Shen Holds Off Saratoga To Get Back To Winner's Circle in Section 2 Class AA

March 2, 2019

The final game of Section 2 championship weekend brought familiar opponents to the floor in a highly anticipated rubber match. Shenendehowa & Saratoga Springs played to a draw in regular season matchups, with each taking home a win on their home floor. In the matchup that mattered most, Shen was able to bounce back from a slow start to take the lead and eventually gain control in the 2nd half. A big Saratoga run when it looked all but over made for some late game drama, but a dagger three in the waning moments proved to be the knockout punch as Shen found itself advancing back into regional play.

Cat Almeida had a strong 1st half and finished in double figures with 10 points. With her performance Saturday & dominant showing in semis Thursday, the Quinnipiac signee was awarded the Class AA Tournament MVP.

A huge start from Saratoga Springs 2020 standout Dolly Cairns got the Blue Streaks off on the right foot. 7 points in the first 2+ minutes gave Saratoga a 7-3 lead. She later tacked on a pair of free throws and an and-one, giving her Saratoga's first 12 points, and a Kerry Flaherty (Saratoga Springs 2019; Holy Cross signee) three gave them a 15-7 lead late in the quarter. Shen responded to the 8-0 Saratoga spurt by starting a run of their own that would stretch even farther. They scored the last 5 of the quarter to cut their deficit to 15-12, then it continued into the 2nd quarter starting with a Cat Almeida (Shenendehowa 2019; Quinnipiac signee) hoop and harm to tie it up. Anna Milham (Shenendehowa 2019) then canned a three to give the Plainsmen the lead, and Jill Huerter (Shenendehowa 2022) tacked on a bucket and Milham buried another triple to extend their run to 16-0. Cairns finally stopped the run with a bucket, then her & Milham traded threes in what was an early trend, as both had monster starts. Saratoga cut it back to 4 late in the half on a Flaherty three, but Almeida answered with a basket to send Shen into the locker room up 31-25.

As what has been the case in some of their bigger games this winter, Shen started with a flurry to start the 3rd quarter. Milham opened the scoring, then Simone Walker (Shen 2020) and Jess Wagoner (Shen 2019; Caldwell signee) added buckets to give them a double-digit lead. The 3rd quarter would get sloppy, choppy, and at times just ugly from there, as the physicality would increase and foul calls & emotions would rise as a result. Saratoga didn't have a made field goal in the quarter, but shot 8/10 from the line and still found themselves down just 8 late in the quarter. That's when Kaitlyn Watrobski (Shen 2020), who had seen limited action to that point, came through. She broke into the scoring column with a two, then added a three to end the 3rd and put Shen up 46-33. The lead ballooned from there, with Watrobski and Meghan Huerter (Shen 2021) hitting threes after a Cairns bucket to start the 4th, with Huerter's conversion giving Shen their largest lead at 52-35. That's when the lid would be placed on the basket for Shen, and Saratoga was in line to make one last run. It started with a trey and two free throws from Flaherty, then Abby Ray (Saratoga Springs 2021) scored to cut the deficit to 10. Another Flaherty basket was followed by two Natasha Chudy (Saratoga Springs 2023) free throws - after Shen committed their 5th team foul of the quarter - cutting Saratoga's deficit down to 52-46 with 3:34 remaining. Kayla Lahart then scored, as the Blue Streaks found themselves down 4 with a 13-0 run. Walker finally stopped the Shen bleeding with a bucket, and after Flaherty hit another pair of free throws with 1:20 left, the stage was set. On the ensuing possession, Watrobski got the ball with space and buried a back-breaking three, giving Shen a 57-50 lead with 1:05 left. Missed shots on the next two Saratoga possessions were secured by Shen, and Walker & Wagoner split free throw attempts to give them a 9 point lead in the last minute and effectively put the game out of reach.

Dolly Cairns went off in her first sectional final appearance, going for a game high 27 points in a narrow loss.

Anna Milham, who barely played after halftime due to an apparent injury, led Shen in the scoring column with 15 points thanks to a huge 1st half. Kaitlyn Watrobski picked up the slack in Milham's absence - after going scoreless for the first 22 minutes, she went off for 13 points in the closing stages. Cat Almeida joined them in double figures, scoring all 10 of her points in the 1st half. On the Saratoga end, Dolly Cairns was fantastic from start to finish and led all scorers with 27 points. Kerry Flaherty, who was faceguarded from the jump, picked up her production throughout the game and added 18 points.

Kaitlyn Watrobski made critical plays in the 2nd half for Shen, contributing 13 points when they needed it most.

#JeffsNotes

There is a shelf life to everything, and this includes Shen/Toga matchups. I was at the first one, which was a good one to watch especially for an early season game, and everyone that was at the game at Shen late in the regular season has put it in the category of instant classic. This sectional final certainly had its pros as well. Dolly, who's always fun to watch, seems to take it to another gear when the team in green is at the other bench. I enjoyed seeing Anna Milham, who I've been a fan of, play some of her best basketball in the 1st half - and then get rewarded with a spot on the all-tournament team. It was nice to see Kaitlyn Watrobski make big shots late, as she's been coming on more recently after ankle issues sidelined her for a while, including earlier in the season. The teams played extra hard, which is great. Saratoga & Shen are certainly worthy opponents for each other.

But beyond all of that, I couldn't help but get the feeling that these two teams perhaps know each other a little too well.

The emotions were running a little higher in what's always a good rivalry, as they should be with the stakes being raised, but the game - especially the individual matchups - felt similar to what you'd see in the backyard of 1 on 1 games between siblings that are getting progressively more annoyed with each other. High level talent on the court - most that saw action will play basketball in college, with a nice percentage of them receiving scholarship money to do so - but I, for one, will be cool with these two teams recharging the battery and not going up against each other for the next several months.

A five year HS varsity career is now in the books for Kerry Flaherty, who heads to Holy Cross to start the next stage in a few months.

Last but not least, it's going to feel weird not seeing Kerry Flaherty in a Saratoga uniform next year. She was moved up to the varsity ranks as an 8th grader, which was my first year doing EST. She was one of the originals, playing on an 'All Day' squad that won the inaugural EST summer league championship. I've always said the standouts from the Class of 2019 that had been involved with EST events since the start were what took this thing to another level. Kerry's on to bigger & better things in the fall at Holy Cross with a certainly notable high school career at Saratoga in the books, but with the Class of 2019 graduating in a few months, it almost feels bittersweet as the end of the original era. Best of luck to Kerry as the sights now set on the next level!