Tuesday was Valentine's Day, and not only was love in the air, but plenty of basketballs as well on a very busy night. Between upcoming sectional seeding in many sections of NY, makeup games from the inclement weather the past few days, and the typical Tuesday schedules, there was plenty going on. Many girls that participated in the 2016 EST events played like they wished every day was Valentine's Day, with plenty of big performances across the region. Let's get to it!
What I Saw
Fonda-Fultonville/Middleburgh @ FMCC (4 vs 3 - WAC Cup)
It was a much more aesthetically pleasing game than your average WACtion to start Tuesday, with the battle eventually won by Middleburgh highlighted by a duel between a pair of senior longtime standouts & college-bound athletes in Middleburgh's Lyndsey McCoy and Fonda-Fultonville's Julianna Taylor. Both made things happen early & often, but a 12-2 spurt to start the 2nd for Middleburgh opened up a lead that they were able to maintain throughout. Taylor, a 5'7" guard headed to SUNY Brockport in the fall, did everything she could to give her Fonda squad a chance. She utilized a full offensive game, getting to the rim several times, hitting 10'-15' pull-up jumpers & floaters, and showing off deep range when a defender sagged off. She had 29 of her team's 50 points, and her exploits on the offensive end kept them within striking distance throughout. However, it seemed that McCoy always had an answer at the right time. The 5'5" lefty guard, headed to Alfred in the fall, attacked in much the same way. Her ability to get to the rim and draw contact opened up her mid-range game, which she seemed to connect with whenever Middleburgh needed a bucket. At the end of the day, McCoy received more help from her teammates - namely 2018 Bre Palmatier, who added 14 points and hit the dagger three to put them up 11 points late - en route to a 64-50 W.
Berne-Knox-Westerlo/Mekeel Christian Academy @ FMCC (2 vs 1 - WAC Cup Championship)
These two played recently - a game I was at - and Mekeel was able to take over in the 3rd en route to a blowout victory. BKW fought until the end tonight, making it competitive to the final minutes, but it was again a major 3rd quarter run that gave Mekeel a lead they wouldn't relinquish. BKW fought fire with fire to start the game, battling Mekeel's uptempo style with a quick-strike offense of their own, and they were able to jump up 11 in the 1st quarter. With Mekeel 2018 standout guard Liz Singleton on the bench for the last 12 minutes of the 1st half, it was mainly on the shoulders of fellow 2018 standout Rebekkah Dean to lead them back into the game - and that she did. Dean, a 5'9" multi-faceted wing, was able to use her athleticism to get to the rim nearly at will in the 2nd quarter. On numerous occasions, she caught the ball against a BKW press and handled it herself, getting all the way to the rim and finishing. After pulling even at 25 at the half, Singleton returned and helped change the game. The ultra-athletic guard helped lead a press that turned BKW over several times in the 3rd, leading to easy baskets for her team. At the end of the day, Dean flexed her muscle as one of the league's top talents as she finished with 26 points. Like the aforementioned high scorers from the first game, she did it by scoring at all three levels, and she also was able to post up smaller defenders and score that way as well. For BKW, I'm interested to see how 2020 Taylor Meacham will progress over the next 8-12 months. Tonight wasn't a big scoring game for her (7 points in 54-43 defeat), but she shows promise, especially when you consider her frame. She looks to be in the 5'8"-5'9" range with a strong build at the wing. She's able to use that strength to shake off defenders getting to the rim and going through contact. She also can shoot it with range to a couple feet outside the 3 point line. With continued skill development in the off-season, she could be a difference maker on the court at a level beyond the WAC.
What Happened Today
- Some league championship games were tonight - congrats to Glens Falls (Foothills) and the aforementioned Mekeel Christian Academy (WAC) for winning their respective league championship games. Glens Falls got theirs by way of a 61-45 W over a strong Amsterdam team. Glens Falls standout 2019 Sophie Tougas, a 6'1" wing, tied for the team high with 18 points in the victory. Lucy Tougas, a longtime standout 2017, added 9 points in a balanced effort. Amsterdam 2017 & St. Rose signee Nina Fedullo led all scorers with 22 points in defeat. Glens Falls goes into sectionals with 2 losses - both of them to Class AA Colonie. Amsterdam looks to be one of the top seeds in Class A, with their only losses in 2017 being to Glens Falls.
- Shaker girls basketball has a new all-time leading scorer. With her 19 points Tuesday evening, standout 2017 and Army West Point signee CeCe Mayo moved her name to the top of career scoring list in the record books. This is just the latest in a scribe of accomplishments for Mayo, who was Section II's first Division I commit in the Class of 2017 back at the end of her sophomore year. She was attracting heavy interest and had numerous offers already by then; even to the point that I had coaches calling me about her, just as I was getting my feet wet in girls' hoops and had only talked to her once. She scored her 1,000th last month and it hasn't stopped since, and they look primed to make a deep run in sectionals with one of the top seeds in Class AA. Congrats to CeCe on this accomplishment!
- Tuesday was a huge scoring night for 2016 EST summer invitational league participants. 14 scored 20+ points, with 6 of them surpassing 25. However, no one had it going like Gloversville 2019 Harmony Philo. Philo had it going from start to finish, hitting 4 threes and going 11/12 from the line en route to a game high 35 points in this evening's 67-62 W over Watervliet. Her recent scoring exploits - which includes 25+ point outings in 3 of her last 4 games and 4 of her last 7 - have her up to 3rd in Section II in points per game, where she sits at 21.4. Her 62 threes made are tops in the section, and her 83.2% mark from the line is good for 5th, all while also leading the section in free throws made (109). This is just a continuation of my most recent comments about her in last week's cheat sheet, but when the Class A tournament rolls around, make sure to buy your $3 ticket and get to her opening round game.
- As mentioned above, it was buckets galore for plenty of girls Tuesday. Special shoutout to the aforementioned Julianna Taylor (Fonda-Fultonville 2017; SUNY Brockport commit), Kelly Pine (Hoosick Falls 2017), Ava Fitzmaurice (Greenville 2018), Rebekkah Dean (Mekeel Christian Academy 2018), and Brianna Legacy (Mount Anthony Union (VT) 2017; Keuka commit), who all went for 26 or greater tonight. Taylor dropped 29 in defeat against Middleburgh, and Pine got her game high 27 in a victory over Spa Catholic. Fitzmaurice pumped in 26 points, a game high, in their 52-43 victory over rival Maple Hill. Dean and Legacy, who played AAU ball together in the summer, each scored 26 in victories - Dean's over Berne-Knox-Westerlo in the WAC Cup championship, and Legacy (6 rebounds, 7 steals) over Burr & Burton in their first game in a couple weeks.
- Speaking of Mount Anthony, we have to put standout 2017 Madison Little on 1,000 point watch. Little added 16 points and 4 steals in their 71-46 victory, and the scoring total bumps her up to 975 career points. It'll be a tougher number to reach in their next game, which is at home on Thursday against Brattleboro, but it's a game that I planned on being at anyway. Now I have even more motivation!
- This is almost a combo mention since I didn't get around to doing one of these for the weekend, but how about the show Jenna Zimmerman has put on the last couple games? On Saturday, she messed around & had a triple double, putting forth a ridiculous stat line of 20 points, 19 rebounds, 10 steals, 8 blocks, and 2 assists in a victory over Holland Patent. The Valentine's Day line wasn't too far off in another W over another quality opponent. Zimmerman, a 6'2" wing with arms that go on until next week and perhaps unmatched versatility among upstate NY players, had 20 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, and 6 blocks in their 63-45 W over Canton. This across-the-board production is nothing new to her - she's averaging around 14 PPG, 9 RPG, 3 APG, 2.5 SPG, and 4.5 BPG on the season. Over her last 5 games, she's finished with 10 or more of every statistical category in a game except assists, which she's had 5 of on a pair of occasions. Zimmerman has just recently attracted some Division I attention, but with her first spring/summer on the national AAU circuit planned ahead, she could be a major upstate NY 'stock riser' in the next 3-4 months.
- Last but not least, Julia Kelner deserves special mention for not only tonight's game, but her all-around quality play of late. The 6'2" standout 2017 at Jamesville-DeWitt has had as fantastic of a last few weeks as you could ask for. She received a scholarship offer from Division I Bryant University, which she has since made her verbal commitment to. On the court, she seemingly improves by the day. Her offensive game has become exponentially smoother and is starting to match her already-advanced ability on the defensive end and ultra high basketball IQ. She dropped 20 points, a game high, in their 63-32 W over Auburn tonight. Previously not known as much for her scoring, she's averaged 19.4 PPG over J-D's last 5 games, including 29 in their senior night W where she stepped out and hit a three. Hard work over the last couple years is really starting to pay dividends for her, and her team also gets to reap the benefits of her improvements.
Some More
- Averill Park 2018 Stephanie Jankovic (11 points) and 2020 Kelsey Wood (10 points) each contributed double digits in a balanced effort on senior night, a 68-26 W over Ballston Spa.
- In defeat, Ballston Spa 2017 & Suffolk University commit Jordan Hipwell paced her team with 10 points.
- Mohonasen 2017 and Davidson signee Saeeda Abdul-Aziz led all scorers with 24 points in their 68-39 victory over Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake.
- Shenendehowa 2018s Cameron Tooley and Alexandra Tudor again led the way in a victory, this time 53-42 at rival Saratoga Springs. Tooley led all scorers with 19 points and added 7 rebounds & 4 assists; Tudor scored 17 points, with 13 coming after halftime.
- In their 53-42 defeat, Saratoga Springs 2020 Dolly Cairns and 2019 Kerry Flaherty each finished with 13 points, a team high.
- Colonie 2019 Kyara Triblet finished with a game high 13 points in their 47-36 victory over Guilderland.
- In defeat, Guilderland 2017 & St. John Fisher commit Olivia Baumann helped lead the way with 10 points.
- Columbia 2019 Grace Heeps and Bethlehem 2017 Emily Wander (Middlebury commit) each scored 10 points for their sides Tuesday night, a 54-46 tilt in Columbia's favor. In Bethlehem's loss, 2018 Molly Kirby dropped a team high 20 points.
- Along with CeCe Mayo's 19 points, Shaker 2020 Julia DeBeatham joined her in double digits with 10 in their 44-31 W over Niskayuna.
- Heatly 2018 Kyra Oeffler led all scorers with 21 points in her team's 57-12 blowout decision over Berlin.
- Stockbridge Valley 2017 Olivia Marshall led the way with 14 points and added 14 rebounds, 4 steals, and 6 blocks in their 45-34 loss to Marathon - their first loss of the year.
- Vernon-Verona-Sherrill 2017 & recent D'Youville commit Sara Field finished with 10 points, 12 rebounds, 2 steals, and 4 blocks in their 54-45 victory over Central Valley.
- Mount Abraham Union (VT) 2018 Emma Carter finds herself inching closer to 1,000 points, this time dropping a game high 22 points in their 50-38 W over Milton.
- Poland 2017 Shiane Irwin led all scorers with 22 points in their 57-50 setback to Little Falls.
- Cooperstown 2018 Julie Ford had 10 points in a balanced attack in their 59-31 victory over Frankfort-Schuyler.
- In Frankfort's defeat, 2017 Danielle Caivana had a game high 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals.
- Utica Notre Dame 2017 Carli Brenon had a solid game at the point guard spot, finishing with 9 points and 6 assists in their 47-25 W over Rome Free Academy.
- New Hartford 2022 Kaia Henderson led all scorers with 19 points in their 57-43 setback to Utica Proctor. As a 7th grader, Henderson is averaging just under 14 PPG for her Class A Spartan team.
Where You'll See Me Next
Time to make it happen in the 413, including my first prep game of the year. Starting off the evening at Deerfield Academy, where they host Wilbraham & Monson at 5:00. The plan is to make the short trip over to Montague, MA after, where Turners Falls hosts Mohawk at 7:00. If that game isn't actually happening (I see it on a couple schedules, but not on a couple others), I jet over to Hopkins Academy in Hadley for a 7:30 tip against Athol. New territory for me!
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