02/27/06
Oneonta upsets No. 1
Jaffie caps 58-56 victory for defending Class A champs
HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS BASKETBALL: SECTION FOUR CLASS A SEMIFINALS
By Rob Centorani
Staff Writer
BINGHAMTON — What senior Kate Jaffie did at the foul line with 3.9 seconds left Saturday all but sealed Oneonta High’s 58-56 upset of top-seeded Elmira Free Academy at Binghamton High.
What the fifth-seeded Yellowjackets did without Jaffie allowed them to a punch a return ticket to the Section Four Class A girls basketball championship game.
Fouled on a three-point attempt she took in front of the Oneonta bench, Jaffie hit 2 of 3 free throws to break a 56-all tie. She mi[an error occurred while processing this directive]ssed short on her third foul shot, but by the time the Blue Devils rebounded and completed two passes, the game had ended. EFA’s Rachel Pirozzolo took a 25-footer that missed badly about a half-second after the horn sounded.
"We knew as soon as Kate stepped to the line, they were going in," OHS senior point guard Bridget Farago said. "It’s basically if you want it or not — and she wants it more than anybody."
Defending champion OHS gets a third shot this season at rival Norwich at 6 p.m. Thursday in the Class A title game at the Broome County Arena. The Purple Tornado, which defeated Corning East, 41-39, in the first semifinal at Binghamton, is 2-0 against OHS this season.
On Saturday, the Jackets (16-6) went on a 27-7 run that bridged the second and third quarters with leading scorer Jaffie in foul trouble on the bench. The spurt helped OHS turn a 22-14 deficit into a 41-29 lead.
Freshman Madie Harlem (12 points) hit a layup in transition to put OHS up, 50-38, with five minutes to go. The next 3½ minutes belonged to the Blue Devils (18-2), who took over with a full-court press that resulted in a 15-3 run.
Jaffie (12 points) hit two free throws with 1:46 left, but EFA’s Brittney Brooks drew a foul on a putback 15 seconds later. Her free throw tied the score at 53, setting up an improbable basket by OHS senior Marie O’Malley.
With the shot clock running down, O’Malley dribbled right toward the top of the key with Pirozzolo close by. Then, without squaring herself to the basket, she flipped in a line-drive three-pointer that crept over the front of the rim and through.
"That was a Hail Mary three," OHS coach Bob Zeh said of the shot, which gave his team a 56-53 lead with 58 seconds left.
O’Malley, who had a game-high 16 points, added: "I don’t even know if a guardian angel was with me on that shot. I just heaved it up there."
EFA went to the line twice thereafter, with Pirozzolo going 1-for-2 before Sherelle Brooks hit two to tie the score at 56 with 30.4 seconds left.
Jaffie’s three-point attempt from the top-left of the key then fell short and to the right, through no fault of her own. EFA’s Rechelle Brooks was whistled for a slap so hard to Jaffie’s left wrist, it could be heard at the opposite end of the gymnasium.
"I was happy," Jaffie said of going to the line. "I like that kind of thing."
ONEONTA 58, EFA 56
1-ELMIRA FREE ACADEMY (18-2): Rechelle Brooks 0-4 0-0 0, Sherelle Brooks 3-12 2-3 10, Anthia Smith 3-6 3-7 9, Rachel Pirozzolo 3-9 3-6 9, Tara O’Shea 4-8 0-0 11, Molly Rogers 1-2 2-4 4, McKenna Warren 0-2 0-0 0, Brittney Brooks 5-13 0-0 11, Cara McLeod 1-6 0-0 2. TOTALS: 20-60 10-20 56.
Three-point field goals: OHS 4 (O’Malley 4); EFA 6 (S. Brooks 2, O’Shea 2, B. Brooks).
