Girls Basketball

Class AA

(1) Schroeder 73, (5) Fairport 69 Final/OT

After a wild game with a controversial finish to regulation, the top-seeded Warriors emerged in overtime to reach the Class AA title game.

Tied at 63 with less than ten seconds remaining, Mariah Watkins fended off four defenders and made an acrobatic left-handed layup to give Schroeder the lead.

0.7 seconds remained on the clock and Fairport called a timeout, advancing the ball to the front court. Ne’vaeh Buntley took the inbounds pass, dribbled, turned, and sunk the tying shot. While the shot was released after the buzzer sounded, the referees counted the basket sending the game to overtime.

The referee miscue did not end up costing the Warriors. Addison Morgan and Ava Gallup opened overtime with three-pointers and Watkins scored the final four Schroeder points to secure the win.

The first 31:50 seconds of regulation were almost as exciting as the end of the game.

Fairport got out to a red-hot start and led 21-9 late in the first quarter. Schroeder got within one in the second quarter, but Bella Pucci hit a step-back three as time expired to give Fairport a 32-28 lead at the half.

Schroeder finally kicked it into gear in the third quarter, scoring 25 points to lead 53-43 heading to the fourth. The Warriors looked well on their way to the title game, leading 61-48 with 4:55 to play. However, the Red Raiders locked down on defense and scored the next 13 points to tie the game with a minute left, setting up the late-game drama.

Watkins led all scorers with 27 points. Bria Watkins and Ava Gallup each had 14 points.

Four players scored in double figures for the Red Raiders, as Buntley and Pucci both had 16, with Ella Meabon scoring 15 and Sarah Hirschler netting eleven.

Schroeder (21-1) will take on Penfield in the Class AA championship game on Saturday, March 4th at 6:00 p.m. at Rush-Henrietta High School. The Warriors are undefeated in Section V play this season.

Fairport’s season comes to a close with a 15-8 record.

(3) Penfield 56, (2) Bishop Kearney 54

Dating back to February 13, 2018, the Lady Kings have lost just two games to Section V opponents.

The first was to Penfield in the 2021 Class AA championship game. The second was on Wednesday, as the Patriots once again knocked off BK in a thriller.

The lead changed five times in overtime alone, with the final coming with 30 seconds left as Jackie Funk spun through the paint for the game-winning bucket.

Funk scored 17 in the first half, putting the Patriots up 30-28. In a low-scoring third quarter, Penfield remained ahead 40-39 heading to the fourth.

Bishop Kearney held a 46-42 lead with less than 2:30 remaining, but Ashley Kalvitis scored the final four points in regulation to send the game to overtime. Her final basket came with over a minute remaining, as neither team could get a winner late.

Penfield started the overtime hot, scoring the first five points. Then, BK’s Amaia Jackson displayed her full bag of tricks with a trio of dazzling moves, putting the Lady Kings in front before Funk hit the game-winner.

Penfield (20-2) will take on Schroeder in the championship game, looking to avenge their only losses of the season. The Warriors beat the Patriots 61-48 on December 15th and 55-25 on February 3rd.

Bishop Kearney saw it’s state championship title defense come to a screeching halt, ending the year with a 16-3 record.

Class C2

(4) Dundee/Bradford 69, (1) Lyons 57

Kendall Parker led the BraveScots to an upset with 31 points in a Class C2 semifinal at Canandaigua High School. 

Dundee/Bradford led only 42-38 after a tight third quarter but pulled away with 27 points in the final period. 

Mikayla Schoffner added 17 for Dundee/Bradford while Kailey Yeoman chipped in with 11. 

Next up for the Scots is the Class C2 final Saturday at Rush-Henrietta where they will face (3) Pavilion. The Gophers upended (2) Batavia Notre Dame 51-42 in the first semifinal at Canandaigua. Dundee/Bradford improved to 21-2 with the win. 

The Lions ended their season at 19-4. 

Boys Basketball

Class A1

(2) Irondequoit 67, (3) Thomas 52

Ryan Heath blazed up and down the court for 10 fourth-quarter points helping the Eagles pull away for a Class A1 semifinal win at Webster Schroeder on Wednesday night. 

Thomas trailed by only six points after three quarters, but a Heath steal and fast-break layup was followed by a stepback jumper to push Irondequoit in front by ten points. The Titans hung in most of the fourth quarter, but three lightning-like takes by Heath finally salted the game away late. 

Heath led all scorers with 21 points for the game and it was enough to put him over 1,000 points for his career. Xavier Gissendanner backed Heath up with 15 for the Eagles. 

Shawn Mason nailed five threes and led Thomas with 18 points. The Titans ended their season at 15-7. 

Irondequoit improved to 18-4. The Eagles will face top-seeded Athena in Saturday’s title game. The Trojans cruised past (4) Brockport 81-56 in the first semi at Schroeder. Tip time for the Class A1 championship is 5 pm at Blue Cross Arena.