Friday Sectionals: No. 3 Fillmore downed by No. 6 York’s big 2nd quarter run in Class C2 Quarters; No. 4 GV/Belfast advance to Class D Semis behind heroic night from Hamer against No. 12 Northstar

FILLMORE — The third-seeded Fillmore Lady Eagles were destined to make a run. To do it, their path ahead will not be an easily traveled one. The Class C2 bracket is one of the toughest journeys to navigate through to the big dance, with top-five teams featuring girls basketball powerhouses like Dundee/Bradford, Keshequa and Alexander, all vying for that glorious opportunity alongside them.

Another one of those foes: a juggernaut in their own right — No. 6 York, a team looking for their third Section V title in the last four years.

The two foes duked it out in front of a packed crowd inside The Rock on Friday, and for much of the opening quarter, it was a neck-and-neck battle. After back-and-forth exchanges were provided through much of the time, it resulted in a one-point lead for the Lady Golden Knights to carry into the next stanza of time.

In the second quarter, the momentum would spike and see the Lady Golden Knights assemble their strongest frame of the game, accounting for a mid-frame run of Fillmore to end the first half and later, restarting with a third quarter knockout to complete the upset of the No. 3 Lady Eagles to advance into the Class C2 Semifinal round with a 65-43 win.

“York has a dynamic team and we didn’t really have any answers for them defensively. They’re athletic, they have a good big girl and quality shooters on the outside. They’re really a complete package,” said Lady Eagles coach Tom Parks. “In the second half, we just couldn’t sustain the shooting percentage we did in the first half, and couldn’t string a run together to get back into it.”

The Lady Eagles were right with York across the opening eight minutes of play, as they used a powerful three-point presence across the first half to aid their start. In all, Fillmore would knock down eight — six of them in the first 16 minute elongation, five combined from both Amelia Rose and Emalyn Mucher. The hosts would remain right on their trail, despite falling down 15-14 after the first quarter.

While the Lady Eagles looked to build momentum off of it, York was looking to do the same with their advantage in the second quarter. They advanced forward and did exactly that with a 22-point stand that ultimately tilted the balance completely in their favor for the foreseeable future, building a 37-26 lead at halftime and extending upon it by holding Fillmore to just seven points in the third quarter to finish off the victory.

“I thought our start was terrific, we talked about high energy from the jump and the need to come out swinging,” Parks said. “We were knocking down our shots, and Amelia and Emi led us in that department from the three-point line. They were hitting almost all of them in the first half alone. Unfortunately, York found a groove and went on a run midway in the second quarter that put us in a little bit of a hole that we couldn’t climb out of.”

Amelia Rose led all scorers for Fillmore behind a team-high 13 points. Hope Russell chipped in with 11 points of her own, while Emalyn Mucher and Mattie McCumiskey each had six points. On special teams, Rachel Hatch paced the rebounding with 11 to go with two steals, while Preslee Miller garnered five boards off the glass.

The ride is over for the Lady Eagles of Fillmore, as their season wraps up with a record of 19-3 overall. The team will say goodbye to six major pieces to their brilliantly successful puzzle in recent seasons, in the Russell sisters, Rose, Miller, Hatch and Kylee Ellsworth. For Parks, he says that the opportunity to coach them was a true honor.

“I’m so grateful to have been able to coach these six seniors. they have accomplished so much in their time here that it sometimes can be easy to take success for granted,” he said. “I tried to soak in every moment all season long knowing that groups this special don’t come along frequently. They made a lot of games look easy, but the work and commitment that they put in was the biggest of reasons. It’s sad to lose, but it’s heartbreaking to know that this was our last time on the court together.”

York 15 22 12 16 – 65

Fillmore 14 12 7 10 – 43

YORK: Tessa Rodwell 9 0-0 21, Brianna Parsons 1 0-0 2, Isabel Laney 7 0-0 16, Merideth Holland 2 0-0 4, Evelyn Smith 0 2-2 2, Rylee Cuozzo 9 1-6 20. Totals: 28 3-8 65.

FILLMORE: Hope Russell 4 0-0 11, Grace Russell 0 1-2 1, Rachel Hatch 2 0-3 4, Amelia Rose 5 0-0 13, Mattie McCumiskey 2 2-2 6, Preslee Miller 1 0-0 2, Emalyn Mucher 2 0-0 6. Totals: 16 3-9 43.

3-point goals: York 6 (Rodwell 3, Laney 2, Cuozzo), Fillmore 8 (H. Russell 3, Rose 3, Mucher 2).
Total Fouls: York 12, Fillmore 10. Fouled out: Parsons (YORK).

Class D Quarterfinals

No. 4 Genesee Valley/Belfast 64, No. 12 Northstar/Chesterton 41

BELMONT — The idea of 0-0 is something that is often preached inside the Genesee Valley/Belfast locker room by head coach Raegan Ryan. That mindset has allowed them to assemble some of their best basketball at one of the best times of the season. Entering Sectionals, the Genesee Valley/Belfast ladies had rattled off eight wins in their last nine games, showing no signs of slowing down.

Back on Tuesday, they added another phenomenal performance against No. 13 Harley Allendale-Columbia in Belfast into the mix to start their journey in the jam-packed Class D bracket. Now, they moved down the road to the Jungle in Belmont for what would be their final home game of the season against a potential Cinderella in No. 12 Northstar/Chesterton, who upset No. 5 Lima Christian in dramatic fashion.

Genesee Valley/Belfast knew they would have a fight on their hands in order to make it to the Semifinal round next week, with Northstar/Chesterton staying hot on their coattails for much of the opening half. With the pressure building up after every passing minute, halftime presented an opportunity for the No. 4 seeds to flip the script.

Leading by two, they looked to a pair of scorers to take command — Mary Hamer and Ava Aaronson. Did they ever.

In the second half, Genesee Valley/Belfast came out swinging with a third quarter push against Northstar/Chesterton to gain more breathing room to work with going into the last eight minutes. Inside that last eight minute session, Hamer and Aaronson both rose to the occasion and combined for 16 of the team’s 20 points to set up a big finish that officially propelled their way into the Class D Semifinals with a 64-41 victory inside the Don Foreman Memorial Gym.

“I am so, so proud of our team. They played with so much heart and grit tonight. We went into halftime up five and the team made a couple of small adjustments, and they stayed the course to stretch the lead,” GV/Belfast coach Raegan Ryan said. “Their defense has truly been one total team effort. They just battle for one another. We talked about every game where each team is 0-0. It doesn’t matter what’s happened prior to this moment. They’ve really stepped up and come together these last two games.”

The competition across the opening half was stylized in close quarters fashion, with Genesee Valley/Belfast (18-4) garnering the upper-hand in the opening eight minutes behind the first of two powerful surges provided by Mary Hamer and Ava Aaronson, as the two scorers came together and produced 14 of the team’s 16 points to claim the 16-10 lead on Northstar/Chesterton.

In the second quarter, the visiting No. 12 seeds aimed to regain traction with some big assistance from beyond the arc, as Aileen Murphy knocked down three enormous triples from the parking lot to pace Northstar/Chesterton’s narrow outscoring of the hosts in white to help close out the half with the construction of some momentum to transport into the second half.

The three-point game rose to the occasion again for Northstar/Chesterton with Abby Eschner bucketing a pair to help keep them within distance of Genesee Valley/Belfast. But on the opposite end of the floor, the hosts saw five different contributors all pitch forth at least a pair of points to conduct a 15-9 run of their opposition to garner extended breathing room going into the last eight minutes.

That timeframe was the exact moment in time where Genesee Valley/Belfast took matters into their own hands permanently, with Hamer and Aaronson coming together one more time to provide the team’s curtain call — a turbulent 16-point combination, all from inside the arc, in the midst of their game-sealing 20-8 run of Northstar/Chesterton to punch their tickets to the Semifinals next week.

Hamer went on to assemble a brilliant night of service on the hardwood for Genesee Valley/Belfast, as she posted a game-high 26 points while Aaronson followed with 16 points of her own. Abby Sullivan was the third shooter to eclipse the double-digit plateau for the team’s offense, posting 12 points.

Coming up Wednesday night, a trip to Mount Morris will be had for the Genesee Valley/Belfast ladies, where a trip to Finger Lakes Community College in Canandaigua next weekend will be hanging in the balance when they take on top-seeded C.G. Finney in the Class D Semifinal round. Tip-off is slated for 7:45 p.m. following the opposite Class D Semifinal bout between No. 3 Elba and No. 2 Avoca-Prattsburgh.

Northstar/Chesterton 10 14 9 8 – 41

Genesee Valley/Belfast 16 13 15 20 – 64

NORTHSTAR/CHESTERTON: Judah Linton 0 1-2 1, Abi Summerlin 2 1-2 5, Aileen Murphy 5 1-2 14, Abby Eschner 7 5-12 21. Totals: 14 8-18 41.

GV/BELFAST: Abby Sullivan 5 0-0 12, Sophie Zillgitt 3 0-2 6, Mary Hamer 12 2-6 26, Ava Aaronson 7 2-7 16, Kate Calanni 0 0-2 0, Jenna Hill 2 0-0 4. Totals: 29 4-17 64.

3-point goals: N/C 5 (Murphy 3, Eschner 2), GVB 2 (Sullivan).
Total Fouls: N/C 15, GVB 18. Fouled out: Zillgitt (GVB).