Nicole Adach and Michelle Aviza had been part of Mohonasen girls basketball teams that lost more games than they won.
So, for the two seniors to end their varsity careers with a Section II, Class A title was a just reward for having endured some tough times.
I feel so good, it’s unbeliev-able, said Adach following last Saturday’s 44-39 victory over Averill Park in the Sectional final at Hudson Valley Community College. `I’m almost at a loss for words.`
`It’s special for all the kids, but for them ` they were the ones who were beat so bad in previous years,` said Mohonasen coach Paul Brosious.
Adach and Aviza each played prominent roles in Mohonasen’s first Sectional title since 2002. Adach scored 17 points and pulled down 11 rebounds against Averill Park to earn the tournament’s most valuable player award, while Aviza added five points, two steals and two assists.
However, it was sophomore point guard Lea McLain that turned out to be the heroine for the top-seeded Mighty Warriors (21-2). McLain forced several Averill Park turnovers, pulled down nine rebounds and made all four of her foul shots in the final minute to seal Mohonasen’s victory.
`That’s not the first time she’s done that,` Brosious said of McLain. `She hit a monster free throw the first time we played Averill Park (a 49-48 victory Jan. 9) with less than one second left.`
`She’s just such a big part of this team. Without her, we wouldn’t be here,` said Adach.
Mohonasen built a 10-3 lead in the first quarter, but second-seeded Averill Park (15-8) wasn’t about to be blown out of the building. Instead, the Warriors went on a 20-5 run ` capped by a 12-0 spurt in the second quarter ` to grab a 23-15 lead. Only an Adach three-pointer in the closing seconds stopped the bleeding for Mohonasen.
Despite his team’s struggles, Brosious never called a timeout during Averill Park’s run. He said he was confident his players could work through their problems.
`They’ve gotten out of situations like that all year,` said Brosious. `I didn’t feel like I needed to (call a time out) at that point.`
Mohonasen rewarded Brosious’ confidence in the third quarter. The Mighty Warriors used a 12-2 run ` highlighted by consecutive three-pointers by Adach and Brittany Baker ` to take a 32-29 lead into the fourth quarter.
Adach continued to shoot the ball well early in the fourth quarter. She opened the period with a jump shot and then drove for a layup off a pass from Courtney Cowell to give Mohonasen a seven-point lead.
`She stepped up big time,` Brosious said of Adach. `She’s one of the best players in Section II, and she showed why.`
Averill Park kept chipping away at Mohonasen’s lead and eventually whittled it down to one point with less than one minute left in regulation before McLain made her foul shots to give the Mighty Warriors their final margin of victory.
Mohonasen advances to Saturday’s regional final at Hudson Valley Community College against Section III champion Mexico. The game is scheduled to tip off at noon.“