Wednesday Roundup: Big 2nd quarter run, key steal-and-go by Robbins assists Lady Lions in 39-36 edging of Letchworth; C-R volleyball sweeps Fri/Scio, will face Wellsville in Friday’s Semifinals
BY CHRIS BROOKS, sports editor, wellsvillesport.com
WELLSVILLE — Although it was their first game in eight days, the main goal for Wellsville in their return to the floor was to remain focused. Against a team that’s been known to provide a lingering presence from the opening tip to the final buzzer, it was a monumental task for the Lady Lions to uphold against Letchworth on Wednesday.
They would need every bit of it, especially coming down the stretch — a time where the Lady Indians began to close in on the Lady Lions, and fast.
But luckily, Emily Robbins came up with a massive play with nearly two minutes left in regulation.
With Letchworth transitioning down the court, the Wellsville senior met the basketball with a clean swipe, pickpocketing the Lady Indians with the biggest of steals to cash in on a big two-point play to branch the lead to three. For the remainder of time, the Lady Lions would hold onto the last bit of string left to keep their 39-36 lead intact for the victory.
“We couldn’t buy a bucket early on with it being our first game in eight days, but Letchworth is in every game that they play,” said Lady Lions coach Michelle Alvord. “Our keys were to stay focused in all four quarters, which we were, and we couldn’t afford to get outworked, and we wound up getting outworked. We couldn’t sustain it at times, but we had a nice run to end the half behind Sara’s (Reitz) threes to pick up the offensive scoring. We did do the things we needed to do to get the win tonight, and that was great to see.”
Buckets were hard to come by through the first quarter between both squads, but in the midst of a back and forth exchange, Letchworth was able to grab an 8-4 lead after scoring four straight to break an early deadlock. That before the scoring came to a complete halt for the last two minutes of the frame.
The momentum would remain in favor of the Lady Indians near the midway mark, garnering an advantage as big as seven. But in the back half of the frame, the Lady Lions (9-8) were able to chip it down considerably. How much? — Try a first half-ending 10-0 run led by Sara Reitz from Main Street, downtown, as she knocked down three humongous treys, in addition, some help at the line along the way to propel towards the front of the line with an 18-16 lead at the break.
Wellsville’s advantage would grow to as much as nine across the third quarter before Letchworth created a late spark to tie the game back up at 32 on each side through the early portions of the fourth quarter. With under midway left to play, the rest of the battle would see some clutch help at the charity stripe begin to surface.
Along with it, perhaps the biggest special teams play of the game — an Emily Robbins steal off a Letchworth drive back down the court, swiping it away and cashing it in while being fouled on the way up to the basket to garner a 39-36 lead that the Lady Lions would hang onto very tightly for the last two minutes of play, securing the victory by the skin of their teeth to make the climb back above .500 on the season.
Lindsay Stuck led all scorers on the floor for Wellsville with 12 team-high points — eight of those points coming in the third quarter. Reitz would finish with her three triples, for nine points. Robbins, Maddy Parks, Averee Palmatier and Makenna Dunbar all rounded off the scoring with four points each.
On special teams, Palmatier and Dunbar led the rebounding off the glass with seven boards each, while Robbins added in five of her own along with two assists and two crucial steals.
Prior to the Varsity battle, the Lady Lions took care of business in the JV contest against Letchworth with a 38-13 win behind eight team-high points from Caelyn Stevens.
The Lady Lions are back on the floor this weekend for Senior Night, as they welcome in the Lady Rebels of Cuba-Rushford for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off on Saturday.
Letchworth 8 8 9 11 – 36
Wellsville 4 14 14 7 – 39
LETCHWORTH: Hana Gill 0 3-5 3, Annika Milillo 5 3-5 13, Morgan Brace 1 2-2 4, Emily Perl 1 0-0 2, Sasha Bellamy 3 2-2 8, Alyssa Milillo 2 0-0 6. Totals: 12 10-14 36.
WELLSVILLE: Lindsay Stuck 4 1-6 12, Natalie Adams 1 0-0 2, Maddy Parks 1 2-2 4, Emily Robbins 2 0-3 4, Sara Reitz 3 0-0 9, Averee Palmatier 1 2-2 4, Makenna Dunbar 1 2-7 4. Totals: 13 7-20 39.
3-point goals: Letchworth 2 (Al. Milillo), Wellsville 6 (Stuck 3, Reitz 3).
Total Fouls: Letchworth 15, Wellsville 10. Fouled out: Gill (LET), An. Milillo (LET), Bellamy (LET).
Bolivar-Richburg 37, Alfred-Almond 23
ALMOND — The battle was on between Bolivar-Richburg and Alfred-Almond on Wednesday. With the host Lady Eagles inching closer to within striking distance of the Lady Wolverines, the visitors took it upon themselves to create a big finale they would use towards victory, as they held the hosts to just two points on defense in the last eight minutes to pull away towards a 37-23 win.
Bolivar-Richburg (6-9) provided some even balance all around on offense to keep themselves on step ahead of Alfred-Almond through the first three quarters of play, including a 10-8 lead after an opening eight minute period that saw Raegan Giardini and Carmen Crowley begin piecing together the attack with eight of the team’s 10 points.
The two foes would remain stride for stride with one another across the next two defensive-fronted quarters before the Lady Wolverines found a way to break free from Alfred-Almond’s grasp down the stretch, as they connected with two strong efforts on both ends of the floor to hold the Lady Eagles at a standstill in the midst of their 12-2 game-ending run.
Four scorers all had a hand in the team’s breakaway fourth quarter, including Giardini, who led Bolivar-Richburg in scoring with a game-high 11 points. Malayna Ayers pitched in eight points, while Carmen Crowley had seven.
The Lady Wolverines now head out to Houghton Academy for a 6 p.m. battle, Friday night.
Bolivar-Richburg 10 9 6 12 – 37
Alfred-Almond 8 4 9 2 – 23
BOLIVAR-RICHBURG: Nadia Baldwin 2 0-0 5, Emma Sisson 1 0-0 3, Raegan Giardini 5 0-3 11, Carmen Crowley 3 1-2 7, Malayna Ayers 4 0-0 8, Caitlyn Steiner 1 1-2 3. Totals: 16 2-7 37.
ALFRED-ALMOND: Kayli Clark 1 0-0 2, Chloe Hann 2 0-0 6, Chloe Bracken 4 1-2 9, Isabel Badeau 3 0-6 6. Totals: 9 1-8 23.
3-point goals: B-R 3 (Baldwin, Sisson, Giardini), A-A 2 (Hann).
Total Fouls: B-R 11, A-A 12. Fouled out: None.
New Life Christian 44, Houghton Academy 40
HOUGHTON — In part one of Houghton Academy’s doubleheader with New Life Christian on Wednesday, the Lady Panthers did everything they could to hang tightly with their opposition. But a strong end to the first half of play for the visitors gave them just enough room to navigate their way towards triumph with a 44-40 edging.
After hanging right with New Life Christian through the opening eight minutes of play, the Lady Panthers (4-12) soon found themselves in a deep 10-point hole going into the break after a long 18-9 run by the visitors in the second quarter to keep the advantage in their favor.
The deficit weighing on Houghton Academy would soon see some relief come the third quarter, as they cut it down to as little as three at its end. With Houghton Academy holding the momentum going into the last eight minutes, New Life Christian would hang on for dear life with one final narrow outscoring of the Lady Panthers to keep their advantage intact.
Despite the defeat, Jess Prentice contributed another incredible night of basketball for the Lady Panthers, netting a game-high 33 points. Jessica Adenuga chipped in with the remaining seven points.
Houghton Academy will stand pat at home for a Friday night doubleheader beginning at 6 p.m. against Bolivar-Richburg.
New Life Christian 10 18 6 10 – 44
Houghton Academy 9 9 13 9 – 40
NEW LIFE: Marceline Hutter 12 0-0 24, Brightleen Naunyi 4 1-3 9, Ariyanah Bluntt 1 0-0 2, Avalyn Rhodes 1 1-2 3, Lily Chase 2 0-0 4, Kezia Ntiamoah 1 0-0 2. Totals: 21 2-5 44.
HOUGHTON ACADEMY: Jess Prentice 12 7-9 33, Jessica Adenuga 3 1-2 7. Totals: 15 8-11 40.
3-point goals: HA 2 (Prentice).
Total Fouls: New Life 13, HA 7. Fouled out: Bluntt (NLC).
BOYS BASKETBALL
New Life Christian 54, Houghton Academy 39
HOUGHTON — To close out the night in Houghton, the host Panthers had to fight back and forth with New Life Christian through much of the opening quarter on Wednesday.
But then the visiting opposition began to find their groove going into the break, where they would put together a big finish to put on display, as they held Houghton Academy to nine points across the remaining three quarters, including a big fourth quarter that allowed them to pull away towards a 54-39 victory to sweep the doubleheader action.
The Panthers (1-12) survived an early challenge that was issued by New Life Christian out of the gate, as the two foes delivered back and forth blows that helped them garner an early 12-10 edge. But from the second quarter on, the hosts in white and blue were denied a chance to maintain their advantage, as New Life Christian held their opposition to nine points for the rest of the game to spring ahead into the driver’s seat.
Among the runs, a 21-9 jaunt in the last eight minutes of play, ultimately giving the visitors all the room they needed to pull away and out of reach for good.
Houghton Academy was led by Josh Davidson and his five three-pointers, en route to a team-high 17 points. Jack Prentice collected 13 points, while James Adenuga rounded off with the last nine points.
The Panthers are back on their home floor Friday night with a 7:30 p.m. tip-off against Bolivar-Richburg.
New Life Christian 10 13 10 21 – 54
Houghton Academy 12 9 9 9 – 39
NEW LIFE: Niinoi Hansam’norley 4 0-3 11, Niinashu Hansam’norley 1 2-2 4, Jefferson Isaah 15 3-6 33, Samuel Quampah 1 0-0 3, Emmanuel L. Botchuag 1 0-0 3. Totals: 22 5-11 54.
HOUGHTON ACADEMY: Jack Prentice 5 0-2 13, Josh Davidson 5 2-2 17, James Adenuga 3 1-1 9. Totals: 13 3-5 39.
3-point goals: NLC 5 (Niinoi H. 3, Quampah, Botchuag), HA 10 (Davidson 5, Prentice 3, Adenuga 2).
Total Fouls: NLC 6, HA 9. Fouled out: None.
BOYS VOLLEYBALL
County Quarterfinals
No. 1 Cuba-Rushford 3, No. 8 Friendship/Scio 0
CUBA — With two more vacancies to fill in for Friday’s Semifinal round of the County Playoffs, the defending champion Cuba-Rushford Rebels made sure they lay claim to one of them loud and clear against Friendship/Scio on Wednesday, commanding the floor from start to finish in their straight-set win in the Wighthouse by a 25-10, 25-9, 25-18 decision.
“We were able to get everyone on the court at different times during the game, and each one of them played their best. That’s what we need to continue on with going forward in the playoffs.” said Rebels coach Nick Perillo.
Among the contributors for Cuba-Rushford (14-1) was Anderson Siegel, who took charge of the offense behind his team-high six kills, pairing them with a couple of aces. Preston Bilotta contributed four additional kills to go with three blocks and a pair of aces, while setter Allen Fuller helped set everything up with 12 assists at the front of the net, pitching in five additional aces from the service line and two kills along the way.
Individual statistics for Friendship/Scio were not made available to report upon publication, as the team now finishes their 2022-23 campaign with a record of 2-12 overall.
The Rebels will now get set to do battle with No. 5 Wellsville on Friday in a 6 p.m. first serve, battling it out for a spot in this year’s County Championship game next week.
No. 2 Allegany-Limestone 3, No. 7 Fillmore 0
ALLEGANY — The Gators of Allegany-Limestone commanded the action from beginning to end on Wednesday, as they earned the right to claim their Semifinal round stake this weekend with a straight-set blank of visiting No. 7 Fillmore, recording a dominant 25-11, 25-7, 25-11 victory to move on and face No. 3 Bolivar-Richburg for a chance at next week’s Championship game.
Fillmore was paced by Henry Decker on offense with his three kills and two blocks at the front of the net. Aiden Wagner chipped in with three blocks, while Kyle Paulson handed out seven helpers to his teammates to round off the contributions.
The Eagles wrap up their campaign with a record of 2-14 overall.
