Horseheads To Meet Hosts in Oneonta's Drago Championship

November 30, 2018

As November turns into December, Oneonta has turned into an annual destination. The Drago is a symbolic start to the Section 4 basketball season, and Oneonta has always been able to draw an interesting mesh of teams to their gym for the two-day tournament. This year provided more of the same, as fellow conference members Johnson City (Binghamton area) and Horseheads (Elmira area) along with the hosts and Holland Patent (Utica area) took the court.

Horseheads 44, Holland Patent 35

To use the old adage, a win is a win. It wasn't the prettiest, but an undermanned Horseheads squad was able to shake off a rough shooting night and dig in to secure a wire-to-wire victory in their opener.

Although they were off from the start, it looked like Horseheads would run away with it early. They were able to bother Holland Patent defensively, not allowing them to get comfortable with anything offensively. A Cassidy Kotary (Holland Patent 2019) transition layup was the only production for HP in the first 8 minutes, and Jill Casey (Horseheads 2020; Quinnipiac commit) scored 7 in the first stanza to help them take an 11-2 lead. Holland Patent was able to settle in a little more in the 2nd quarter. Haedyn Roberts (Holland Patent 2020) scored on a baseline drive to start the quarter, and a Hanna Corrigan basket cut their deficit to 5. 5 straight points from Lauren Augustine gave Horseheads a short-lived double digit lead, but Corrigan & Roberts combined to go on a 6-0 spurt spanning into the 2nd half, cutting their deficit to 4 early in the 3rd quarter.

Jill Casey (Horseheads 2020)

However, Holland Patent would get no closer than that. The trading baskets & stops affair continued into the 4th quarter, where a 7-1 Horseheads run culminating with an Avery Snyder basket gave them a commanding 39-26 edge. Shortly thereafter, Casey scored again and Jenna Nickerson added a free throw, giving them their largest lead at 42-28, where they were able to coast to the finish line.

Casey led Horseheads with a game high 20 points in the win, with plenty of balance behind her. Corrigan paced Holland Patent with 10; Roberts added 8 points, 11 rebounds, & 3 blocks, and Kotary chipped in with 8 as well.

Haedyn Roberts (Holland Patent 2020)

#JeffsNotes

- Congratulations to Horseheads coach Andy Scott, who won his 300th game with this victory. He's one of NY's best high school basketball coaches to me, and I'll debate with anyone about that... but I don't have to, as it seems like everyone realizes this. Horseheads is a true high school basketball program, and he has his hands in the youth levels just like the varsity. The work he puts in, whether it's through workouts/open gyms/practices, preparation, film, scouting, and what he does for his players is second to none. Every Horseheads kid that goes through the program plays hard, shows discipline, and 'gets it' - this isn't a coincidence. Congrats!

- Holland Patent played with fire for a long time and got away with it. I'm pretty sure any other team that decides to test fate in this way won't be so lucky. Jill Casey, known as a knockdown shooter for good reason, was off. She got more open looks than I've ever seen her get; every attempt was right there, so to speak, but an inch long, rimmed out, inch long, inch short, rimmed out. Just one of those 'iron unkind' days shooting it for Jill. If that ever happens again, she'll probably have 40. However, she still showed the kind of improvements she's made in this game. In years past, the perimeter shot not falling would really limit her ability to score it. Now, she can do much more than just shoot the three. Jill put it on the floor, got into the 12'-15' range and hit short-midrange pull-ups. She found ways to get all the way to the rim and convert or get to the line. She got by the first defender, drew help, and made the right read. On an undermanned team that won't have Jenna Granger alongside her for the time being, Jill has to be that utility offensive option, and she's showing she can be that.

- Maybe not a pretty game offensively, but it's a November game so I'm not worried about that. Horseheads is a very well-coached team/program that never lacks in effort & preparation. I'll be interested to see this group in January-February. A couple more months together, add a returning Granger to the lineup... barring injuries or anything crazy, this is a team that will surely improve as the season goes on.



Oneonta 62, Johnson City 57 (OT)

The nightcap, which kept fans in the gym until after 10:00, was an uptempo battle that featured a flare for the dramatic that I perhaps wasn't anticipating. Playing without the services of longtime varsity stalwart Taylor Microni, Oneonta was able to lead nearly wire-to-wire and hold off a visiting Johnson City squad by finally stringing together a series of stops when they needed.

Johnson City only led in the game's opening moments, when Brooke Ladd knocked down a three to open the scoring. Oneonta reeled off 12 straight points in response, 7 coming from 2021 Ava Eichler, to open up a 9 point cushion that would prove to be their largest. JC crawled back closer, with a Taylor Johnson three cutting their deficit to 2, where the back & forth seemingly ensued the rest of the way. Eichler continued her early onslaught, knocking down a three and adding a pair of free throws late in the quarter to give her 14 of Oneonta's 31 1st half points.

Yuliah Johnson (Oneonta 2021)

The hosts extended their 3 point halftime lead to 7 twice in the 3rd quarter, both on Yuliah Johnson (Oneonta 2021) baskets. JC quickly responded with 5 straight, including another Taylor Johnson three. They finally earned their first tie at the end of the 3rd quarter, when a Kadeijjah Clemons (Johnson City 2020) 3 point play tied it at 45. They would never turn it & gain the lead though, as Eichler opened up the 4th quarter scoring with her first points of the 2nd half. Oneonta's lead would juggle between 2-4 for most of the quarter before JC made their final push. Kendal Guzyk (JC 2021) split a pair of free throws, cutting their deficit to 55-53 with :59.6 remaining in regulation. After an Oneonta missed three that caromed out of bounds, Clemons was able to get into the lane, split defenders near the rim and finish, tying it at 55 with :33.2 remaining. Oneonta missed another three and after a steal, an Eichler half-court heave was off, sending the game to overtime. Yuliah Johnson & Taylor Johnson traded baskets to start the extra period, but that was all Johnson City could muster. Eichler split a pair at the line with 2:06 left, then came off a screen and rattled home a back-breaking three to give them a 61-57 lead with a minute remaining. A JC miss was rebounded by Anika Buzzy, who split a pair at the line with :46.0 left. JC had two more possessions, but missed with one-and-done possessions and Oneonta was able to dribble the clock out.

In her first varsity game since the 2016-17 season, Ava Eichler went for a game high 20 points for Oneonta. Yuliah Johnson added 16, and they received 13 from fellow sophomore Hannah Johnson - 8 in the 3rd quarter. Anika Buzzy chipped in with 9. Taylor Johnson led a balanced Johnson City scoring attack with 11, and Clemons scored all 9 of hers after halftime.

Kadeijjah Clemons (Johnson City 2020) ties the game late in regulation

#JeffsNotes

- First thought of the night in general: Ava Eichler. She was a varsity starter at Oneonta as a freshman back in '16-'17, but didn't see the court - or the country - last year. She went overseas as a foreign exchange student. I'm sure Coach Miller at OHS is quite happy to have the 5'10" combo guard at his disposal once again. To say Ava has shown improvements lately would be an understatement, as she almost looked like a completely different player against Johnson City. With her body type, skill set, and smoothness, she just looks the part... but she has plenty of substance to go with that. She's always been a good perimeter shooter and made JC pay for any open looks, but she has added to that with the ability to handle & create off the dribble, make good decisions on the ball, and she's also using her length to bother ballhandlers defensively. I have more to see with Ava and am planning to make a return to Drago this afternoon just for the championship game, but her performance caught my eye more than anything else so far this young season.

Ava Eichler (Oneonta 2021) is becoming a player to watch in Section 4

- It's more than Eichler though. I really like what Yuliah Johnson brought to the table for Oneonta. Quick, shifty sophomore guard that for any of my Albany area crew, has shades of Mekeel grad Liz Singleton in her game. I've previously evaluated her other places, most intently at the Shenendehowa Battle of NY team camp in August, and my biggest question about her at that point was decision making. That wasn't an issue against Johnson City, as she showed a better understanding of picking her spots. She took advantage of favorable matchups and got to the rim at will, but didn't overpenetrate and made the right read if/when she drew the help. Yuliah also showed willingness to get a paint touch and pull up for the 10'-12' jumper. She's another one that I'll be keeping track of a little more intently as time goes on.