WHITE PLAINS – The memory of winning the first Section 1 title in the history of the program will last a long time with Hen Hud.
It will be the same for bumps and bruises.
The Sailors had role players who played big after big game and fought for 32 minutes on Sunday before beating the lead away from Harrison in the final seconds and winning a 46-45 win in the Section 1 championship. class A at the County Center.
And they did it at a digital disadvantage.
“I never really thought it was going to happen,” said Hen Hud coach Ken Sherman. “I have a basketball player. And the others work hard. Obviously, this formula worked. I wanted them to come here and have fun. They did it. Before the game, they were so loose, they were ready . “
Semi-finals: Hen Hud looking for the very first golden ball after his victory over Pearl River
Semifinals: Harrison completes unlikely comeback to upset Rye in Class A
Grace Moretti left the game early in the second quarter with a knee injury and was unable to return, leaving the second-ranked sailors without their primary ball carrier.
Someone had to fill in the blanks on the offensive.
Heather Riefenhauser, Jacklyn Kenny, Kira Varada and Smith came under pressure in the fourth quarter.
“I love the way it went,” said the Hen Hud center and Marist signatory Caitlin Weimer. “It makes the win 10 times better, to see my teammates doing well and to see everyone making big shots. It was a great team effort and it’s amazing to win that way.”
The fourth seeded Huskies kept it bottled for most of the game.
“I give Hen Hud all the credit in the world,” said Harrison coach Louis Kail. “These kids had big shots and played hard.
“What is difficult to swallow is the 36-7 free throw gap. I thought my daughters were doing everything they could. They had an incredibly talented player who will succeed at the next level at 11 points. We did our job from that point of view, but these other girls fired big shots afterwards and they fought against adversity. “
Turning
The problems and turnover were against the Huskies, but they managed to keep a 26-minute lead before the fast Varada reached the line with 2:33 left and made a pair of free throws.
This gave the sailors a boost of confidence.
Kenny came in with a huge basket with 38.4 seconds remaining to give Hen Hud a 43-40 advantage, but Gabby Marraccini lost a 3 and hit the ground. It was dirty. Marraccini made the free throw, placing Harrison in the lead 44-43 with 25.4 seconds remaining.
“It was so stressful, but we stayed calm,” said Weimar. “We still had a lot of time.”
The sailors were called for a voyage on the next possession and had to commit a fault.
Marraccini got one more to fall from the charity band, making it a 45-43 lead with 19.7 seconds remaining.
Hen Hud called time and Sherman wrote a play for Weimer, but ended up wearing two Huskies jerseys. Smith improvised, just hoping to reach the free throw line, but his baseline attempt failed.
The free throw gave the sailors the advantage.
“I saw the double team and I knew I had to go to the basket,” said Smith. “I didn’t know if the shot was going to drop, but once I got the and-1, I knew the game was over. I was beyond shaking on the free throw line, but I knew that I had to keep my cool and guarantee victory. “
Harrison reached the line in the closing seconds, but missed the two free throws.
Sailors have a pass to the state quarterfinals and will play SUNY Purchase again on Friday.
Player of the match
There were so many unexpected contributions, but Mylene Smith filled the brand gap, scoring 12 points and making the biggest game of the season.
In numbers
Harrison (17-7): Marraccini had 15 points. … Ashley Stagg finished with 13 points and was named all tournament with Victoria Lendino and Corrine Miedreich of Pearl River and Amanda Latkany of Rye.
Hen Hud (23-1): Weimar had 11 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks and was named MVP of the tournament. … Varada scored five of his six points in the fourth quarter and won all of the tournament honors. … Riefenhauser had a pair of 3s and ended up with seven points. … The sailors’ only loss this season came early against Harrison.
Quotable
“When the buzzer was off, it was like,” What do we do now? “” Said Weimar. “Everyone was so happy.”
Mike Dougherty covers boys’ football, boys’ lacrosse, girls’ basketball and golf for The Journal News / lohud.com. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @hoopsmbd, @lohudlacrosse, @lohudhoopsmbd and @lohudgolf.
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