02/25/05
Next stop for OHS: States
SECTION FOUR CLASS A FINAL
Yellowjackets grind out 34-32 victory over ESS
By P.J. Harmer
Staff Writer
BINGHAMTON — Defense wins sectional t
| | | Photo by Michael Chacanaca
Oneonta High’s Marie O’Malley dribbles around Elmira Southside’s Amanda Dalton during the third quarter of Thursday’s Section Four Class A final at Broome County Arena. |
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itles.
The Oneonta High girls basketball team proved that, and the Yellowjackets are headed to their first state tournament since the glory days of the late 1990s.
Renae Alvarez blocked a last-second shot by Elmira Southside’s Holly Leszyk as Oneonta held on for a 34-32 victory in the Section Four Class A championship Thursday at the Broome County Arena.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]Oneonta (17-4) advanced to a first-round state playoff game against the Section Nine champion at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday at Sullivan County Community College.
Bad weather has pushed back the Section Nine Tournament, as the semifinals aren’t until tonight. The final is Sunday.
The Jackets last won a sectional title in 1999. OHS won state championships in 1997 and 1998.
"I guess that’s the way sectional semifinals and finals should be," said Oneonta coach Bob Zeh. "I’ve won sectional championships with the boys before, but I’m so happy for the girls. I believe we’re one of the best teams in Section Four."
The championship was in doubt for third-seeded Oneonta after a frantic final 1 minute, 46 seconds.
Leading, 34-30, Oneonta’s Jarrin Hayen went to the free-throw line. Hayen, who scored 10 of her game-high 12 points in the second half, missed both free throws.
"I felt good when she got fouled because she’s our best foul shooter percentage-wise," Zeh said. "Again, she had played 32 minutes and her legs were going. When you’re tired, it’s the first thing to go."
ESS’ Katie Foster then made two free throws with 54.3 seconds remaining to make it 34-32.
The Yellowjackets charged downcourt, but ESS tipped the ball away out of bounds at midcourt. Hayen couldn’t find an open teammate on the inbounds pass and Zeh called a timeout with 43.8 seconds remaining.
Following the timeout, Oneonta inbounded and moved the ball outside the key. The Yellowjackets went inside to Hayen, but ESS’ Hannah Davidson stole the ball and quickly went the opposite way.
The fourth-seeded Green Hornets tried to get inside, but two attempts at penetrating weren’t successful.
Davidson was alone on the right side and shot a three-pointer with five seconds remaining, but the ball rimmed off and a mad scramble ensued. The ball went off an ESS player with 2.4 seconds remaining.
Hayen attempted to inbound to Bridget Farago under her basket, but the ball went off Farago’s hands and out of bounds with 1.4 seconds left, giving the Green Hornets one last chance.
"I knew it was my fault," Farago said. "It was my bad. I wanted to stop them right there and I knew they wouldn’t get (a shot) off."
Said Zeh: "It’s my fault. We’ve worked on those plays, but we made a bad decision. We gave them the opportunities."
After a timeout, ESS inbounded on the right side to Holly Leszyk, who attempted a long jumper near the three-point line. Alvarez got a piece of the shot as time expired.
"That was scary," said Oneonta’s Kate Jaffie, who scored 10 points. "I was so scared. I was like, ’This can’t be happening.’ I knew if they didn’t make a three or we didn’t foul, we were set."
Oneonta jumped out to an 11-2 first-quarter lead. Jaffie scored eight of the points, getting to the basket with ease.
ESS (11-10) outscored the Jackets, 9-3, in the second quarter to cut the lead to 14-11 at halftime.
Oneonta led by as many as 10 in the second half, but every time the Jackets looked to pull away, the Green Hornets answered.
"They attacked us from the baseline," Zeh said. "They’re big inside and they had some offensive putbacks. They were strong on the boards."
Hayen, who came into the game averaging 17.6 points per game, came alive in the second half. She scored seven points during a 9-0 run to help the Jackets open a 23-13 lead with 4:33 left in the third.
"Before we came out, I was nervous and I thought I was going to be sick," Hayen said. "At halftime, Tara (Aikens) was like ’You have to pick it up.’ The team also looked to get me the ball more."
ESS slowly chipped away at the lead, closing to 34-30 on a bank shot from Davidson with 2:54 to play.
The Jackets held Leszyk to two points. She scored 17 points, including four three-pointers, in a semifinal upset of top-seeded Corning East.
"Our defense was solid and our offense was shaky at best," Zeh said. "I don’t think they have a real superstar, but we knew (Leszyk) had 17. We were going to make sure we didn’t give her the open looks."
Amanda Dalton had 10 points for ESS.
• There will be a spectator bus for Oneonta’s first-round state playoff game Tuesday at Sullivan County CC. The bus will leave at 3:45 p.m. for the 6:45 p.m. game against the Section Nine champion.
Seats are on a first-come, first-serve basis and must be reserved in advance. To reserve a spot, call OHS athletic director Joe Hughes at 433-8251 or e-mail him at joe@oneontacsd.org.
There is no cost for the bus, but tickets to the game are $5 each.
ONEONTA 34, ESS 32
4-ELMIRA SOUTHSIDE (11-10): Emily Akins 1 3-4 5, Katie Akins 3 0-0 6, Amanda Dalton 4 2-2 10, Hannah Davidson 1 0-0 2, Katie Foster 0 2-4 2, Anna Leszyk 1 0-0 2, Holly Leszyk 1 0-0 2, Kayla Murphy 0 0-0 0, Michelle Watkins 1 0-0 3. TOTALS: 12 7-10 32.
3-ONEONTA (17-4): Tara Aikens 0 0-0 0, Bridget Farago 1 0-0 2, Kate Jaffie 2 6-10 10, Renae Alvarez 1 3-4 5, Marie O’Malley 2 0-0 5, Jarrin Hayen 5 1-4 12, Dani Nader 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 11 10-18 34.
Three-point field goals: ESS 1 (Watkins); Oneonta 2 (Hayen, O’Malley).
