Barkley Showcase: Lady Eagles form huge 2nd quarter run to hand Canisteo-Greenwood 1st loss of season in 52-34 triumph

Written By Chris Brooks

ALFRED — Although Fillmore head coach Tom Parks, and Canisteo-Greenwood head coach Les York have shared their fair share of battles from when the legendary girls basketball mastermind was roaming the sidelines on the fringes of Allegany County, in Canaseraga. But when York departed to take over the Lady Redskins program, the two coaches have not faced each other since.

That came to an end when both of their squads, with a bountiful of accolades, met from within the confines of Alfred State College. They were New York State-ranked teams in Class C and Class D, and combined, making up an initial record of 24 wins, and one loss. Fillmore entered at 10-1, while Canisteo-Greenwood was perfect in their season, entering at 14-0.

You couldn’t ask for a better storyline to kick off the 6th Annual Dan Barkley Showcase, Saturday afternoon.

Defense was the name of the game through the first quarter for both teams, with the Lady Redskins coming out of the frame on top with a three-point lead. In the second half, one team’s offense kicked into high gear to shapeshift the entire game. That belonged to the Lady Eagles who, under the guidance of their senior spark plug in Hannah Roeske, held Canisteo-Greenwood down while capitalizing on multiple defensive breakdowns to account for a big half-ending run to pull away toward a 52-34 victory, handing the Lady Redskins their first loss of the season.

“The second quarter, things really started to get rolling,” said Lady Eagles coach Tom Parks. “I think our experience had quite a bit to do with that. Hannah really bailed us out in that second quarter, and as a senior, we expect her to do that for us. She’s our high scorer, and she will have moments like that, but she doesn’t have to sustain it because we have many options behind her. For her to step up, and put us on her back to get things flowing was huge.”

Roeske wound up earning the first of many Player of the Game honors at the conclusion of their clash of the titans, as she finished with 16 game-high points for Fillmore (11-1), with 14 of them coming in the second quarter to assist in establishing what turned out to be an 18-7 run of the Lady Redskins.

Savannah Ambuski attempted to keep the momentum in Canisteo-Greenwood’s favor with the first basket of the second quarter, but in just two minutes, Roeske went to work with five straight points — three from on a long trey downtown, and on the next transition, a breakaway basket, tying the game at 14. In the run, they went on to score 10 of the next 11 points to jump ahead with a 19-15 lead with nearly halfway to go until halftime.

With Roeske providing most of the team’s offense within the quarter, the Lady Eagles defense began to explore new ways to cash in on points, as they capitalized on multiple forced turnovers, and defensive breakdowns throughout the remaining four minutes until the half to break the bank with their run.

It was the first time all season the Lady Redskins had trailed entering the half.

“They’re an incredible team,” Parks said of Canisteo-Greenwood. “They were undefeated, top five in Class C in the state coming into this game. We knew we were going to have our hands full. We knew were going to have to play our best to have a chance to beat them. We talked about sustaining our energy at halftime. Canisteo-Greenwood hasn’t been in a position where they were trailing at halftime. We knew it was going to be a little different feeling coming out of the locker room, but they made some adjustments coming back out to hang with us for a little bit.”

It was a much closer battle on the scoreboard for each team, as Fillmore outscored the Lady Redskins by a 13-10 count, but not before picking up where they left off from the first 16 minutes, as they scored the first five points to continue their ongoing run. With a deficit now approaching 16 in the early stages of the third quarter, Canisteo-Greenwood cut it down with a pair of baskets from Elizabeth Roach, and later a pass from the senior center to Brooke Byrd underneath to close the gap to 11 into the fourth.

The Lady Redskins would get the game down to 10 with some help inside the paint, but Fillmore went on to put a bow on the victory with an 8-0 run with 1:45 left to play to seal it up.

Emma Cole found the scorebook herself with a great performance from inside, scoring a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double. Riley Voss added 11 points of her own to go with five assists. Erin Mawn chipped in with nine points to go with four assists, while Carlee Miller rounded the Lady Eagles scoring off with the last four points.

Much needed momentum was built for the Lady Eagles, as they now head into the home stretch before Sectionals. The action heats up when they return home on Monday to square off against arguable one of Western New York’s premier girls basketball giants in Franklinville’s Dani Haskell, as the Lady Panthers travel to Fillmore for a 7:30 p.m. face-off.

“We talked about both these games presenting a challenge, and having big opportunities that come with it. To get ready for Sectionals, playing quality teams, it’s not easy playing Canisteo-Greenwood and Franklinville back to back. It does help us with our confidence in the long run, but Franklinville has a girl in Dani Haskell that’s going to Division I after high school. We’re going to enjoy this victory tonight, and then get right back to it with practice tomorrow.”

Immediately following the girls game, both Fillmore and Canisteo-Greenwood boys basketball squads were expected to take the floor for the second of five games on the Barkley Showcase slate, but due to a roof leak onto the hardwood, the game was cancelled and will be made up at a later date. Fans who have been admitted into the scheduled game will have their admissions honored for their make-up contest at a time, and place to be determined.

Fillmore                          9 18 13 12 – 52

Canisteo-Greenwood    12   7 10   5 – 34


FILLMORE: Riley Voss 5 1-3 11, Hannah Roeske 6 3-3 16, Emma Cole 6 0-0 12, Erin Mawn 3 3-5 9, Carlee Miller 2 0-2 4. Totals: 22 7-13 52.
CANISTEO-GREENWOOD: Savannah Ambuski 2 0-0 4, Elaine Roach 0 0-2 0, Lillian Mullen 4 0-0 11, Brooke Byrd 4 0-2 8, Elizabeth Roach 4 3-10 11. Totals: 14 3-14 34.

3-point goals: Fillmore 1 (Roeske), C-G 1 (Mullen).
Total Fouls: Fillmore 15, C-G 11. Fouled out: None.

Chris Brooks
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