By TIM TAYLORTioga County Sports Report
NEWARK VALLEY — Newark Valley had to rally, not once, but twice to defeat upset-minded Southern Cayuga, 45-43, in a Section IV Class C girls basketball quarterfinal here Saturday evening.
Following what can only be described as an ugly first half, NV would come back from a double digit deficit to take the lead in the third quarter, then found themselves trailing the Falcons again in the final stanza.
“I told the girls they played so poorly that they helped me be part of, probably my greatest comeback win ever, because we were in a fog the first half,” coach Greg Schweiger said. “They couldn't put the ball in the basket and then things spiraled. They were out-hustling us, out-aggressive with us, and when you’ve got a kid like Charli (Bennett) that can get hers whenever she wants it.
“You can't spot them like that, but I credit my kids. Amazing comeback in the second half, woke up in the third, and, I always tell them, once the ball starts going in the basket, things get fun and your energy goes up. We certainly did that in the third and then did just enough in the fourth to hang on.”
Down, 36-32, the Falcons’ Erika Black and Bennett wrapped three-pointers around a traditional three-point play by Bennett to surge back in front, 41-36, with 4:18 remaining in the game.
Two Southern Cayuga fouls and a block by the Cardinals’ Adriana Rich would set up an NV surge in the final two minutes. Audrey Kwiatkowski drained a trey at 1:59 and Haven Aylesworth added a free throw 15 seconds later, trimming the margin to 41-40.
The Falcons responded with a Bennett basket at 1:23, but Kwiatkowski knocked down her fourth three-ball of the contest at 1:09 to knot the score at 43.
The final minute of action was chaos. SC turned the ball over, but NV lost the handle on it only to see it go off a Falcon player’s foot and out of bounds. The Cardinals would get the ball to Rich for the game-winning bucket with 37.6 seconds to go.
“They were up by five, the momentum had swung again. Aubrey hit some big threes. Richie hit some big threes tonight, and that was the story,” Schweiger said. “We struggled to get the ball inside because they played so well defensively in the paint. Live by the three, die by the three, and tonight we did just enough.”
The threat of an upset wasn’t over yet. Bennett, Southern Cayuga’s career scoring leader, missed two shots over the next 13 seconds and Newark Valley came away with the rebounds.
Rich missed a pair of free throws with 24 seconds to go, then committed a foul with 20.4 seconds on the clock. SC would turn the ball over again at the 18-second and Adrianna Finta would get two free throws with 14.7 seconds left. She missed the first and NV committed a lane violation on the second, leaving the Falcons with an opportunity to tie or win the game.
Strong defensive pressure by the Cardinals forced Alycia Orona to take an off-balance shot at the buzzer which fell short.
“We got multiple stops,” Schweiger said of the game’s final moments. “Would've liked to have seen a couple of those foul shots go in to stretch the lead, but again, credit my kids. We play ‘D’ without fouling, which is really hard against a kid that is that good and that aggressive. I couldn't be prouder of these guys to make it to a final four. I don't know that a lot of folks thought we had that in us at the beginning of the season and really pleased our season's continuing, and we'll see what we can do.”
Rich would score the game’s initial basket on a pass off the tip-off and Kam Short scored in the paint to make it 4-1 early, but NV’s first-half performance was clearly a struggle.
Bennett responded with a bucket and two free throws, and Orona nailed a trey to give the 8th-seeded Falcons an 8-4 advantage midway through the first period.
A Kam Short free throw and a Kwiatkowski three-ball tied the score, but Emily Prince wrapped two field goals around one by Bennett to extend the SC advantage to 14-8.
Up by five heading into the second quarter, Black canned a trey for a 17-9 lead. Kam Short cut the gap to 17-11, but Newark Valley would then miss three straight shots on the same possession.
Orona would knock down a three-pointer and Bennett would nail two free throws to double up the score at 22-11. A free throw by Black and a basket from Bennett would give SC its biggest lead of the night, 25-13, as the first half entered its final two minutes.
Finta and Kwiatkowski would respond with one bucket each, but Bennett would sink two more free throws to give the Falcons a 27-17 lead at intermission.
NV’s first points of the third quarter came on a Finta three-pointer, but Bennett countered with four to make it 31-21.
Liv Short ignited NV’s initial comeback, a 13-0 run, with a basket at 5:17. Aylesworth followed with a trey, Finta scored a basket, Aylesworth jumped in front of a Southern Cayuga pass and Kwiatkowski nailed a trey to put the top seed up, 32-31, at 3:03. Finta, all alone under the basket following a turnover, made it 34-31 with 57 seconds left in the period.
A Prince free throw cut the lead to 34-32 heading into the fourth quarter. Liv Short made it 36-32 with the first points of the final frame and that’s when SC went on a 9-0 run.
“All that matters is moving on. We’ve got another really good team waiting for us so, like I said, really pleased for the kids that their season continues.”
NV’s team effort was key in pulling out the victory.
“That is the story of our season,” Schweiger said. “When we're at our best is when everybody's scoring and we're balanced. That's part of our thing. We don't have a star. We have a good team that when we play well together makes it tough to guard us, and that's the makings of hopefully continuing to move on.”
Newark Valley overcame a 30-percent night from the field (17-for-56) which included 29 percent from three-point range (7-for-24). The Cardinals were also 4-for-14 at the free throw line.
Kwiatkowski and Rich led NV in scoring with 14 and 11 points, respectively. Kwiatkowski also contributed five rebounds, an assist and a block while Rich added three boards, two blocks and a steal.
Kam Short chipped in with seven points, five rebounds, three steals, a block and an assist; Finta had five points, six assists, six boards, and a pair of steals; Liv Short recorded four points, six boards, two assists, a block and a steal; and Aylesworth tacked on four points, six rebounds, five assists and a steal.
Bennett led all scorers with 24 points, going 9-for-10 at the free line, and was also a key contributed on the boards and in steals. Black had seven points, and Orona and Prince added six apiece.
The Cardinals were without Anika Smith, a key defensive contributor who injured her knee earlier in the week.
“She would've been in her glory playing defense against one of the best kids in the area,” Schweiger said. “It would've been nice to have her services.” The coach is hoping to have her back for the semifinals.
Of the four teams seeded to reach the Final 4, Newark Valley was the only one to avoid an upset. The Cardinals (17-4) will face No. 5 Unatego (15-5) Wednesday at Tompkins Cortland Community College at a time to be determined. The other semi pits No. 6 Union Springs against No. 7 Delhi.
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IN PHOTO 1: Adriana Rich. ... IN TOP PHOTO: Kam Short. ... PHOTOS BY TIM TAYLOR.
