Philo & Lavery Run Amok, Gloversville Downs Cold Shooting Scotia

December 6, 2018

Gloversville 51, Scotia-Glenville 29

It was a Thursday in Section 2, which means the Foothills takes front & center. The matchup of choice was between Gloversville & Scotia-Glenville, two Class A schools that have been competitive in the league & section in recent years, and they've also recently had to go through each other in sectionals. The very familiar foes got reacquainted Thursday, but it turned into a nightmare for the host Tartans as ice-cold shooting and the potency of the Philo/Lavery duo proved to be too much for them to overcome.

Early in the game, it was as expected between two teams so familiar with each other. Scotia went man-to-man, with longtime Tartan stalwart Asia Winney (Scotia-Glenville 2019; Vassar commit) getting the assignment on Gloversville standout Harmony Philo (Gloversville 2019; Queens signee). Gloversville had trouble getting anything productive in the first few minutes, and Scotia had trouble navigating their opponents' 3-2 zone. They were able to hold a 6-1 lead late in the quarter off the strength of two Winney threes, but Gloversville was able to get out in transition late in the quarter and score the last six - four from Kendra Lavery (Gloversville 2019) - to take a 7-6 lead after eight minutes. Their run soared in the 2nd quarter as Scotia endured a painstakingly long scoreless stretch. Philo started the quarter with her first field goal, then Lavery scored and Philo got loose for a three. A few possessions later, she canned a contested triple to extend their run to 18-0 and lead to 19-6. A short Kaitlyn Wilson jumper stopped the bleeding for Scotia, ending a drought of nearly 9 minutes. They ended the half with some momentum - after Winney & Lavery traded baskets, Ashlyn O'Neil (Scotia-Glenville 2019) got her first points of the game to end the half, cutting their deficit to 23-15.

Queens signee Harmony Philo made her presence felt throughout and led all scorers with 23 points.

It was all Gloversville to start the 2nd half, and Scotia would get no closer than their halftime deficit. A Philo three-point play started it off, and by the time Lavery got an easy one, they had a quick 8-0 run and extended the lead to 16. Scotia responded out of a timeout with more inspired play in the back end of the quarter, cutting the deficit to 34-23 at the end of the 3rd, but the visitors were able to put them away in the 4th quarter. Another well-contested Philo triple started a 10-0 run that put Gloversville up 46-25, effectively putting the game away.

Harmony Philo led all scorers with 23 points and kept teammates involved, dishing out a handful of assists. Kendra Lavery had a strong game for Gloversville as well, adding 18 points. Asia Winney was a bright spot for Scotia throughout, and she finished with a team high 12 points in the process. Ashlyn O'Neil chipped in with 8.

Asia Winney was a consistent source of energy for Scotia, drawing the task of guarding Philo for nearly every second and pacing the Tartans with 12 points.

#JeffsNotes

- Harmony Philo was actively recruited at the Division 2 level and is receiving a scholarship because, above all else, she's an elite shooter. However, the improvements that she's made in every other aspect of the game over the years were what was on full display Thursday. She's primarily on the ball for Gloversville and has to be able to handle it for them. Harmony was willing to put it on the deck and try to get to the rim & absorb contact, something that wasn't part of her game in the earlier high school days. She's noticeably stronger than she was even just months ago on the circuit with I-90 Elite, which helped her power through when she got in the paint. Her passing ability may have been most striking, as she found Kendra Lavery several times - either pitching ahead in transition, once they had numbers in the frontcourt, or most often, in the pick & roll game. Scotia's help defense always seemed to be a step or two late, and Harmony would hit Kendra on the move - on time, on target, including a couple pocket passes with narrow windows to get it through - for easy ones. Those improvements, on top of the hairpin trigger with range to the local Stewart's, have made her one of Section 2's tougher players to defend.

- If you're Scotia, this might just be one of those games that you throw away. Inconsistent effort was a killer for them - they got burned time & time again on the Philo/Lavery side P&R because the back side help was a second late, which was more than enough time for Harmony to hit Kendra either for a layup or an eventual trip to the free throw lane. Some unfocused energy led to unforced turnovers in the half-court - dropped passes, balls thrown out of bounds, etc. But at the end of the day, I thought they really got quality shots that they'll take consistently. Just weren't falling. I wouldn't bank on giving someone like Ashlyn O'Neil good looks and getting away with it too often. As a team, if they hit a few of those missed jumpers that they normally make and make a few of those missed layups, we're talking about an entirely different game. At the high school level, you'll take giving up 51 points against a decent team. I thought there were some bright spots - in particular, Asia Winney brought it (as usual - focus and the intangibles are never an issue with her) and I thought Promise Mitchell gave them good energy and toughness in spurts off the bench. Scotia gets Mikyla Mitchell back for their next game (against Schuylerville) and Jazz Corker is also still out - 1-2 start with a not-so-easy stretch to start the season. Plenty of season left and Mitchell & Corker are major difference makers. Looking forward to getting another look at them in coming weeks.

Kendra Lavery has shown major improvements over the last couple years - she finished with 18 points for Gloversville.

- To double back on something I just said - I can't say a damn thing about unfocused energy because I was struggling to stay focused myself. Updates weren't timely, staring into space, paying too much attention to the pep band (in my defense, Scotia's is the real deal)… long week. Must be something in the water. Friday is a new day!

- The battle for best dressed coach in Section 2 was a back-and-forth battle last year between Cambridge coach Tony Bochette and Scotia coach Megan Bowman. Coach Bochette has retired and Coach Bowman is only stepping up her game... everyone else is fighting for 2nd place now!