SECTION IV GIRLS BASKETBALL: NEWARK VALLEY STRUGGLES IN 47-30 CLASS C SEMI SETBACK AGAINST UNATEGO (2025-03-05)
By TIM TAYLOR
Tioga County Sports Report
DRYDEN — Unatego played tough defense to end Newark Valley’s bid for a fifth consecutive Section IV girls basketball championship game appearance, downing the Cardinals, 47-30, in the Class C semifinals at Tompkins Cortland Community College Wednesday night.
It brought to an end a string of four straight victories in the semis dating back to 2020 (no tournament in 2021 due to COVID-19).
The Spartans survived a sloppy first half by both teams then continued to stymie the NV offense, which struggled to make shots all night, to pull away in the second half.
“We faced two really good players back to back, Charli (Bennett) last week and then Lizzie this week, and she got after us in the second half. We knew she was capable of that,” coach Greg Schweiger said.
“More than that, I think they played pretty tough ‘D’ and we really just struggled to score. If we could have put some baskets in the momentum shifts a little bit and then their offense wouldn't have looked as good, but it looked good next to our offense. We struggled, we couldn't make a shot tonight. Credit them, they played good ‘D.’”
Midstate Athletic Conference MVP Lizzie Craft, who surpassed 1,000 career points in early February, fueled Unatego at the offensive end of the court as she pumped out 20 of her game-high 22 points after intermission.
The Spartans scored the first six points of the third quarter to build a 23-13 lead, but Kam Short connected on back-to-back baskets to make it a 23-17 contest midway through the period.
Craft would wrap a pair of buckets around another from MAC first-team guard Harly Birdsall to make it 29-17 heading into the final two minutes of the quarter.
NV responded with a pair of Aubrey Kwiatkowski free throws, and two free throws and a basket from Adrianna Finta to cut the gap to 31-23 heading into the fourth quarter.
Adriana Rich notched the first points of the final frame, but Madisyn Birdsall and Harly Birdsall wrapped baskets around a Kwiatkowski bucket, then Craft followed up with a basket, two free throws and another basket to give the Spartans a 41-27 cushion midway through the period.
Newark Valley tried to battle back with a Kwiatkowski three-pointer with 3:33 to go, but the Unatego defense tightened up and didn’t allow another point by the Cardinals and Craft knocked down three more shots in the final 2:23.
Seeded fifth, although being ranked higher in the state poll than the top-seeded Cardinals, Unatego offset a half-dozen traveling violations by forcing several poor shots by NV in the first half.
Neither team could find its groove in the early minutes of the game. NV turned the ball over on three of its first four possessions, managing the game’s first points on a Liv Short jumper. The Spartans started out shooting 0-for-5 before Harly Birdsall knocked down a trey to make it 3-2.
Kam Short sank a pair of foul shots to put the Cardinals back in front, 4-3, but Raelynn Parks countered with a basket to give the Spartans the lead for good at 5-4. Madisyn Birdsall closed out the quarter with a three-ball and a field goal for a 10-4 lead.
Parks and Craft extended the lead to 14-4 in the first two minutes of the second period, but Kam Short converted a conventional three-point play followed by a basket 51 seconds later to trim the margin to 14-9.
Unatego would take a 17-10 lead into the final minute of the half, but Finta connected on a conventional three-point play to make it 17-13 at the break.
“The first half was not an offensive highlight for either team, so I just said to them, we were fortunate only to be down by four and hopefully we would shoot better in the second half,” Schweiger said. “We just couldn't get any rhythm going.”
In addition to Craft’s 22 points, Harly Birdsall scored a dozen and Parks added nine for the 16-5 Spartans.
Kam Short led NV with 11 points, six rebounds and five blocks. Finta contributed seven points, eight boards, four assists and four steals; and Kwiatkowski added seven points and a pair of steals. Rich recorded three points, four steals, two assists and two rebounds; and Liv Short tacked on two points, eight boards, one block, one assist and one steal.
Newark Valley finished with a 17-5 record, better than what some felt this season would be.
“Exceeding expectations, maybe not for me, but maybe for others,” said Schweiger. “I knew what this group was capable of, really thought we were capable of going all the way to the final, and so I'm not surprised.
After you lose a player of Cha (Gardner’s) caliber, you assume that there's going to be a huge drop off and I don't think 17-5 is a huge drop off. I think they represented themselves very well.
“Probably one of my favorite groups to coach. I have been with that starting five for quite a long time in summer league and AAU, just love those guys to death. They've worked so hard for so long. I just told them to be proud of what all they've done. So they probably overachieved to be here and they did it as a group. As I say, we don't have a star that can dump in 20, we have to do things by committee and a lot of games they did that.
“Our goal was to have four or five kids that scored 10 and that's what we did when we were most successful. Sad it's over, because I really enjoy being around those kids. They're great kids, but proud of what all they've accomplished.”
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IN PHOTO 1: Adrianna Finta. ... IN TOP PHOTO: Aubrey Kwiatkowski (11), Kam Short (21) and Liv Short (22). ... PHOTOS BY TIM TAYLOR.
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