By Rob Centorani

Staff Writer

BINGHAMTON _ For two-and-a-half quarters Friday night, Oneonta High’s young girls basketball squad kept pace with top-seeded Seton Catholic Central.

Then the Saints made a defensive adjustment that turned the Yellowjackets into an indecisive, mistake-prone squad.

Eighth-seeded OHS made one field goal over the final 11 minutes, 40 seconds in a 47-26 Section Four Class B quarterfinal loss to the host Saints.

Sophomore Madie Harlem pulled OHS (10-11) within 26-23 when she hit a jumper from the left wing with 3:40 left in the third quarter. The Saints (19-2) scored the next 12 points, capped by Kate Canny’s inside basket with 6:40 left, to make it 38-23.

The key to the run seemed to be SCC’s switch to a 1-2-2 half-court trap, which kept the ball away from OHS leading scorer Harlem. She rarely saw it thereafter.

"They did switch the defense, but we just turned the ball over three straight times and it turned into easy baskets for them," OHS coach Bob Zeh said. "It quickly went to 10 points, and that’s what good teams do. They’re a championship team and they played like one."

The Saints intercepted a pass from Kayla Fisher-Poling that turned into a layup for K.C. Hawkes during a 7-0 run to close the third quarter. Rachel Sason followed with a pass intended for Harlem that went out of bounds with 1:40 left in the quarter.

Ashley Dunn then traveled, turning the ball over with 25 seconds left.[an error occurred while processing this directive]