Big-game experience?
Seton Catholic Central’s starting lineup has plenty of it and the four starters back from last season made certain Saturday the Saints would continue on to intersectional play for the third straight season.
Junior forwards Marina Maerkl and Julia Hauer scored 18 points apiece, and senior guards Hanna Strawn and Ava McCann tacked on 13 and 11, respectively, to lead the top-seeded Saints’ 69-51 victory over Maine-Endwell in the Section 4 Class A final at the Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena.
Maerkl, Hauer, Strawn and McCann played starring roles last season as the Saints won New York State Public High School Athletic Association and Federation titles in Class B during a 28-1 season.
This time around, SCC will take an 18-4 record into the Class A state playoffs – the first step coming at 6 p.m. Wednesday against Section 1 champion Ryeat Johnson City High. Rye defeated Harrison, 45-42 in Saturday's final.
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“When we work together, it reminds me of last year,” said Strawn, who finished with six assists. “When we go inside and out, it’s really hard for teams to play us because it’s like, pick your poison. Who are you going to guard?”
The Saints took the lead for keeps on a three-pointer by McCann with 3:40 left in the second quarter. She received kick-out from Maerkl and swished one of her velvety jumpers as the Saints took a 24-21 lead. Maerkl then scored on a put-back and Strawn hit a pull-up, foul-line jumper in transition as SCC grabbed a 28-21 lead two minutes before halftime.
Maerkl’s driving left-handed layup with 33 seconds left in half allowed the Saints to take a 33-25 lead into the break.
Hauer and Maerkl, who had 19 and 13 rebounds, respectively, then combined to score the first six points of the third quarter. Hauer, assessed two fouls before the game was two minutes old, spun left and scored off glass for the first points of the second half. Then she drove right and scooped one off glass for a 37-25 lead.
“I talked to Julia before the second half started and said, ‘This is your time,’” SCC coach Colleen Jayne said. “She had foul trouble in the first half, but now she could play freely again. We made sure the ball was in her hands and her hustle plays were unbelievable.”
Maerkl’s put-back with 7:02 left in the quarter extended the Saints’ lead to 39-25.
Hauer and Maerkl repeatedly prolonged Saints possessions with their work on the offensive glass.
“Julia and I, we’ve always been told glass means gold,” Maerkl said. “We try to crash the boards as much as we can.”
An up-and-under move on the right block by Hauer made it 43-29 before the second-seeded Spartans cut their deficit to single digits for the final time.
Allison L’Amoreaux hit a three-pointer from the top of the key off Alexis Wanchisen's pass. Then Hailey Sinicki grabbed a defensive rebound and dribbled the length of the court for a layup that made it 43-34 with 5:20 left in the third period. Sinicki scored a team-high 17 points, many of those points coming on strong drives to the basket in the opening half.
The Saints answered with a 10-2 spurt that all but decided things.
It started with Strawn finding Maerkl for a fast-break layup. Hauer then scored on a put-back to make it 47-34 with 4:12 left in the third. After M-E’s Angela DeGennaro converted a put-back, consecutive three-pointers by Reese Vaughan and McCann put the Saints ahead, 53-36.
Eight straight points to start the fourth quarter, a spurt capped by Strawn’s floater in the lane, had the Saints on top, 62-39.
“I don’t mean to boast about my team, but I think everywhere on the court, every position, we can score,” Maerkl said. “That really helps.”
The Spartans, who received 13 and 10 points, respectively, from DeGennaro and L’Amoreaux, conclude their season at 12-7.
Going forward, Strawn said: “I think we have a lot of confidence right now. We’re playing really well. We’re taking it one game at a time with a big goal in mind.”
Seton CC 69, Maine-Endwell 51
Section 4 Class A final
at Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena
Maine-Endwell ..... 13 12 14 12 -- 51
Seton CC ..... 14 19 21 15 -- 69
2--MAINE-ENDWELL (12-7): Ashlynn McKnight 1 0-0 3, Emma Stulir 0 0-0 0, Angela DeGennaro 6 1-2 13, Monesha Talerico 0 0-0 0, Kara Pochkar 1 0-0 3, Allison L'Amoreaux 4 0-0 10, Mia Gravelding 0 0-0 0, Alexis Wanchisen 1 2-2 5, Meredith Rose 0 0-0 0, Hailey Sinicki 7 2-2 17, Mya Wyatt 0 0-0 0, Natalie Wunder 0 0-0 0, Megan Balmer 0 0-0 0. Totals: 20 5-6 51.
1-SETON CATHOLIC CENTRAL (18-4): Hanna Strawn 5 2-2 13, Taylor Nicolich 0 0-0 0, Emily Dempsey 1 0-0 3, Ava McCann 3 2-2 11, Grace Cawley 0 0-0 0, Brdiget Martin 1 1-2 3, Kamilah Wimberly 0 0-0 0, Reese Vaughan 1 0-0 2, Marina Maerkl 7 4-4 18, Julia Hauer 8 2-4 18. Totals: 26 11-14 69.
Three-pointers: M-E 6(L'Amoreaux 2, McKnight, Pochkar, Wanchisen, Sinicki); SCC 5 (Strawn, Dempsey, McCann 3).
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