basketball

When you hold an opponent to 43 points, you would think you would walk away with a win, Elba's Head Coach Ciaci Zambito said after the Lancers' loss Tuesday night to Lima Christian in a Class C2 Section V semifinal at Le Roy High School.

Defense wins games, but only if you put hit shots on the other end, and there were simply too many missed shots Tuesday night.

"You cannot afford to go through lulls where you don't put the ball in the basket," Zambito said.

The Lancers managed only 18 points in the first half and were down by a point at the 10-minute break. Then Lima came out firing and Elba came out cold in the third quarter, with Lima Christian building a 14-point lead.

For most of the third, Elba fired and fired and fired from beyond the arc and failed to hit. Then in the fourth, the Lancers started to drive into the paint and put together a scrappy 11-0 run, with eight points coming on free throws following fouls, to pull within three.

"They're a group of fighters," Zambito said. "I never, ever once thought that the game was going to be over and we would lose until the final buzzer."

The game, in fact, wasn't decided until the closing seconds, with great plays by Elba's Henry Pflaumer and Lima's Conell Christiansen perhaps deciding the final outcome (top photo). With seconds left and Elba down by three, Pflaumer stole an inbound pass, took a dribble and a step to the three-point line. Christiansen leaped and with his long reach got a hand on the ball, blocking Pflaumer's shot. Who knows if Pflaumer would have knocked down the game-tying bucket, but Christiansen arguably made the play of the game, capping off his 19-point performance.

"Lima did good," Zambito said. "The story line in the paper tomorrow shouldn't be what we did wrong. It should be what Lima did well."

John Hocmuth lead Elba's scoring with 15 points. Shane O’Halloran scored nine. Jayson Faynor added 11 for Lima.

To purchase prints, click here.

Tuesday night in Section V playoffs, at Rush-Henrietta High School, the Batavia Blue Devils met University Preparatory Charter for the boys varsity semifinal game.

Maybe it was the strange surroundings or the stress of the playoffs, because for the first few positions both teams seemed at a loss for what to do with the ball. After a few minutes, and air balls, U-Prep scored first and then quickly led Batavia 6-0. Batavia’s first score came after 3 minutes of play with a three-pointer followed up shortly afterward with a 2-point play.

Batavia followed U-Prep, until with 2 minutes left in the first quarter, they tied the game

With 1:40 left in the first Batavia took the lead.

At the end of first period Batavia led 17-12 and did not give up the lead, finishing the half up 30 to 26.

Batavia built up their lead from the half. With 3:30 remaining in the third, Batavia looked to dominate with a score of 41 to 30 Coach Brasky cautioned the team during a timeout not to get too comfortable or too confident U-Prep would battle back.

At the end of the third Batavia led 43 to 37 as U-Prep dug into their lead.

Batavia held onto a small lead until with 3:17 left to play U-Prep took over the lead with a score of 48 to 49 beating Batavia with offensive rebounds.

With one minute left the momentum of the game was with U-Prep. They had increased the lead to 3 points after Batavia had lead by as many as 13.

With 50 seconds left, Malachi Chenault made a strong move from under the basket and brought the game back to within 1 point.

U-Prep was not able to score on their next possession and with 18.7 seconds left it was Batavia’s ball. It was all number 22 Hogan, from coast to coast with a hard dribble down the court to mid key, where Hogan pulled up and shot……Off the backboard and through the hoop! In for two points.

Batavia was up by one with 4.4 seconds on the clock. U-Prep got the ball back and tried a desperation shot from beyond the three-point line that found nothing but the floor and the screams of joy from the Batavia students bussed in for the game.

Final score: Batavia 52, University Preparatory Charter 51.

For more game pictures click below.

A lockdown defense and the domination of a star player in the first half propelled the Lady Blue Devils to a 57-49 win over Honeoye Falls-Lima in Penfield on Monday night.

The victory in the Section V Class A2 semifinal sets up a championship game for Batavia at Gates Chili at 6 p.m., Friday, against Pittsford Mendon.

Tiara Filbert, who, incredibly, has yet to be recruited by a college program despite a school record 1,530 career points, knocked down 23 points in the first half and grabbed 13 rebounds to help Batavia open up a 35-11 halftime lead.

That huge lead led to Head Coach Marty Hein's biggest frustration of the evening. The team came out on cruise control in the third quarter and almost allowed HFL a chance to get back into the game. Slack play won't win championships, especially against Mendon.

"I know it's hard for them, you're up by 20 or whatever it was at half time, and it looks like it's going to be that type of game, but that's not their job," Hein said. "If I want to pull the plug, that's my job. If I'm putting you on the floor, you need to go all out all the time. We didn't. Instead of me celebrating and being happy, I'm kind of not right now because Friday it's going to require all 32 minutes."

The team's flatness and a more aggressive defense against Filbert held her to only one field goal in the second half, so she finished with 26 points. Sam Cecere got untracked, though, to put up six points, and Taylor Stefaniak continued to fire from outside, adding two more three-pointers to the three she sank in the first half, giving her 16 points for the game. Ryann Stefaniak finished with seven points.

Cecere and the Stefaniak sisters will be key to Friday's game against Mendon.

"Tiara is Tiara and you're never going to completely shut her down," Hein said. "But somebody else is going to have to contribute or it's going to be a long game."

After the game, there were college recruiters waiting to talk with her, and of course, journalists waiting to interview her, and after each chat, Filbert wished each person a safe drive home, reflecting her natural tendency to think of others.

That spirit, that willingness to share, is one reason she's been overlooked by this point by college coaches, Hein said. She's been a productive scorer since eighth grade, but she's always been willing to distribute and give her teammates their shots, which has kept her from building the kind of huge point totals that put players in the top 100 recruiting class.

"She's always worried about being a selfish player in the past and that's kind of hindered her a little bit on her college recruiting," Hein said. "Wherever she goes, they'll be a lucky team."

Filbert loves the game. She comes from a basketball family and she's always trying to get better.

After each game, Hein loads the game film to a Web site called Hudl, and Hein is able to track which of his players are reviewing tape and how much time they spend on the site. Typically, the time spent is measured in minutes, but not for Filbert.

"I mean, I can send something in the morning and she'll find a study hall somewhere in the day and somehow in the day of school she still manages to watch it for two hours during the day," Hein said. "That's crazy."

Filbert said basketball is just simply her life.

"I was born into the game, basically," Filbert said. "I've been playing it ever since I was young. I watch it every chance I get. I'm able to experience it through watching my brother grow up in it. My parents come from a basketball background. It's just something I'm born to do."

As for Mendon, Filbert said she has to work on her own game and help the team get ready for what will surely be a tough match.

"It's good to have a close team because whenever we're down, we just make sure our heads are up," Filbert said. "We've got to make sure we stay with each other. Our heads are all connected and we're on the same goal."

To purchase prints, click here.

• Alexander fell to Letchworth 30-56 in Class C1. Marissa Scharlau scorted six points and Stephany McBride and Marcie Riggs had four each. (For game coverage, visit the Wyoming County Free Press.)
• Cal-Mum beat Notre Dame, 44-35, in Class C1. Rebecca Krenzer had a monster game with 21 points and seven rebounds, but it wasn't enough to overcome Cal-Mum, led by Gillian Flint with 16 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
• Oakfield-Alabama beat Lyons, 40-29. Lauren Reding scored 12 and Kylie Schlagenhauf had 10.
• Le Roy advanced with a win over Attica, 36-24. Paige Biggins scored 14. Abby Dambra had six points and seven rebounds.

The playoff schedule for Genesee County girls teams advancing:

• Batavia plays Honeoye Falls-Lima at 7:45 p.m., Monday, at Penfield HS;
• Le Roy plays Wellsville at 6 p.m., Wednesday, at Honeoye Falls-Lima HS;
• Oakfield-Alabama plays Perry at 7:45 p.m., Wednesday, at Bloomfield HS;
• Elba plays Prattsburgh at 7:45 p.m., Monday, at Wayland-Cohocton HS.

Webster Christian held close to the Elba Lancers through three quarters, but in the fourth, the #1 seed in Class D2 demonstrated how dominating they can be, pulling away for a 60-36 win.

Next up, the #5 seed, Lima-Christian, in a semifinal game, 7 p.m., at Le Roy HS.

To purchase prints, click here.

Batavia's stifling defense allowed the Blue Devils to open an 18-point first-half lead that Monroe couldn't overcome in the second half, even as Rayshawn Boswell hit a streak of three-point jumpers on his way to a 24-point game.

Batavia had four players score in double digits to advance the Blue Devils in the Class A2 sectional playoffs with a 60-52 win.

The Blue Devils still held a 10-point lead with two minutes left in the game, but Monroe continued to battle and twice pulled within three points in the final minute.

Malachi Chenault and Jake Schrider both scored 14 points, Tee Sean Ayala added 13 and Ryan Hogan scored 12.

Top photo: Steve Stefaniak with a layup in the second quarter.

The #2 seeded Blue Devils face the #3 seed in A2 U-Prep at 8 p.m., Tuesday, at Rush-Henrietta.

The Lady Devils play Honeoye Falls in Penfield at 7:45 p.m., tomorrow.

To purchase prints, click here.

;

Tiara Filbert led the way with 23 points for the Lady Blue Devils on Friday night, helping to propel Batavia to a 59-22 win over Eastridge in their Section V playoff game.

Ryann Stefaniak and Taylor Stefaniak each scored 14 points.

Also, Friday, Elba girls beat Belfast 63-49.

In boys basketball, Oakfield-Alabama fell to Geneseo, 37-59.

Sparked by a string of three-point buckets in the 2nd quarter, Notre Dame built an insurmountable lead over Fillmore in a first-round Class D Section V playoff game and ran away with the victory, 58-42.

Half of Fillmore's points came in the final quarter while Notre Dame rested some starters. Fillmore scored only eight, six and seven points in each of the respective first three quarters.

Tyler Prospero led the Irish with 19 points and Casey Midwick added 13.

In other local boys basketball playoff games Wednesday night:

• Oakfield-Alabama beat Keshequa 65-51 to advance in Class C2. Ryan Douglas scored 18 points;
• Pembroke, seeded #5, was upset by #12 seed Gananda, 38-37 in Class C.  Zach Von Kramer scored 11 and Reid Miano, 10.

In the girls games:

• Alexander beat Red Creek 54-42. Stephany McBride scored 10 points;
• Pembroke fell to Avon 17-26. Olivia Kohorst scored eight for Pembroke;
• Notre Dame beat Addison 39-30. Rebecca Krenzer scored 12;
• Cal-Mum beat Byron-Bergen 46-34. Dana Van Valkenberg scored eight points;
• Oakfield-Alabama beat Cuba-Rushford 60-17. Brianna Smith scored 13.

Schedule:

• Le Roy boys (12-8) vs. Wellsville (16-4), 7 p.m., Friday, at Wellsville;
• Batavia boys (13-7) vs. Monroe (8-13), 4 p.m., Saturday, at Batavia;
• Oakfield-Alabama boys (12-9) vs. Geneseo (16-5), Friday, time and place TBA;
• Notre Dame boys (11-10) vs. York, Friday, time and place TBA;
• Elba boys (18-2) vs. Webster-Christian (7-13), 7 p.m., Saturday, at Elba;
• Batavia girls (17-2) vs. Eastridge (6-15), 7 p.m., Friday, at Batavia;
• Elba girls vs. Belfast, 7 p.m., Friday, at Elba
• Le Roy girls (8-12) vs. Attica (9-11), 2 p.m., Saturday, at Attica;
• Notre Dame girls (14-7) vs. Cal-Mum (18-3), 2 p.m., Saturday, at Cal-Mum;
• Alexander girls (15-6) vs. Letchworth (17-4), 5 p.m., Saturday, at Letchworth;
• Oakfield-Alabama girls (15-6) vs. Lyons (12-8), 2 p.m., Saturday, at O-A;
• Elba girls (12-8) vs. Belfast (13-7), 7 p.m., Friday, at Elba.

In her basketball career at Notre Dame High School, Christina Volpe was a prolific scorer and a leader who helped her team to a state championship, but it was more than just her athletic success that left a lasting impact on the school, said Athletic Director Mike Rapone during a ceremony Friday to retire her number.

"She always had a quick smile, was always kind and found a great pleasure in helping others," Rapone said. "As special a basketball player as Christy was, she may have been a more special person. She will always be remembered fondly here at Notre Dame."

Volpe died of an apparent heart attack at age 34 in her home in South Carolina in October.

During her playing career at Notre Dame, Volpe scored 2,392 points, grabbed 1,365 rebounds and amassed an 83-consecutive game streak of double-doubles.  She was named to the Section V Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011. With Volpe on the court, Notre Dame won three consecutive Class DD Section V championships, and in 1999, the team won both the state championship and the federation championship and Volpe was named MVP of both tournaments.

Bill Wade, who coached Volpe's team, said the Notre Dame team is the only girls basketball team in Section V history to win a federation championship.

Rapone said Volpe inaugurated a tradition of excellence in girls basketball at Notre Dame that continues to this day. She inspired the next generation of girls to take up the game and play hard and work hard, leading to a second state championship under Head Coach Dave Pero in 2013.

"Along with the talent, she had an amazing work ethic," Rapone said. "She had a burning desire to realize her potential. As talented as she was, she constantly worked to get better. She spent countless hours in the Notre Dame and St. Joe's gyms fine-tuning her game."

Volpe taught her teammates that hard work wasn't just something you brought to the game, you brought it to the gym for every practice, Wade said. She came early, stayed late and made every drill count.

"That's how she became our leader," Wade said. "She led our team to greatness."

Through her example, she not only made her team better, she made her teammates better, both in the game of basketball and in life.

"You compete to beat your own numbers," Wade said. "That's what made us better and that's what made us cherish Christina Volpe. She taught her teammates so much and made her teammates lives better. She made her coach and her coaches better because of the person she was. Christina Volpe is not just a legendary player, she was a treasure because she made all of our lives richer."

Bill Wade.

Joining Rapone and Wade next to the lectern were members of Volpe's family and her former Notre Dame teammates.

Prior to Notre Dame's game with Elba, the players wore T-shirts with Volpe's number and name.

This tribute to Volpe will be hung in the entry hall of Notre Dame.

Volpe's jersey will hang, framed, next to the scoreboard the rest of this season and next season.

After the injury to point guard Maddy McCully that put her out for the season, Batavia's Head Coach Marty Hein said the Lady Blue Devils would be a team in search of a new identity.

That thought was back on Hein's mind last night after Batavia narrowly escaped with its 13th win, 58-55, over Irondequoit.

Batavia surrendered a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter, allowing Irondequoit to put 25 points on the scoreboard and with less than a minute left, pulling within a point of the lead.

"(McCulley was) the floor general at any given point in time," Hein said. Ryann (Stefaniak) and Tiara (Filbert) are doing a super job, but when the chips seem to be falling a bit, there was always, 'OK, Maddy, you run the point now.' That was freeing up Tiara to do whatever. She doesn't have to bring the ball up. Now, it's kind of that little identity crisis of, OK, when things start going south, who is going to be that step-up person to take that role. We played a good 24 minutes of basketball, and then the last eight..."

Filbert scored 18. Taylor Stefaniak added 16, including dropping three buckets from behind the arc. Ryann scored 14 and Sam Cecere had seven.

For Irondequoit, Megan Dano scored 16, Kylee Kanealey, 12, and Quinn Melidona, 13.

To purchase prints, click here.

The Batavia boys varsity Blue Devils defeated Honeoye Falls-Lima in a very hard fought, double overtime, 61 to 59 victory. 

Batavia started off with an early lead that diminished quickly and had them behind at the half. HF-L's lead at the half was due to a tremendous defensive effort by forcing turnovers. On many of the turnovers HF-L was able to convert, a few times with three-pointers.

In the second half, Batavia battled back from a deficit to be back in contention for the lead by the start of the fourth quarter. Both teams look tired at the start of the fourth. Batavia took it to HF-L in the paint by playing physical and getting offensive rebounds. The Batavia defense did a good job keeping HF-L away from the basket, often making HF-L take forced shots as the shot clock ran out.

Batavia trailed most of the fourth quarter as the teams traded baskets. Hogan scored a three-pointer with 30 seconds left in the fourth that tied the game. Regulation ended in a 43-43 tie.

Malachi Chenault finished the night with a double double, 15 points 10 rebounds. Hogan had a big 18 points with some great clutch plays and Trevor Sherwood had 13 points on the long night.  

More pictures below or to purchase go to www.jimburns.org

In the second half of Elba's 56-40 victory over Oakfield-Alabama on Thursday night, #55 John Hochmuth demonstrated what a dominant big man can do to lift a team.

Displaying solid and practiced post-play skills, the 6' 4" senior scored 19 points and blocked five shots in the game, with the third and fourth quarters being his most productive.

I've never seen a high school kid who works harder than John," said Head Coach Ciaci Zambito. "He makes my job easy. It's so much fun to coach him. He is our best practice player every single day, and finally, I think, all of his hard work that he has done throughout his career is really starting to pay off."

Zambito wouldn't go out on a limb and say Hochmuth is the most dominant player in the Genesee Region, but he still gives him very high grades.

"John is the most dominant post player I've seen at Elba, ever," Zambito said. "I played with a couple of good post players. But especially in terms of the defensive end of things, he doesn't just block shots, he changes shots, and obviously you know what he can do underneath the basket on offense."

The test of where Hochmuth stands in GR could come when Elba faces Attica, whenever that might be, since a recent game was canceled and needs to be rescheduled.  Attica has 6' 5" junior Owen Thompson, who scored 20 last night in the Blue Devils' 77-44 victory over Wheatland-Chili.

The Lancers are off to a 12-0 start on the year and Hochmuth said it's fun to be part of a team that has really grown into a bonded unit.

"We're all brothers on the team," Hochmuth said. "We all like each other outside of school, in school. We're family and that's why we play great together."

Basketball is a team game and one reason Hochmuth is able to thrive in the post is his teammates offer their own scoring threats, and when the defense opens a little space to guard them, they know how to feed Hochmuth the ball.

"Opposing teams focus on John," Zambito said. "They game plan for John, as I would. But when you've got down a guy who knocks down 11 threes in a game (as Henry Pflaumer did in a game earlier this season), and you've got a guy who comes in tonight and knocks down back-to-back threes, you've got to start honoring that a little bit more. You've got to pick your poison. Do you want to guard the perimeter and leave John one-on-one? Or do you want to double John? You can't double everybody."

Thursday, Pflaumer scored 13 for the Lancers, with Tucker Bezon adding 11 and Dakota Dillon six.

It was Bezon's best game of the season, Zambito said.

Oakfield-Alabama scored 18 points in the first quarter, but was held to 22 the rest of the way.

Zambito said he told the team after the first quarter that they weren't playing the Lancer brand of basketball.

"Oakfield likes to get up in you," Zambito said. "They like to press you, but we're more of a half-court team. I think we kind of fell into the trap the first eight minutes of the game where we were trying to play up to their tempo. But we can't do that. We get ourselves into some big trouble when we start doing things like that."

Jon Harris scored seven for the Hornets and Jake Mandez had six. Trey Nadolinski scored five to go with seven rebounds and four assists.

It's been a long time since Elba's boys team has experienced this level of success, and the current Lancers' roster hasn't forgotten the bad times, which is what keeps them from getting too comfortable with their 12-0 start, Zambito said.

"All I have to do is show them the records from the past two years," Zambito said. "Less than 12 months ago, these kids weren't experiencing any success. It's a different feel. We really have a good thing going, great chemistry. There's a nice bond going on. They trust each other. They're hungry and they'll stay hungry. I've told them from day one, I don't care how many games we win, we're looking to win a title."

The Lancers are currently #1 in the GR, #1 in Section V Class D2 and ranked #5 in the state.

"We've always had potential," Hochmuth said. "Now we're showing it."

You can always count on a Dave Pero-coached Notre Dame team to provide opponents with a test, and that's what the Batavia Lady Blue Devils got Friday night in the finale of the Batavia Rotary Club Tournament at Genesee Community College, just when, perhaps, they needed it the most.

The contest was their first without Maddy McCulley, who had her high school career cut short with a knee injury Wednesday one game removed from scoring her 1,000th career point.

The team will carry on without McCulley, but the question that needed to be answered is would her teammates would pick up the slack?

They did.

Four players finished in double figures in scoring and Batavia beat Notre Dame 60-44.

The score may look lopsided, but the game wasn't. Notre Dame fought every minute, battling through Batavia's relentless press, finding ways to the basket at times, but also surrendering a few too many possessions.

The Irish finished the first half only five down and pulled within a point of the lead early in the third quarter. 

"When something like happens, what happened with Maddy, again my condolences, I feel terrible about it," Pero said. "I feel terrible about what happened to her, but they stepped up. The injury set her down, but the team, you could see it, they stepped up. Good teams do that and they're a good team."

Freshman Ryann Stefaniak scored 16, Tiara Filbert and Sam Cecere each had 13, and Taylor Stefaniak hit for 12.

It's the first time the Stefaniak sisters were both in double figures for the game, and that bodes well for the rest of the Lady Devils' season.

"We talked about in practice yesterday," Hein said. "I said 'Look, we're still a good basketball team; obviously, we're not the same team. We have to find a new identity as far as who is going to be doing some of those other things. Bottom line is, Maddy takes about 20 shots in a game. We can't all just look at Tiera and now expect her to shoot 40 of them.' "

Newly minted starter Elyse Snow will take up some of the slack, and Cecere will get a few more looks, but Taylor and Ryann need to add from 10 to 12 shots per game between them, Hein said.

"I turned to the two Stefaniak girls and said, 'Listen, it's really on you two,' " Hein said.

Taylor said she and Ryann are ready and she's proud of how they pulled through Friday.

"I feel like we both stepped up really well tonight," Taylor said. "(Ryann) stepped up her game a lot tonight, which we've needed her to do the whole season, but it helped a lot tonight. I think she did great."

Ryann was all over the court, tipping passes on defense, joining in double teams on ballhandlers, finding open lanes on offense and crashing the glass on rebounds, getting a couple of key putback baskets.

"Ryann is skinny as a rail," Hein said. "In most cases, I  think she's got a turtle shell on her back; she seems so slow at certain points and times. But on the offensive end, she's always kind of in the right spot. She's slashing, rebound here, rebound there. It was exciting to watch."

Filbert, the tournament's MVP, is still the leader of the team, and the shooter defenses will work hardest to stop, as Notre Dame did Friday, but Filbert is unruffled by the change in circumstances.

"I'm going to keep playing my game," Filbert said. "We all came in level-headed. We knew we had a goal we wanted to accomplish and we were able to do that. Losing Maddy is going to be a big adjustment because she helped us out tremendously on and off the court. But I know she's going to be there on the sideline and we know we have the players who are going to step up and help us out."

For Notre Dame, Becca Krenzer scored 15, Margaret Sutherland, 10, and Calli McCulley, eight.

Before the game, during introductions, Calli presented her cousin Maddy with a bouquet of flowers.

Pero said he was very proud of how his girls played, especially Sutherland, who is starting to come into her own as a scorer and floor leader, and considered the game a great learning lesson for the team, which won't see any opponents with Batavia's talent or depth in the rest of the GR or Class D.

"It was a good experience," Pero said. "We're not going to see teams this good where we're going."

To purchase prints, click here.

Norte Dame beat Attica 45-30 and Batavia topped Cal-Mum 50-31 to set the stage for a rematch of last year's exciting final in the annual Batavia Rotary Club Tournament at Genesee Community College.

Perhaps the big news of the night was an injury to Batavia's Madison McCulley (#42), a key part of the Lady Devils' talented starting five. McCulley was honored before the game for just achieving her 1,000th career point. Shortly before the end of the third period, she fell to the floor coming off a layup crying in pain. She was carried to the locker room and came out later with her knee wrapped in an ice pack. She had a medical exam today, but those exam results are not yet available.

To purchase prints of photos, click here.

Press release:

In 2012, The Pembroke Girls Basketball Team decided to use their passion for playing basketball as a platform from which to host a fundraiser for breast cancer research at Roswell Park in support of a community member. As a result, the girls and their coaches organized an annual event, naming it "Shooting For A Cure!" through which they raised over $30,000 in contributions for Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) in past four seasons.

On Tuesday, the team played to the buzzer in their fifth annual Shooting For A Cure! game and raised $10,287.16, making their total RPCI donation over $40,000 since the event’s inception. During an emotional halftime ceremony, the team honored 18 cancer survivors, personifying their dedication to this cause.

Coach Ron Funke and his Pembroke Girls Basketball Team will present the full proceeds of their latest fundraiser to RPCI officials in the hospital lobby this Friday at 2:30 p.m. It’s a post-game tradition that Funke acknowledges has great meaning to the program.

“These girls are the driving force behind this fundraiser," Funke said. "What started many years ago in support of my wife’s diagnosis has continued to grow each season. The girls on this team are incredibly compassionate individuals.

"A few weeks ago they volunteered at the Carly’s Club Christmas party and rang bells for the Salvation Army. This group is truly special. Yet I have to say that the most meaningful part of Shooting For A Cure! is always visiting Roswell to donate what’s been raised.

"The girls once again put on their pink jerseys and travel to Roswell to present a check to hospital officials. Being there at the hospital, surrounded by people who are actually fighting their own battle against cancer never fails to inspire the girls. It’s a tangible reminder of how their efforts off the court are saving lives.”

More than a dozen alumni players from the previous Shooting For A Cure! events were in attendance last night, helping to run raffles and contests as well as cheering on the current team. Alumni Cora Erb (Class of 2013) hasn’t missed a game since its commencement.

“Playing in the first two Shooting For A Cure! games meant so much to me, not only because it’s for a great cause, but also because I lost someone very close to my heart from cancer," Cora said. "When I stepped on that court I played my heart out knowing in some way that I made my father proud.

"I come back every year to show my continued support for these girls and this cause. I know what it’s like to lose someone from cancer and I know I would want their support, just as they have mine.”

Dannielle DellaPenta (Class of 2014), a three-time game alumna, was also in attendance last night.

“The annual Shooting For A Cure! game means a lot to me," Dannielle said. "It brings our community together in support of others, focusing on the bigger picture in life. There is a sense of togetherness in our community.

"It’s about honoring those who have won their fight, supporting those who are still battling and memorializing those who we’ve lost. This event is simply beautiful and I'm forever grateful for the opportunity to still be a part of something so amazing.

"You never know if, when or who may be affected by cancer. Seeing so many people come together brings teams, families and communities together. When people come together like this they accomplish great things.”

The hallways surrounding the gymnasium were lined with balloons, decorations, photos and raffle tables. The basket raffle had more than 80 basket items to choose from, including donated items from various merchants and community members. There were three different raffles to choose from, highlighted by an Autographed Jack Eichel jersey, PlayStation 4 gaming system and diamond ring.

In addition to the raffles, the cafeteria was serving up slices of pizza from local area pizzerias, Original Pizza Logs, Perry’s Ice Cream and a variety of beverages donated by Coca-Cola Bottling Company. The cafeteria was uniquely set up and renamed “Mr. Brown’s Snack Shack” for the evening paying homage to its perennial coordinator, Arron Brown.

The list of WNY companies, vendors and individuals who donated to Shooting For A Cure! numbers more than 90, including 26 Shirts, Batavia’s Original, Big Pauly’s Pizza, Buffalo Bandits, Buffalo Bills, Buffalo Bisons, Buffalo Sasbres, Carly’s Club, Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Darien Lake Theme Park, Insty-Prints, Kendall’s Impressive Marks, LaPaloma Pizzeria, Mac Tools, Manitoba Corporation, Minute Print, NFL Films, Original Pizza Logs, Party City, Perry’s Ice Cream, Petals to Please, Russell’s Steaks, Chops & More, Target, Tim Horton’s, Tony’s Pizza, Yancey’s Fancy, and YMCA of Batavia.

Additionally, online donations are still being accepted at the team’s online fundraising page: (https://www.crowdrise.com/shooting4acure).

RPCI officially sanctioned the fifth annual Shooting For A Cure! game as an official Team Cure fundraiser and as a valuable example of the way that young people today can make a difference.

“It’s inspirational to have a group of teens who are so passionate about raising critically-needed funds for cancer research at Roswell Park," said Julia Harvey, Team Cure coordinator. "These girls continue to demonstrate an incredible amount of compassion.

"To think in one evening that this group of young women, with the support of Coach Ron Funke, Mike and Jen Wilson as well as their entire community, were able to raise over $10,000 is remarkable!

"This small community has a big heart! They continue to amaze us every year with this event. To think that this small school district has raised over $40,000 in five seasons is extraordinary!”

Submitted photos.

Batavia High School will face some tough challengers for its Rotary Tournament crown when the annual event tips off tomorrow at 6 p.m. at Genesee Community College.

Always tough Notre Dame, defending Class C champs Cal-Mum and a rapidly improving Attica team will all vie for the crown.

Both Cal-Mum and Attica haven't participated in more than a decade.

Notre Dame's Dave Pero said he anticipates a fun and competitive tournament.

"This tournament brings together some very, very good teams," Pero said. "I’ve seen Cal-Mum and Attica. The competition doesn’t stop. It’s really a great tournament for the middle of the season where it’s almost like a sectional atmosphere. To me, the team to beat is Batavia. This is still their trophy until somebody can beat them. They’re playing very, very well right now. I’m looking for some strong competition and hopefully someone else can walk off with it this year. We’ll see what happens. I know Batavia will be ready."

Game times are 6 and 7:30 p.m. tomorrow and 6 and 7:30 p.m. on Friday for the consolation game and the championship game.

Pictured are team captains Kierra Perl, Attica, Madison McCulley, Batavia, Rebecca Krenzer, Notre Dame, Adrianna Molisani, Cal-Mum. Back row is Corinne Jones, head coach of the SUNY Brockport women's basketball team, who delivered a few remarks about basketball and life during this afternoon's Rotary luncheon.

Batavia Lady Devils had been rolling on a streak, winning their last six straight games. But coming on the court in the first half Monday night, they were very flat-footed and missing opportunities.

Pittsford Sutherland came out hitting five 3-point baskets, and they held the lead by six points after the first quarter 20-14.

Batavia's senior Madison McCulley needed 12 points to reach a 1,000th-point milestone and her hopes were not good after the first half. Hitting one of one from the 3-point line, rimming a couple from underneath, the ball just would not drop for #42. Seniors Tiara Filbert led the first half with 15 points and Sam Cecere had nine.

Pittsford Sutherlands' Mary Bayer had seven points and Lena Kaufmans was three for three, ending with 11 points at the half, and Batavia was down by five, 36-31.

Coach Marty Hein and assistant John McCulley had to get their team back in the game and they did.  

Tiara Filbert came out strong with eight of the 16 points. Batavia scored in the third quarter to lead 47-43. Pittsford Sutherland started making some key errors, was missing baskets, and Batavia took advantage. 

Taylor and Ryann Stefaniak started the charge combining 12 points in the fourth quarter. McCulley sank two buckets to bring her within one point of making her milestone. At the 5:54 mark in the fourth quarter, McCulley made her third straight 3-pointer to get her 1,000th high school career point -- actually 1,002. 

McCulley went to her bench and was embraced by her players (top photo) above, her dad John, and Coach Hein.  

Final score was 71-51 Batavia who is now 8-1 and Pittsford Sutherland drops to 5-5. Next game for Batavia is tomorrow at Genesee Community College where they are hosting a tournament and playing Calmum at 7:45 p.m. in the first round. 

Pictured below is Madison McCulley along with her teammates holding signs of her 1,000th career point tonight. Last year Tiara Filbert made her 1,000th career point on Batavia's home court.

For more photos of last night's game go to: Steve Ognibene Photography

A team coached by Buddy Brasky plays defense, but lockdown all you want, you've still got to score to win games.

The Blue Devils didn't do that very effectively Wednesday night in the Lions Tournament finale at Genesee Community College against University Prep.

The final score, 57-45 in U-Prep's favor.

"They're scoring 80 points a game and we held them in the 50s and we score 40 something," Brasky said. "You're not going to beat good teams scoring 40 something points."

There's no doubt, U-Prep is a good team. The Griffins' feature a 6'4" post player in Jeenathan Williams and an athletic guard in Isaiah Brinkley, and even with schemes designed to limit their scoring opportunities, Williams notched 23 points and Brinkley had 18.

Williams scored 14 points in the second half.

"We tried to lock him up," Brasky said. "Then Brinkley hit a couple of threes against the zone. That was another part of the game plan: Always know where he is, and close out hard on him, and make him put the ball on the ground. But you can't always find him."

For most of the first half, the game looked like it might be all Batavia.

The half ended with the Blue Devils up 12-4. Brasky thought the margin should have been bigger.

"We got that seven-nothing lead and then we missed three little easy chippies inside," Brasky said. "It could have been 15-4 or 18 to 4, so I thought that was a key part of the game right away."

The Griffins' rang up a surprising number of offensive fouls in the first quarter, which kept putting the ball back in Batavia's hands.

"That's one thing we take pride in," Brasky said. "We do take a lot of charges. But specifically for this game, yes, they look to put their head down and attack the paint. We really emphasize stepping in and taking charge and we did. We were hoping that would make them more tentative. I think it did that in the first quarter."

Brasky said he would need to review the game tape to see what changed either in the defense or U-Prep's offensive scheme to see why things turned around so dramatically in the second quarter when the Griffins' outscored Batavia 22-10.

Batavia's offense came primarily from Malachi Chenault, 13, Ryan Hogan, 10, Tee Sean Ayala, eight.

U-Prep's game plan seem to be to deny in the paint and let the Blue Devils fire away from beyond the arc. Batavia has gunners who can hit from that distance, but too few balls dropped in the bucket.

"I think the real story of the game is, we couldn't shoot," Brasky said. "Let's call a spade a spade. I mean, they packed the zone. They know Malachi and Jake are our two biggest weapons and they packed it in and didn't give us many looks. They gave us any shot we wanted on the perimeter and we couldn't hit many of them."

Batavia actually had five three-pointers compared to only two for U-Prep, but it wasn't enough.

In the paint, Chenault once again showed how much his grown since last season as a low post player, good footwork, fighting for position and attacking the glass. Several of his points came on offensive putbacks.

"He's a senior now," Brasky said. "That's number one. He's a three-year starter, and (Jeff) Redband's not here anymore and we need a go-to guy, so, yes, he's stepping up like a senior should. We talked about that in the off-season. He really worked hard on his game and he's really producing for us."

Batavia is now 7-1 and U-Prep is 7-3. Both are Class A2 teams, so a sectional meeting come postseason isn't out of the question. Brasky likes his team's chances against the Giffins if they work out the kinks with their shooting.

"We can play with them," Brasky said. "If we make some improvements, I think we can compete with them and I think we can beat them."

All-Tournament Team honors went to Tyler Prospero, Notre Dame, Tommy Mattison, Albion, Chenault, Batavia, Ayala, Batavia, and Brinkley, U-Prep. Williams, U-Prep, was named most valuable player.

To purchase prints, click here.

University Prep and Batavia High School will vie for the Lions Tournament Championship on Wednesday following dominating victories in the opening round games Monday night at Genesee Community College.

U-Prep beat Notre Dame 80-36 behind Isaiah Brinkley's 20 points, with Joe McGrady adding 14 to go with 10 rebounds. For the Fighting Irish, Tyler Prospero had 13, Jordan Lyons had seven, and C.J. Suozzi, seven.

In the nightcap, the Blue Devils beat Albion 58-38. Off the bench, Tee Sean Ayala scored 15 points, all coming off of five three-pointers. Malachi Chenault scored 11, Adonis Davis, seven. For Albion, Tommy Mattison hit five three-pointers and scored 19 points.

Batavia is now 7-0 on the season.

U-Prep and Batavia will play at 8 p.m. Wednesday at GCC.

To purchase prints, click here.

In an effort to preserve its undefeated season, the Oakfield-Alabama Hornets twice battled back from double-digit deficits in the second half, and managed to briefly grab the lead with 1:11 left in the game. But missed free throws and two whiffs on easy layups proved to be O-A's undoing, allowing Pembroke to slip by with a 59-58 win.

"I told them this is one we let get away, but we learn from it," said Hornets Head Coach Ryan Stehlar. "You can't dwell on it. You learn from it and get better."

Both coaches were proud of how their teams stayed focused and played tough in the hard-fought contest.

The Dragons know O-A would play hard and fast, and they came prepared, said Dragon's Head Coach Matt Shay.

"They play a real intense style and I thought our guys faltered a little bit at times, but showed some resliance at the end," Shay said.

Junior guard Ryan Cansdale lead all scorers with 16 points for Pembroke; Zach Staebell had 15 and Dakota Dieter scored 14.

For O-A, Jake Mandel scored 13, Trey Nadolinski had 12 and Allen Chatt had eight.

The Hornets and Pembroke are both at the top of the Genesee Region standings with just one defeat each. They won't meet again until the final regular season game, Feb. 9.

To purchase prints of game photos, click here.