Friday Roundup: Behind Marsh’s career night, Lady Lions stave off Hornell in drama-filled 4th quarter

Written By Chris Brooks

WELLSVILLE — With their first ever Coaches v. Cancer Tournament championship from last weekend in their back pocket entering 2020, it was also a two-day stretch where the Lady Lions of Wellsville built much needed momentum heading into their next game. At this point, it was considered one of the biggest measuring sticks of the season in longtime counterpart Hornell.

The message was loud and clear for the Lady Lions on Friday — take care of the ball, and limit turnovers.

“We had to be confident, and inside our confidence, we had to take care of the ball,” Lady Lions coach Michelle Alvord said. “We have to limit the live-ball turnovers. We cannot let players like Jaden Sciotti and Leah Harkenrider turn you over, and score. Leah can shoot anywhere on the floor and make it, and that’s by design. Jaden can hurt you underneath, and it’s no secret, Brian (Dyring) is a fantastic coach, and we talked about this game being a great measuring stick to let us know where we are.”

In the game, both Harkenrider and Sciotti combined for four of Hornell’s 14 total field goals. But there was a star on the hardwood that had the glimmer that illuminated the entire night.

That belonging to Wellsville senior Regan Marsh, who had the best night of her varsity career in a Lady Lions uniform, digging her way deep inside the paint each time to provide a type of offense that the Lady Red Raiders had no response for, stringing together a career-high 24 points to pair with her 16 rebounds in a performance that charged the team’s biggest win of the season by a 51-48 count for their eighth win in the last nine, and fourth straight.

“We were able to come out on top, and Regan’s senior leadership experience really helped us through,” Alvord said. “Hornell didn’t have an answer for Regan, and that’s a credit to her. We missed some inside shots in our couple of possessions but at the end of the night, she had the best night of her career. There’s been times in games against Hornell in the past that she’s been a part of, that we weren’t able to come out victorious. Tonight, I couldn’t be happier with her. She’s calming while working hard, and she plays her game so well.”

Marsh’s presence was felt right away for Wellsville (8-2) after each team started out with a stellar showing of defense through the first few minutes of the opening quarter. In it, the game saw a trio of lead changes before the Lady Lions ran off on a 6-0 scoreless run into the second quarter, with Marsh recording 10 of the team’s 12 points.

That also came along with a shutout of both Sciotti and Harkenrider from the field on defense. But in the second quarter, Hornell found a way to heat up under the guidance of Harkenrider, who scored her first nine points of the game inside the frame to assist in jumpstarting what became a 7-0 scoreless run of their own after trailing 20-10 to the Lady Lions near the midway mark. She finished with 17 team-high points.

The gap continued to close for the Lady Red Raiders, but in the last three minutes the Lady Lions took charge with Emily Costello bringing her dishes to the table along with a big three-pointer, handing out an assist to a wide-open Milla Litzburg inside while under some overwhelming pressure from the Hornell defense to wrap up a second quarter that saw Wellsville score seven of the last eight remaining points to take a nine-point lead at the break.

In the second half, a re-energized and refreshed Lady Red Raiders crew came out swinging with their biggest quarter of the evening. With Harkenrider leading the way once again, along with help from Jane Spitulnik, Hornell cut the Wellsville lead down to five behind their back-to-back threes that before the Lady Lions found the basket shortly after to extend their lead. But it was only the beginning, as the Lady Red Raiders took the lead away for the very first time behind an 8-0 run with baskets from Spitulnik and Caitlin Smith igniting the go-ahead jaunt.

They would have the lead up until the start of the fourth quarter, putting away what ended up being a 12-4 third quarter-ending run. In the last eight minutes, drama-filled basketball occupied the air inside the Lion’s Den.

It was a tight of a battle as advertised, with each team delivering one haymaker after another throughout the period. The stanza saw multiple lead changes develop, with no lead being as little as one, and as large as four. The Wellsville defense through it all, managed to shut down both of Hornell’s superstar shooters in the entire frame, holding them scoreless from the field a second time.

But it forced Hornell to utilize more weapons, as Dezi Mount connected with the game’s first of many deadlocks in the fourth quarter with a three-pointer just over halfway in.

“Defensively, Marley Adams, Jaylynn Mess, and Emily Costello had that rotation against Sciotti. We dominated the boards, and we tried to control the game with it,” said Alvord. “The girls kept their composure, and played really good defense. We didn’t give up an open look to anyone that we didn’t want to give one up to. We wanted the other kids to hurt us.”

While Marsh continued her pace on her career-setting performance, she had a little help along the way to keep the Lady Lions in the driver’s seat, as Kaylee Coleman came through with one of the biggest baskets of the fourth quarter, taking a pass from Costello just outside the paint to deliver a clutch jumper near the two minute mark to give Wellsville the 44-42 lead.

Marsh along with Spitulnik on back-to-back possessions forced a 46-all tie on the scoreboard with 90 seconds left to play. On the next Wellsville transition, the ball found the hands of Mess from just outside the left wing, knocking down what ended up being a big-time, go-ahead three-pointer that kept the Lady Lions buckled in for good.

But the Lady Red Raiders did not stop their application of pressure, as they drew a big foul on Harkenrider from deep to set up a three-shot opportunity at the charity stripe to tie the game one more time. The Hornell sharpshooter only managed to sink two of the three shots at the line, allowing the lead to be cut down to a single point with 20 seconds left to play.

Although the Hornell defense had kept her locked up since the second quarter, Marley Adams came through on the double for Wellsville, drawing a foul that resulted in a pair of cold-blooded shots at the charity stripe that lengthened the Lady Lions lead to put a ribbon on the team’s biggest win of the year thus far, in front of their home crowd.

“Our shot selection was great, and it’s hard to emulate a team like Hornell,” Alvord said. “But I’m excited for this group, and you can see the excitement in their faces. We have to build on this. If you asked me at the beginning of the year if we were going to be 8-2 after having won the Bath Tournament, the Allegany-Limestone Tournament, and this win over Hornell, you would have been wrong. Nothing these girls do anymore shocks me, and they’re such a great group to work with. They bring their game every single night.”

Finishing behind Marsh in the Wellsville scorebook was Adams, who was held to just two field goals on offense, but provided an immaculate 4-for-4 outing at the charity stripe to finish with 10 points to go with seven rebounds and five assists. Emily Costello pitched in with eight points, while Kaylee Coleman was busy off the glass, grabbing 10 boards and dishing out three assists.

Prior to the thrilling varsity contest, the JV Lady Lions had a thrilling contest of their own, as they held on to win behind a go-ahead, game-winning shot from Makenna Dunbar with under 30 seconds left to play in their 45-44 triumph over Hornell. Leading the offense was Natalie Adams and Jaelynn Knapp, who had 13 team-high points each.

Wellsville is running wild with an 8-2 start on the season through their first 10 games crossing into the halfway point. Both the Lady Red Raiders and Lady Lions will meet one more time later this month in the Barkley Showcase at Alfred State to settle the score one last time. But before then, the team will hit the road on Monday as they look to continue their torrid start in Addison with a 7 p.m. tip-off against the Lady Knights before returning home to face Letchworth next Friday.

For Alvord, it’s quite evident that her youthful Lady Lions squad is feeling quite ravenous.

“With the style of Hornell plays, it’s definitely a confidence booster for us when we beat them,” she said. “The biggest thing is we have Addison on the road, and we had a big home win against them to start the season here, and then we have Letchworth at the end of the week, and we want to avenge that loss we had to them. We can’t let down from there. I don’t have to say this team is hungry, because we are.”

Hornell               6 12 18 12 – 48

Wellsville         12 15   8 16 – 51

HORNELL: Tayghan Doorley 0 1-2 1, Jaden Sciotti 0 2-2 2, Dezi Mount 6 1-3 14, Jane Spitulnik 1 5-6 8, Leah Harkenrider 4 6-9 17, Caitlin Smith 2 0-0 4, Juliet Marino 1 0-0 2. Totals: 14 15-22 48.

WELLSVILLE: Marley Adams 2 4-4 10, Jaylynn Mess 1 0-0 3, Emily Costello 3 0-2 8, Emily Robbins 1 0-0 2, Kaylee Coleman 1 0-0 2, Milla Litzburg 1 0-0 2, Regan Marsh 11 2-2 24. Totals: 20 6-8 51.

3-point goals: Hornell 4 (Harkenrider 3, Mount), Wellsville 5 (Adams 2, Costello 2, Mess).
Total Fouls: Hornell 14, Wellsville 15. Fouled out: None.


BOYS BASKETBALL

Watkins Glen 56, Wellsville 36

WATKINS GLEN — Although Wellsville’s senior leader Max Jusianiec provided another strong showing on the floor, it was a hot first half start by the Watkins Glen Senecas that made the biggest of impacts, as they went on a pair of runs to record a double-digit lead at the half, setting the table for what became a 56-36 victory over the Lions in opening round action of their home tournament on Friday.

Watkins Glen stormed out of the gates almost immediately with their strongest quarter of the evening against Wellsville (4-5), running off on a 17-9 lead to carry into the second. Inside that frame, the Senecas had also came through with their most robust showing of defense, holding the Lions to just a pair of baskets in the midst of their 10-4 half-ending run to set the tone for the rest of the evening.

Jusianiec, in all, netted a game-high 23 points to lead the Wellsville offense. Eli Schmidt helped the cause with seven points of his own, while Logan Dunbar added three points.

Wellsville is back on the floor Saturday night to wrap up tournament play at Watkins Glen, as they take on the loser of the Groton/Greene contest in the Consolation round at 6 p.m.

Wellsville             9   4 12 11 – 36

Watkins Glen     17 10 15 14 – 56

WELLSVILLE: Max Jusianiec 6 9-11 23, Eli Schmidt 2 3-5 7, Liam McKinley 0 1-2 1, Logan Dunbar 1 0-1 3, Tim Jones 1 0-1 2. Totals: 10 13-20 36.
WATKINS GLEN: Owen Scholtiek 4 2-2 11, Max Evans 2 4-5 8, Isaac McIlroy 2 0-0 5, Mitchel Pike 2 0-0 6, Adam Pastore 10 0-0 20, Jacob DeJong 3 0-1 6. Totals: 23 6-7 56.

3-point goals: Wellsville 3 (Jusianiec 2, Dunbar), WG 4 (Pike 2, Scholtiek, McIlroy).
Total Fouls: Wellsville 13, WG 20. Fouled out: DeJong (WG).

Jasper-Troupsburg 58, Bolivar-Richburg 49

BOLIVAR — Both Jasper-Troupsburg and Bolivar-Richburg fought their way through a closely contest first half of play in Bolivar on Friday. The hosts went into the break with a three-point lead, but Wildcats sharpshooter Brayden Hill had himself a night from three-point range, netting four of the team’s six to set the table for the second half, helping his team pull away toward a 58-49 road win over the Wolverines.

“It’s a game we should have had,” Wolverines coach Jeff Margeson said. “We were up by 10 at one point in the first half, and then the third quarter came around and things went south. Things got sloppy, and we just didn’t take care of the ball. We forced a few shots that J-T made us take, and that’s credit to them. They clawed their way back, and they made some big free throws down the stretch to stay ahead. They outworked us in the end.”

Inside that third quarter, the Wildcats took the lead away from Bolivar-Richburg (4-4) for good with an enormous 18-7 run behind Hill’s massive efforts from all angles. The Wolverines did manage to make up ground in the fourth quarter, closing the gap to a single basket at one point, but Jasper-Troupsburg was able to stay ahead when the final buzzer sounded off.

Landon Danaher led all Wolverines scorers with a team-high 24 points, with 17 of those points coming in the second half. His night also included a perfect 7-for-7 outing at the line. Helping the cause was Camden MacDonell, who chipped in with 13 points of his own, while Riley Danaher had seven to add.

Bolivar-Richburg hits the road for their next two contests beginning on Tuesday, when they pay a visit to the Scio Tigers for a 7:30 p.m. contest.

“Hopefully the kids learn what they needed to take from this,” Margeson said. “Hopefully we can keep things simple, because we have two tough games coming up in Scio and at Genesee Valley. We’re very familiar with them, and they all know each other. There will be some physical basketball coming up next week. The kids will understand that aspect, and we have to show them what Allegany County basketball is all about.”

Jasper-Troupsburg       13  9 18 18 – 58

Bolivar-Richburg         18  7  7 17 – 49

JASPER-TROUPSBURG: Brayden Hill 10 4-7 28, Noah Price 3 0-0 8, Josh Flint 1 0-2 2, Tyler Flint 3 7-8 13, Reese Draper 3 1-2 7. Totals: 20 12-19 58.
BOLIVAR-RICHBURG: Riley Danaher 2 2-4 7, Landon Danaher 8 7-7 24, Wyatt Karnuth 1 0-0 3, Isaac Scott 1 0-0 2, Camden MacDonell 6 1-5 13. Totals: 18 10-16 49.

3-point goals: J-T 6 (Hill 4, Price 2), B-R 3 (R. Danaher, L. Danaher, Karnuth).
Total Fouls: J-T 17, B-R 16. Fouled out: J. Flint (J-T), Cornell (J-T).

Hammondsport 76, Whitesville 15

WHITESVILLE — The Hammondsport Lakers started off their night red hot in the opening eight minutes of play, going off on a 25-7 run of Whitesville to set the bar the rest of the way in their 76-15 road win over the Blue Jays on Friday.

Just four scorers found the scorebook for the Jays (0-5), with Jessie Pensyl leading the offense with a team-high five points. Robert Whitesell and Dylan Acor each chipped in with four points, with Acor leading the glass game with 16 rebounds. CJ Estep added a basket to round off the hosts.

“Until we learn how to make better decisions, take care of the basketball, and reduce our turnovers, we just cannot be competitive.” said Blue Jays coach Scott Bledsoe. “The effort is there, and we get two starters back next week. That will be big for us, as we have three tough games coming up.”

One of those games will occur on Monday, as they pay a visit to the Alfred-Almond Eagles for a 7:15 p.m. tip-off.

Hammondsport        25 20 13 20 – 76

Whitesville                     7   2  2   4 – 15

HAMMONDSPORT: Thomas Kressly 4 0-0 10, Hunter Ball 7 0-0 15, Michael Beam 2 1-2 5, Ian MacDonald 1 1-2 3, Jack Davis 7 2-3 18, Chris Becker 3 0-0 6, CJ Hill 4 3-5 11, Johnathan Wells 4 0-0 8. Totals: 32 7-12 76.
WHITESVILLE: Jessie Pensyl 2 0-0 5, CJ Estep 1 0-2 2, Robert Whitesell 2 0-0 4, Dylan Acor 2 0-0 4. Totals: 7 0-2 15.

3-point goals: Hammondsport 5 (Kressly 2, Davis 2, Ball), Whitesville 1 (Pensyl).
Total Fouls: Hammondsport 9, Whitesville 14. Fouled out: None.

Chris Brooks
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