Mount Markham Regroups Late, Escapes WCV With OT Win

March 17, 2021

Mount Markham 48, West Canada Valley 42 (OT)

Most NYSPHSAA sections have wrapped up their winter sports seasons, with many wrapping up over the weekend. Out of the four sections still participating in basketball, three of them (VI, VII, X) have all of their areas still competing. Section III is the outlier with a clear divide. While the entire Syracuse area & most CNY counties wrapped up on Saturday, Herkimer County just started at the beginning of March 1. With that, not only are they the only place in NY currently scheduled to play into April, games have just started for the county's schools. West Canada Valley & Mount Markham have experienced success in their opening games, so it only made sense to make the trip to Newport as they matched up against each other, and they made it worth the trip.

Hayleigh Gates had her hand in many big plays and led all scorers with 20 points in Mt. Markham's W.

If you turned off the live stream after the first four minutes, you probably would be surprised to see that it went to an extra session. West Canada came out of the gates sluggish, and Mt. Markham took advantage of the opportunity to jump on them. It started with two Caroline Entwistle (Mt. Markham 2023) buckets, and by the time Hayleigh Gates (Mt. Markham 2021, Paul Smith's commit) got on the board with a triple, four Mustang starters were in the books and they were out to an 11-0 lead with 3:21 left in the opening frame. WCV finally got on the board at the 3:01 mark with a Reese Fellows (WCV 2023) basket around the rim, and Fellows had six before the end of the 1st as the Indians trimmed their deficit to 13-8.

Mt. Markham would regain double digit separation in the 2nd quarter. They once again held WCV without a field goal for the first 4+ minutes of the quarter, and a pair of Gates free throws extended their lead to 12 before a Lydia Reimer (WCV 2022) score ended the drought. The Mustangs led by as much as 13 and got there twice, first on a Gates basket and then again after Emma Kocienda (Mt. Markham 2022) scored to make it 26-13. An Indian free throw before the half made the score 26-14 in favor of Mt. Markham at intermission.

WCV started the 2nd half with a renewed focus & energy and it slowly took effect on the scoreboard. The Mustang lead stretched to 13 once more - again thanks to Gates, this time from deep - but a Maggie Burdick (WCV 2021) trey sparked a 9-0 run. Back-to-back Fellows buckets in transition cut the Indian deficit to four at 29-25 before Gates momentarily stopped the bleeding for Mt. Markham. The teams traded free throws to end the 3rd, and Mt. Markham held a 32-26 edge going into the final eight.

The margin held at six before WCV made their next push. It started with another Fellows make, then Olivia Morreale (WCV 2022) connected on her first field goal, a three with 5:18 left in regulation to cut it to 34-33. Morreale then added a short range jumper with 3:50 remaining to give the Indians their first lead at 35-34. Mt. Markham quickly got a response from Gates, who scored at the 3:27 mark, then Entwistle tacked on a bucket seven seconds later after WCV turned it over on the ensuing inbounds. WCV gathered themselves and got a Reimer bucket to trim the deficit back to 38-37 with 1:50 left. They'd turn it over on their next two possessions, but forced Mt. Markham misses at the other end and eventually got it back with :25.1 left. They broke the Mustang press and the ball eventually found Analyce Grabowski (WCV 2025), who drew contact & got the layup to spin home. She tacked on a free throw to complete the three-point play & give WCV a 40-38 lead with :16.5 left. They forced another Mustang miss & secured the rebound and looked to be in position to seal the win, but a turnover on a sideline out-of-bounds play at the :04.9 mark gave Mt. Markham one more chance... and they made the most of it. After advancing the ball, it eventually found Entwistle's hands on the right wing, and she got downhill & converted at the rim to tie it at 40 with :01.4 remaining. A last second WCV three was off, which sent the game to an extra session.

The Mustangs made sure there were no dramatics in overtime. Zoe Hoke (Mt. Markham 2022), who was held to four points in regulation, topped that number in the first two minutes of OT. She drove & scored with the right, then scored with the left, and added a catch & finish in front of the rim on three consecutive possessions, with the last giving them a 46-40 lead with 2:03 left. Morreale would score with 1:44 left, but that would be it for WCV. Gates tacked on two free throws in the closing seconds to complete the scoring and ice the victory.

Hayleigh Gates led all scorers with 20 points in Mt. Markham's victory and was a steady presence. Caroline Entwistle and Zoe Hoke added 10 apiece for the Mustangs; Entwistle had the game-tying basket to send it to OT, and Hoke had 6 of hers in the extra session. Reese Fellows led WCV with 16 points and was a major reason they were able to hang around in the first three quarters. Lydia Reimer added 10 points including a 6/8 night from the line - WCV shot 12/15 as a team - and Olivia Morreale had 7 of her 9 points in the 4th quarter & overtime.

Reese Fellows had a team high 16 points & played an important role as WCV came back to push Mt. Markham to OT.

#ThoughtsFromTheBaseline

- Pretty long game recap, but a double digit comeback followed by a recovery from the team that previously led, a last second game-tying bucket & an overtime session probably deserves it. Good battle that got progressively more interesting & entertaining. Especially with the acoustics in the WCV gym, I'm sure it would've been a loud one late if spectators were allowed. Hopefully the folks in Middleville, Newport, West Winfield, Bridgewater, Leonardsville... all of the million census-designated places that make up these two school districts... weren't too loud for the neighbors!

- At least from my outsider's perspective, I think there are things for WCV to learn from & build off of. The bad: just didn't think the effort & focus was really there in the 1st half. They were a bit careless with the ball early against Mt. Markham's pressure and even at times in the half-court, and Mt. Markham got too many second chances, paint touches against the zone, and comfortable perimeter looks (particularly Gates). The level of effort & focus definitely dialed up in the 2nd half, as they came out and played at a different pace almost instantaneously. They forced Mt. Markham to get stagnant at times offensively, and they got several buckets by simply beating them up the floor in transition. Now I know they have that gear; having it from the jump is a 'learning process' thing. What I think they can be encouraged about? It was probably an off night for them offensively, and they were able to dig in & grind out a double digit comeback regardless. Having success in different kinds of games will bode well for a team that returns four starters, has a 2023, 2024, & 2025 in their main rotation, and figures to be a legitimate player in Section III small school hoops in coming years.

Caroline Entwistle had 10 points for Mt. Markham, including the game-tying layup with :01.4 left.

- Paul Smith's College isn't known for their basketball prowess or ability to bring in college-track upstate NY girls' basketball players. That sentence is meant as no disrespect at all; it's just how it's been. The northern NY college, which actually has a more expansive degree program than many may realize, is recognized much more for its environmental/forestry based majors than its basketball. So when I saw that Mt. Markham standout Hayleigh Gates had committed to continue her academics & athletics there a couple months ago, it jumped off the screen at me. Not so much because of Hayleigh wanting to go there - the small town/rural kid wanting to go to PSC for its academic programs/overall environment is far from staggering - but more because of the boost that she provides their basketball program from both 'quality of player' and 'notable name' perspectives. She's an instant impact player in USCAA basketball, and I'll be interested to see if Paul Smith's becomes more active & in the mix for other regional college-track players looking for that sort of experience.

- A thank you goes out to WCV athletic administration, particularly AD Ed Dougherty, for allowing media (including myself) in the gym to check this game out! Herkimer County was late to the punch, but better late than never. Glad to see the high schoolers in the area where I was born & raised finally back on the court!