Saturday Roundup: GV/Belfast captures 2nd Tournament crown this season, win Rick Hughes title at Franklinville; Fri/Scio girls win 1st ever Christmas Tournament crown over A-A

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FRANKLINVILLE — They already have one tournament championship under their belt already — their own, from the Rotary Club Tournament just a couple of weeks ago. Right before the holiday hits, the Genesee Valley/Belfast ladies were looking for an early Christmas gift out on the road at the Rick Hughes Tournament in Franklinville.

With an exceptional battle against Chautauqua Lake under wraps, Genesee Valley/Belfast was now a single win away from keeping their fiery start ablaze and adding another in-season crown to their showcase. The task at hand Saturday night was New Life Christian, who handed host Franklinville their first loss of the campaign in a close battle of their own to capture their spot in the title game.

It was safe to say that Genesee Valley/Belfast was going to have their hands full.

They are a team that preaches defense day in and day out, and on the final day of action in Franklinville, it was no different. With a fast first quarter start allowing them to capture a halftime lead, they buckled down one more time in the third quarter to deliver a big blow with another jaunt of New Life Christian that sealed the deal, despite some late pressure in the fourth quarter, as they went on to score their second tournament crown this season with their sixth win in their first seven games of the Raegan Ryan era — a 57-34 decision.

“I’m very proud of them. Their focus and commitment to playing within themselves individually, and then also together as a team was shown through both games of this tournament,” GV/Belfast coach Raegan Ryan said. “The girls are very unselfish and they are willing to make the extra pass on offense or slide over in help defense to make a stop. It’s the little things like that, that make a big difference. As New Life Christian continued to apply pressure late in the game, the girls executed and worked together to handle the pressure. They were athletic and scrappy, and every point and rebound was hard-earned.”

A wealth of Genesee Valley/Belfast (6-1) scorers helped get the ball rolling in a tremendous first quarter noisemaker against New Life Christian, as six different scorers all posted at least a bucket to generate and authenticate a 20-6 lead over their opposition to carry forward into the second quarter.

New Life Christian was able to cut away at the deficit right before halftime approached with their narrow outscoring of the visitors in black, but Genesee Valley/Belfast was able to use to powerful presences down low — Mary Hamer and Jenna Hill, to deliver a strong end to their first half performance with nine of the team’s 11 points, putting it towards a 31-20 lead at the break.

Upon their return to the floor for the second half, Genesee Valley/Belfast ensured their advantage remained ever so intact, holding New Life Christian to just four points while Hamer continued to pace the offense under her guidance with eight big points to help gain traction on a 44-24 lead — one that was pressured, but never relinquished, in the fourth quarter.

Hamer went on to earn her second MVP-winning performance to pace Genesee Valley/Belfast, scoring 19 team-high points. Following behind was Jenna Hill, who produced 12 points of her own, while Sophie Zillgitt had 10 to pitch in. Hill and Abby Sullivan both earned All-Tournament nods at game’s end.

“This is always about the girls. I was honored to bring them here and coach them in this tournament,” Ryan said. “I’ve known the family of Rick Hughes for so long, ever since I was playing basketball in grade school. They are such a great family with a huge heart to serve and support their community.”

Genesee Valley/Belfast will return to action over the road again on Thursday for a massive County showdown with the Lady Eagles of Fillmore — winners of six straight themselves, in a 7:30 p.m. tip-off inside The Rock.

Genesee Valley/Belfast 20 11 13 13 – 57

New Life Christian 6 14 4 10 – 34

GV/BELFAST: Abby Sullivan 4 0-0 8, Sophie Zillgitt 4 1-2 10, Kendra Bigelow 1 2-4 4, Mary Hamer 8 3-4 19, Ava Aaronson 2 0-0 4, Jenna Hill 5 1-4 12. Totals: 24 7-14 57.

NEW LIFE: Marci Hutter 11 4-6 27, Danielle Quampah 1 0-0 2, Keziah Ntiamoah 2 1-2 5. Totals: 14 5-8 34.

3-point goals: GVB 2 (Zillgitt, Hill), NLC 1 (Hutter).
Total Fouls: GVB 8, NLC 15. Fouled out: Abinkeng (NLC).

Tri-County Cup at C-R: Pioneer rolls to title, Mullen’s 33 paces C-G past Olean in Consolation

CUBA — Saturday morning arrived in full for the conclusion of the Tri-County Cup on the hardwood at Cuba-Rushford. Through the early afternoon, the weekend-concluding twinbill saw two dominant performances take center stage, both scoring first quarter shutouts to set the bar in their respective battles.

In the Consolation round to open the tournament’s docket, the first was scored by Canisteo-Greenwood, who saw Bailey Mullen provide a massive eruption from all angles on the floor, scoring a game-high 33 points to propel the Lady Chargers towards a split of the Tri-County Cup with a 63-31 victory over the Lady Huskies of Olean.

The Lady Chargers (3-3) came out of the gate at full force against Olean with a magnificent first eight minutes that allowed them to cement their presence in the driver’s seat for the remainder of the game, as they recorded an overpowering 19-0 scoreless run of the Lady Huskies led by Mullen and her eight points in the frame.

The momentum was carried forward all the way to the end of the first half, when Mullen led the offense for the Lady Chargers once more by finishing with 17 first half points. To go with her game-high 33 points, she produced 10 rebounds and five steals to aid in finishing off her All-Tournament paced performance.

Following behind was Kora Button, who recorded 10 points. Paris May had seven points to coincide with 11 boards, eight steals and five assists. Adding more assistance in the special teams department was McKenna Ferris and Sydney Drouin, both grabbing eight rebounds off the glass. The Lady Chargers are back on the road Monday night with a 6 p.m. visit to Alfred-Almond.

To round off the afternoon in the Wighthouse, the Tri-County Cup title would belong to the Pioneer Lady Panthers, as they held the Lady Rebels of Cuba-Rushford at a complete standstill across the first three quarters of play behind an exceptional display of defense, propelling forward towards the tournament’s crown with a 48-11 victory.

The first half gave Pioneer all the time and room they needed to finish their two-day tenure strong, as they capitalized on every opportunity they were granted to come away with an early 11-0 first quarter lead and build upon it with a 22-0 half-ending run, keeping all momentum in their favor from that point on.

Cuba-Rushford (2-4) was led by Brynn Lavery and her six points, all off a pair of triples. Shae Maples had one more triple to pitch in, while Aubrey Williams had the last two points to record.

The Lady Rebels are back on the floor Monday night back inside the Wighthouse, hosting Friendship/Scio in a 7:30 p.m. contest.

Consolation

Canisteo-Greenwood 19 15 15 14 – 63

Olean 0 6 15 10 – 31

CANISTEO-GREENWOOD: Kora Button 3 3-5 10, Bailey Mullen 13 4-6 33, Kadyn Pilero 2 1-2 5, McKenna Ferris 2 0-0 4, Harlie McCaffery 0 0-2 0, Sidney Drouin 2 0-2 4, Paris May 3 1-2 7. Totals: 25 9-19 63.

OLEAN: Alaina Hirliman 5 0-0 14, Amy Campbell 2 2-2 6, Anna Bates 0 1-2 1, Jourdein Battle 3 1-2 10. Totals: 10 4-6 31.

3-point goals: C-G 4 (Mullen 3, Button), Olean 7 (Hirliman 4, Battle 3).
Total Fouls: C-G 10, Olean 11. Fouled out: None.

Championship

Cuba-Rushford 0 0 0 11 – 11

Pioneer 11 22 6 9 – 48

CUBA-RUSHFORD: Aubrey Williams 1 0-0 2, Shae Maples 1 0-0 3, Brynn Lavery 2 0-2 6. Totals: 4 0-2 11.
PIONEER: Gretchen Rumfola 3 0-0 6, Jayden Leederman 3 0-0 6, Celsy Colombo 3 0-0 7, Shay Edwards 1 0-4 2, Delaney Petri 3 0-2 7, Alania Barber 3 0-0 6, Abby Mason 2 0-1 4, Sarah Morris 2 0-0 4, Bailey Hopkins 2 0-0 6. Totals: 22 0-7 48.
3-point goals: C-R 3 (Lavery 2, Maples), Pioneer 4 (Hopkins 2, Colombo, Petri).
Total Fouls: C-R 8, Pioneer 7. Fouled out: None.

Scio Christmas Tournament: Friendship/Scio 34, Alfred-Almond 7

SCIO — With emotions at an all-time high for Friendship/Scio’s first victory fueled by a historic performance from Nevaeh Ross, the attention was now turned to finishing the job the very next night as champions of their own Christmas Tournament.

Something that has never been done before.

To make sure that the week ended on the most positive of notes, Friendship/Scio took advantage on the defensive front to hold Alfred-Almond to just four points in the first half, while the offense translated that on the other end of the floor behind the guidance of Morghyn Ross, as the hosts in white and gold came away as Christmas Tournament champions for the first time ever with a perfect 2-0 record and a 34-7 win over the Lady Eagles.

With Nevaeh Ross and Emily Lamberson helping take the lead for Friendship/Scio (4-1) just 24 hours ago, it was their younger siblings’ turn to captain the ship towards victory, as both Morghyn Ross and Avery Lamberson combined to record 27 of the team’s 34 total points in the contest. Ross was the team’s leading scorer with a game-high 19 points to pair with six steals, while Lamberson had eight to chip in with seven boards and six steals.

The hosts were able to kickstart a first half lead they never looked back on against Alfred-Almond, as they commanded a 17-4 advantage heading into the locker room. Adding help to power Friendship/Scio’s success even further was Nevaeh Ross, who had eight rebounds and five assists to hand out on special teams, while Cece Davenport collected her first ever point from the free throw line.

Friendship/Scio is back on the hardwood over the road Monday night, visiting Cuba-Rushford in a 7:30 p.m. contest.

Alfred-Almond 2 2 3 0 – 7

Friendship/Scio 8 9 11 6 – 34

ALFRED-ALMOND: Kaylianna Clark 1 0-0 2, Maeve Turner 0 2-2 2, Alexis Kuhn 1 0-0 3. Totals: 2 2-2 7.
FRIENDSHIP/SCIO: Emily Lamberson 1 0-0 2, Nevaeh Ross 1 0-0 2, Avery Lamberson 4 0-1 8, Sophie Bolzan 1 0-0 2, Cece Davenport 0 1-2 1, Morghyn Ross 8 0-0 19. Totals: 15 1-3 34.

3-point goals: A-A 1 (Kuhn), F/S 3 (M. Ross).
Total Fouls: A-A 11, F/S 4. Fouled out: None.