Lady Tigers use late surge to win sectional opener

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Lyndonville’s Abigail Feldman (10) and Rebekah Hoffee (30) go up for a rebound against Avoca’s Paige Manachocci during the host Lady Tigers opening round sectional victory this evening.

Putting together a clutch fourth quarter scoring burst, No. 8 seed Lyndonville edged past visiting No. 9 Avoca 37-31 this evening in the opening round of the Section V Class D1 girls basketball playoffs.

Getting a balanced attack, Jenna Castricone had 9 points, Alyssa Mahnke and Abigail Feldman 8, Morgan Hungerford 7, Madison Gardepe 3 and Autumn Nesbitt 2 for Lyndonville which next visits undefeated (18-0) top seed Romulus in the quarterfinals on Friday.

Feldman, Mahnke and Hungerford also each grabbed off 9 rebounds and Gardepe 7. Castricone added 5 steals and Rebekah Hoffee and Mahnke 3 each.

Rae Prestridge scored a game high 21 for Avoca which finishes the season at 3-16.

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Lyndonville’s Madison Gardepe (24) tries to shoot off her knees while Julia Palmer (23) defends for Avoca.

Trailing 27-23 early in the fourth quarter, Lyndonville went on a 7-0 run including a layup by Gardepe, a rebound bucket by Feldman and a jumper by Mahnke to rally into the lead for good at 30-27.

A rebound basket by Mahnke and a jumper by Feldman helped keep Lyndonville on top 35-31 and then Castricone put a lock on the Lady Tigers win with a pair of free throws with just 15 seconds to go.

“We had good balance and the kids battled hard,” said Lyndonville Coach Dan Roggow.

Avoca jumped out to a 9-5 first quarter lead as Prestridge had all the visitors points.

Lyndonville rallied into a narrow 17-15 half-time advantage as Feldman and Castricone both had two baskets and Nesbitt one in the second period.

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Alyssa Mahnke (12) puts up a shot for Lyndonville against Avoca defender Alyssa Crawford.

Avoca pulled back into a 23-23 tie at the three-quarter mark on five straight points by Prestridge to end the third period.

A layup off a steal and a free throw by Prestridge put Avoca back on top for what proved to be the last time at 27-23 at the out set of the decisive final period.

Lyndonville though answered with a 14-4 run to close the game and advance to the quarterfinals as seniors Feldman, Mahnke, Castricone and Gardepe all contributed points to that key stretch run.

“We rode our seniors at the end and they came through and did a real nice job,” said Roggow.

Lyndonville is now 4-15.

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Jenna Castricone (15) puts up a shot for Lyndonville over Palmer.

Eden 41, Medina 15
Capitalizing on a rash of turnovers, No. 5 Eden posted a 41-15 victory over visiting No. 12 Medina in the opening round of the Section VI Class B1 playoffs.

Leading 11-2 after one period, Eden stretched its advantage to 21-9 at the half and 33-0 after three-quarters.

Nicole Blount had 5 points for Medina as Taylor Miller, Emily Kams, De’Andrea Salone, Holly Heil and Courtney Albone each had two.

Boys Basketball

Early College 71, Holley 31
Leading by a narrow 8-7 margin, Early College used a big 16-0 second quarter scoring surge to key a 71-31 victory over an undermanned Holley squad in the opening round of the Section V Class C1 boys basketball tournament.

Josh Porter had 14 points 10 rebounds and 5 assists an Zach Vaccarelli 12 points and 8 rebounds to lead the way for Holley which played without two starters, Joey DeFelice who is out with an ankle injury and Corey Winter, the team’s only senior, who was home sick.