SECTION IV GIRLS BASKETBALL: OWEGO KNOCKS OFF ONEONTA TO REACH CLASS A FINAL 4 (2025-03-02)

Tioga County Sports Report
ONEONTA — Madison McEvoy has been Owego’s premier long-range shooter during her career, but on Saturday younger sister Jenna had the hot three-point hand, knocking down six treys to lead the River Hawks to a stunning 58-44 upset of fourth-seeded Oneonta in the Section IV Class A girls basketball quarterfinals here Saturday evening.

“A great team win tonight,” said coach Luke McEvoy. “We were able to execute on both ends of the floor. The girls put together a solid 32 minutes to extend our season. They aren’t ready to be done.”

Jenna McEvoy nailed two threes in the first quarter and two more in the second as Owego built a 30-22 advantage at halftime. Lexi Herceg added a three-pointer in the opening stanza to help the River Hawks grab an 11-10 edge.

Ashlyn Dalton and Keely Wicklund added treys in the second period with Wicklund scoring five points and Dalton adding three. Jenna McEvoy had six and Lexi Herceg had four.

Herceg and Jenna McEvoy scored seven points apiece in the third quarter as the River Hawks stretched their lead to 46-33. McEvoy added two more treys to her tally and tacked a free throw onto the end of one of them. Herceg had a three-pointer as well.

When all was said and done, Owego had racked up 11 treys. Madison McEvoy, the River Hawks’ three-point record holder, put an exclamation point on the win with the final three-ball. She followed that up with a 4-for-4 effort at the free throw line.

“We had an excellent week of practice and owe a lot of credit to the group of girls who won’t show up in the box score tonight,” coach McEvoy said. “The entire team, but especially the three JV players who joined us, Marielle Searles, Bella Beams and Aubrey Schmidt.

“We anticipated that Oneonta would run box-and-one and triangle-and-two defensive schemes, and we tasked the younger players with simulating what could happen with their size inside and defenders face-guarding certain players. They did a terrific job helping us prepare. Girls made good reads and even better decisions. Plus, in the end you have to make shots and we did.”

Jenna McEvoy led the way with 19 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals while Herceg chipped in with 16 points, four assists, five rebounds and a block. Madison McEvoy contributed eight points, five assists, six steals, three rebounds and two blocks; Wicklund had eight points, one assist, one steal and three rebounds; Dalton recorded seven points, two assists, two steals, four rebounds and one block; and Eva Crawford tacked on four steals, five rebounds and one assist.

Owego (9-12) takes on top-seeded and eighth-ranked Johnson City (17-3) in the semifinals.

“Looking forward to heading to JC on Wednesday and the challenge that they possess,” coach McEvoy said.

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IN PHOTO: Jenna McEvoy. ... TCSR STOCK PHOTO.

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