Experience prevailed over youth in last Saturday’s Section II Class AA girls basketball final.
Shenendehowa built a big lead and fended off a late charge by Shaker to pull out a 47-42 victory at Hudson Valley Community College.
It is Shen’s 10th Section II title under head coach Ken Strube, who earned his 550th career win.
The beauty of each one of these is that they’ve been spread out a bit [over the years], except for that period [of four consecutive championships] in the early 1990s, said Strube. `So, it’s been nice to celebrate these titles with different groups of girls.`
This particular group of Shen girls have been to the Sectional final each of the last three years, which gave them an experience edge over a young Shaker squad that wasn’t alive the last time the Blue Bison had reached the finals (1986).
Shaker (17-5) made up for its lack of experience with heart and determination. The Blue Bison rallied from a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter to pull within three points with less than 30 seconds left before Emily Weber and Meg Rogers sealed Shen’s victory with clutch free throws.
`I was hoping we could get the tie and force overtime,` said Shaker coach Emily Caschera. `I thought we did well at the end. We just came up a little short.`
`They didn’t go away at all,` said Shen junior forward Allie Setter. `It was horrifying, but we always seem to [win].`
Both teams had some early game jitters to work through. Shen (20-2) hit some free throws to get started, and then Weber canned a pair of three-pointers to help the Plainsmen build a 12-4 lead.
Shaker’s offense worked in fits and spurts against Shen’s defense. The Blue Bison made a charge in the second quarter when Adrianne Devine and Erica Houle hit consecutive three-pointers to cut Shen’s lead to 16-12, but the Plainsmen shut Shaker down again to build a 23-14 halftime advantage.
`I thought we were slower hitting our shots, and that’s what got us in a bit of a hole,` said Caschera.
Shen expanded its advantage to 14 points in the third quarter thanks to Marissa Ray. The senior guard drained a pair of three-pointers and added a long jump shot during an 8-0 run.
`Usually, I have a tremendous first half, and then I’d slow down,` said Ray. `I had to tell myself that there’s four quarters to a game.`
Shaker refused to go away, though. Houle ` the lone senior in the Blue Bison’s starting five ` made two long three-pointers in the fourth quarter to key a 15-4 run that cut Shen’s lead to 45-42.
That was as close as Shen would allow Shaker to get. The Plainsmen made a defensive stand in the final 30 seconds to end the Blue Bison’s rally.
`We got caught a couple of times, but for the most part, we had a hand up [defensively] and they had to force their threes,` said Strube.
Setter finished with 15 points and was named the tournament’s most valuable player, but it was Ray’s presence that helped Shen the most. Besides her 11 points, Ray also handled the ball, directed the offense and played tough defense.
`I don’t think it takes an Einstein to see that she makes a huge difference for us,` Strube said of Ray, who missed a chunk of the regular season with an injury. `If Marissa wasn’t here, I think you’d be talking to Emily Caschera right now.`
Setter was equally active on both sides of the floor. Besides her 15 points, she also pulled down a team-high nine rebounds and added four steals.
`Allie Setter played both ends of the floor for all four quarters,` said Strube. `She pulled down rebound after rebound, and she hit some tough shots down low.`
Houle made four three-pointers on her way to a 14-point night to lead Shaker. Sophomore forward MacKenzie Rowland contributed nine points and seven rebounds, and her younger sister, freshman Madison Rowland, added nine rebounds including eight boards at the offensive end. Sophomore forward Lauren Woods chipped in eight points.
Shen moves on to Saturday’s regional final against Section III champion Cicero-North Syracuse, while Shaker ` with four starters returning ` prepares for what it hopes will be another strong season next year.
`Does the future look bright for us? Absolutely,` said Caschera. `With the starters we’ve got coming back and the other girls we’ll have coming in, we should be very competitive again.“
