Trojans capture first section title in 13 years
BINGHAMTON – Turns out, the best thing that could have happened to Greene was losing in the finals of the Midstate Athletic Conference to Harpursville.
Two weeks removed from a disheartening defeat that broke an unbeaten run that removed them from a number one state ranking, the Trojans are again riding high after claiming their first girls’ basketball sectional title in 13 years. Barb Borst scored a career-high 29 points, and Greene pulled away for a 59-44 victory over Odessa-Montour, Saturday in the Class C title game at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena.
“Everyone expected us to win the MAC title and we didn’t,” said Greene first-year coach Dave Gorton, whose club improved to 22-1 overall. “Then everyone expected us to fold, and I read in some places that Harpursville was now the favorite. I told the girls that I still had faith in them, and that I hope they still had faith in themselves.”
Through three playoff victories, one in which the Trojans avenged a loss to the Hornets, Greene looked every bit the top seed in the tournament. Borst canned five three balls to go with nine rebounds and three assists. Megan Kinne did her typical yeoman’s job under the radar with nine points and eight rebounds. Greene, as a team, finished with a season-best 39 rebounds.
“Ever since that loss to Harpursville, we tried not to let down, and that loss really did motivate us,” Borst said. “This feels great.”
Borst and Odessa-Montour sophomore Michelle Melanson brought new meaning to the term “hard-nosed” in the second quarter. Melanson, one of the Indians’ top three scorers at nearly 11 points a contest, stepped in front of the dribbling Borst at the 6:12 mark, and the two collided face-to-face. A traveling violation was called, and Borst shook off the impact with just a slight cut across the bridge of her nose. Melanson’s injuries, however, were more severe, and she was lost for the game with a suspected broken nose and possible concussion.
“That collision was a big play for us, and losing Melanson hurt us,” said Odessa-Montour coach Greg Gavich. “Michelle was the one checking Borst, and I don’t think (Borst) missed much the rest of the game. Give Greene credit, they made their shots, and it wasn’t meant to be for us today.”
In spite of Melanson’s injury, O-M cut Greene’s 14-8 first-quarter lead to 18-16 at the 4:47 mark when Cassie Fitch received a low-post entry pass from Brittany Evans, and banked the pass for two points.
Borst answered a little while later with a pull-up jumper in the paint on a fast break, and teammate Liz Wentlent drove for one layup, and received a pass from Erin Smith for another layup to give Greene a 24-19 halftime lead.
Greene, as it did against Harpursville, started the third quarter strong. Borst opened the quarter with a three after getting a kickout pass from Wentlent. Kinne scored four points, and Borst put back an offensive rebound to complete a 14-2 start to the third quarter.
“We learned a lot from our third quarter against Harpursville (the loss),” Gorton said, whose club was outscored 17-3 in that fateful period. “We have the attitude of putting the pedal to the metal now. When we had the lead at halftime this season, most teams rolled over and died, but Harpursville competed. That’s the best thing that could have happened to us.”
Greene ended the third quarter up by 16 points. Borst hit three trifectas in the quarter and was 5-for-11 on her three-point shooting in the game, and Greene wound up 6-for-13 in the contest behind the arc. Erin Smith had the other trey.
Meanwhile, O-M, who made 11 three-pointers in a 13-point win over Tioga to reach the section finals, went 20 percent from three-point land on 5-for-25 shooting. Cassie Fitch had 13 points before fouling out, and leading scorer Rebecca Ayers was held to 10 points. Eight of Ayers’ points came in the fourth quarter when the game’s outcome was no longer in doubt.
“Their size out front distracted us a little, but I liked the quality of shots we had in the first half. We just didn’t make them,” Gavich said. “I don’t buy into the (stuff) about the Arena affecting shots. It didn’t bother Barb Borst tonight, and it didn’t bother Stephanie Collins when she played for us a few years ago.”
Wentlent added eight points, nine rebounds, and five assists for Greene (22-1), who play Section III’s Mohawk or Bishop Grimes Saturday at 4:45 p.m. at Cortland State. “I’m proud of the girls and pleased for them,” Gorton said. “This is truly a team championship. There are people on our team who don’t get their names in the paper, but they never let down in practice.”
O-M: Katie Ray, 0-4 0-0-0; Rebecca Ayers, 3-14 2-2-0; Brittany Evans, 3-12 0-0-8; Whitney Ayers, 3-10 0-0-7; Michelle Melanson, 1-4 0-0-2; Alyssa Bruno, 0 0-0-0; Alycia McCauley, 0 0-0-0; Allison Stamp, 1-2 2-2-4; Cassie Fitch, 5-20 3-6-13. Totals: 16-66 7-10-44
Greene: Abbey Wentlent, 0 0-0-0; Andrea Day, 2-2 0-0-4; Erin Smith, 1-8 0-1-3; Emily Pierce, 0 0-0-0; Barb Borst 10-22 4-4-29; Megan McDermott, 3-11 0-2-6; Emily Breck, 0 0-0-0; Liz Wentlent, 2-7 4-4-8; Alex Philippone, 0 0-0-0; Megan Kinne, 2-6 5-6-9. Totals: 20-56 13-17-59.
O-M 8 11 11 14—44
Gre. 14 10 22 13—59
Fouled out: (OM) Fitch. Team fouls: (OM) 15, (G) 8. Turnovers: (G) 18, (OM) 16. Three-point shooting: (G) 6-for-13 (Borst 5-11, Smith 1-2). (OM) 5-for-25 (R. Ayers, 2-7, B. Evans, 2-9 W. Ayers, 1-6, K. Ray, 0-2, C. Fitch, 0-1).
Two weeks removed from a disheartening defeat that broke an unbeaten run that removed them from a number one state ranking, the Trojans are again riding high after claiming their first girls’ basketball sectional title in 13 years. Barb Borst scored a career-high 29 points, and Greene pulled away for a 59-44 victory over Odessa-Montour, Saturday in the Class C title game at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena.
“Everyone expected us to win the MAC title and we didn’t,” said Greene first-year coach Dave Gorton, whose club improved to 22-1 overall. “Then everyone expected us to fold, and I read in some places that Harpursville was now the favorite. I told the girls that I still had faith in them, and that I hope they still had faith in themselves.”
Through three playoff victories, one in which the Trojans avenged a loss to the Hornets, Greene looked every bit the top seed in the tournament. Borst canned five three balls to go with nine rebounds and three assists. Megan Kinne did her typical yeoman’s job under the radar with nine points and eight rebounds. Greene, as a team, finished with a season-best 39 rebounds.
“Ever since that loss to Harpursville, we tried not to let down, and that loss really did motivate us,” Borst said. “This feels great.”
Borst and Odessa-Montour sophomore Michelle Melanson brought new meaning to the term “hard-nosed” in the second quarter. Melanson, one of the Indians’ top three scorers at nearly 11 points a contest, stepped in front of the dribbling Borst at the 6:12 mark, and the two collided face-to-face. A traveling violation was called, and Borst shook off the impact with just a slight cut across the bridge of her nose. Melanson’s injuries, however, were more severe, and she was lost for the game with a suspected broken nose and possible concussion.
“That collision was a big play for us, and losing Melanson hurt us,” said Odessa-Montour coach Greg Gavich. “Michelle was the one checking Borst, and I don’t think (Borst) missed much the rest of the game. Give Greene credit, they made their shots, and it wasn’t meant to be for us today.”
In spite of Melanson’s injury, O-M cut Greene’s 14-8 first-quarter lead to 18-16 at the 4:47 mark when Cassie Fitch received a low-post entry pass from Brittany Evans, and banked the pass for two points.
Borst answered a little while later with a pull-up jumper in the paint on a fast break, and teammate Liz Wentlent drove for one layup, and received a pass from Erin Smith for another layup to give Greene a 24-19 halftime lead.
Greene, as it did against Harpursville, started the third quarter strong. Borst opened the quarter with a three after getting a kickout pass from Wentlent. Kinne scored four points, and Borst put back an offensive rebound to complete a 14-2 start to the third quarter.
“We learned a lot from our third quarter against Harpursville (the loss),” Gorton said, whose club was outscored 17-3 in that fateful period. “We have the attitude of putting the pedal to the metal now. When we had the lead at halftime this season, most teams rolled over and died, but Harpursville competed. That’s the best thing that could have happened to us.”
Greene ended the third quarter up by 16 points. Borst hit three trifectas in the quarter and was 5-for-11 on her three-point shooting in the game, and Greene wound up 6-for-13 in the contest behind the arc. Erin Smith had the other trey.
Meanwhile, O-M, who made 11 three-pointers in a 13-point win over Tioga to reach the section finals, went 20 percent from three-point land on 5-for-25 shooting. Cassie Fitch had 13 points before fouling out, and leading scorer Rebecca Ayers was held to 10 points. Eight of Ayers’ points came in the fourth quarter when the game’s outcome was no longer in doubt.
“Their size out front distracted us a little, but I liked the quality of shots we had in the first half. We just didn’t make them,” Gavich said. “I don’t buy into the (stuff) about the Arena affecting shots. It didn’t bother Barb Borst tonight, and it didn’t bother Stephanie Collins when she played for us a few years ago.”
Wentlent added eight points, nine rebounds, and five assists for Greene (22-1), who play Section III’s Mohawk or Bishop Grimes Saturday at 4:45 p.m. at Cortland State. “I’m proud of the girls and pleased for them,” Gorton said. “This is truly a team championship. There are people on our team who don’t get their names in the paper, but they never let down in practice.”
O-M: Katie Ray, 0-4 0-0-0; Rebecca Ayers, 3-14 2-2-0; Brittany Evans, 3-12 0-0-8; Whitney Ayers, 3-10 0-0-7; Michelle Melanson, 1-4 0-0-2; Alyssa Bruno, 0 0-0-0; Alycia McCauley, 0 0-0-0; Allison Stamp, 1-2 2-2-4; Cassie Fitch, 5-20 3-6-13. Totals: 16-66 7-10-44
Greene: Abbey Wentlent, 0 0-0-0; Andrea Day, 2-2 0-0-4; Erin Smith, 1-8 0-1-3; Emily Pierce, 0 0-0-0; Barb Borst 10-22 4-4-29; Megan McDermott, 3-11 0-2-6; Emily Breck, 0 0-0-0; Liz Wentlent, 2-7 4-4-8; Alex Philippone, 0 0-0-0; Megan Kinne, 2-6 5-6-9. Totals: 20-56 13-17-59.
O-M 8 11 11 14—44
Gre. 14 10 22 13—59
Fouled out: (OM) Fitch. Team fouls: (OM) 15, (G) 8. Turnovers: (G) 18, (OM) 16. Three-point shooting: (G) 6-for-13 (Borst 5-11, Smith 1-2). (OM) 5-for-25 (R. Ayers, 2-7, B. Evans, 2-9 W. Ayers, 1-6, K. Ray, 0-2, C. Fitch, 0-1).
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