It was a battle of the Warriors Friday night at Hudson Valley Community College.
For the third time this season, the Mohonasen girls’ basketball team took to the court to face Suburban Council foe Averill Park.
In the two regular-season contests, the Mighty Warriors of Mohonasen knocked off the Lady Warriors of Averill Park. But on this evening with the Class A title on the line, the Mighty Warriors didn’t look so mighty as the Lady Warriors never trailed and cruised to a 47-38 victory.
Averill Park advances to play Massena of Section X Tuesday at Adirondack Community College at 7:30 p.m.
Friday night, it was as if a different Mohonasen squad was on the floor with Averill Park — not the same team that posted eight- and seven-point victories back in December and February.
Averill Park made some big shots in the beginning, Mohonasen coach Paul Brosious said. `We were not playing at the speed we needed to play at.`
While crediting Averill Park with the victory, Brosious cited influenza may have played a role in his team’s defeat.
`Obviously, they are a really good team,` Brosious said of the opposition. `We didn’t practice the last two days because of sickness, but that is part of the season for most teams. We got together and watched tapes. Tonight, it was just a matter of not having enough gas in the tank.`
Averill Park scored the first seven points of the game. Sara McGrath’s 3-pointer got Mohonasen on the board with 3:18 left in the first quarter.
Averill Park led 13-7 entering the second quarter and opened the period with an 8-0 run en route to a 29-17 halftime lead.
Things didn’t get any better for Mohonasen after the intermission thanks to junior Brooke O’Shea, who scored seven consecutive points to begin the second half.
`We’ve come a long way this season and wanted this win so bad,` said O’Shea who led all scorers with 13 points. `Beating top-seeded Scotia [in Tuesday’s semifinal round] to get to this game really gave us confidence.`
With 2:50 remaining, Lea McClain’s two free-throws trimmed Averill Park’s lead to 40-30. But the Warriors answered with two free throws each by Bridget Carney, Alison Nunziato and one by O’Shea.
A swarming Averill Park defense held McClain, Mohonasen’s leading scorer this season, to 11 points. She was the only double-digit scorer for the Mighty Warriors.
Julia Mai chipped in with 10 points for Averill Park (11-11). Carney controlled the boards, grabbing 14 defensive rebounds and five offensive.“
