Reaghan Hughes (1) rounded out the scoring.
For Waterloo, Bree led the way with 16 points including 12 in the second half while Panek scored 12 points. Freshman Jonay Hawkins chipped in five points while junior Tangel Williams notched four points. Junior Khia Moody knocked down a triple to round out the scoring.
Despite the loss, Waterloo finished the season with a 19-6 record and made its fourth state quarterfinal appearance since 2021. It’s also the 11th appearance all time for the Tigers and with many returning next year, Waterloo is ready to reload and get back to the state tournament again.
“It’s been awesome, they’ve grown so much this year and I really enjoyed going to practice every day with them and growing,” Bree said. “With Addison [Bree] being a senior this year, it was nice to see her develop and grow and I’m looking forward to watching her at the next level at Brockport. It’s just been a joy to play and watch and we’ve got a lot of girls coming back next year, so hopefully we’ll be able to get after it again.”
Chenango Forks improves to 18-7 on the season and advance to the NYS semifinals. The Blue Devils take on Marcellus (III) Friday, March 20 at Hudson Valley Community College. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
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