Comets, Cavaliers reach 'A' title clash

DEXTER — Jillian Young would love to roam the perimeter freely in every basketball game she plays, setting her feet, squaring her shoulders, and letting shots fly at the hoop without opposition.

Yet she's resigned to the fact that will likely never happen, and the senior Immaculate Heart Central sharp shooter now cherishes the few open looks she is afforded.

Young accounted for 13 points during Saturday's Frontier League "A" Division girls basketball semifinals at General Brown High School, burying four 3-pointers to aid in the No. 2 Cavaliers' 54-36 victory over No. 3 Indian River.

Young connected 44 times from long range as a junior, and has been one of the league's most accurate shooters for three seasons now. Opponents shadow her closely, but the speedy guard made the most of her chances against the Warriors.

"It's been hard for me a lot of times to get shots," Young said after IHC (9-7) advanced to the "A" final. "I'm happy with the way all of us played, not just myself. I felt like I was a contributor today, and that really made me feel good."

In the other semifinal, Sarah Johnson tallied 25 points and nine rebounds as top seed Carthage romped past No. 4 Watertown for a 55-33 victory.

Regular season co-champs Carthage and IHC will play at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Jefferson CC for the playoff championship.

IHC 54, INDIAN RIVER 36

Caitlin McGraw turned in 17 points for the Cavaliers, who bested the Warriors (9-7) for the second time in three meetings this season.

And unlike when the teams played on Jan. 29, Indian River wasn't able to ignite from the outside to make it close down the stretch.

The Warriors nailed nine 3-pointers in that regular season finale, but IHC coach Jeff St. Croix paid special attention Saturday to limit those outside opportunities.

Emily Kuba's pair of bank shots were the Warriors' only hits from behind the arc.

"We can't guard Jessica (Dailey) one-on-one," St. Croix said. "So I thought the key was to take away their second scorer and limit (Taylore) Kelsey as much as we could."

IHC's strategy worked perfectly, as Kelsey, who entered the game with a league-high 50 3-pointers, did not score.

"Not only did Taylore not score, she didn't get any good looks," Warriors' coach Jim Whitley said. "She got a little frustrated, but I told her it happens. That shows you're a good player when the other team's game plan is to stop you."

Dailey led the Warriors with 14 points as they closed the gap at halftime to four points.

But IHC shot out to a quick third quarter start with a 13-2 run. The Cavaliers also never seemed too comfortable playing with the lead, and continually outrebounded Indian River while winning the races up and down the court.

"We have a lot of potential," Young said. "We want to make a run and show people what we can do."

Meanwhile, Young kept looking for holes in the defense. She didn't score in the second quarter, but swished a trio of threes early in the second half.

"That opened up drives for Adriana (Spicer), and Caitlin inside," St. Croix said. "Jillian making those shots was key for us. She's had some games this year when she didn't shoot very well, or the other teams just shut her off completely. It was nice to see her hit today."

CARTHAGE 55, WATERTOWN 33

Like so many of the Comets' opponents, the Cyclones didn't have an answer for Johnson in the post.

But it was Carthage's pressure defense that caused Watertown to fall behind by as many as 20 by the midpoint of the fourth quarter.

Carthage (11-5) racked up 26 steals as it beat Watertown a third time. But just before Christmas break, things weren't going so great for the Comets.

A four-game losing streak included three defeats to league opponents, and their league record was 2-3.

Coach Randi Smith figured then was as good a time to institute some changes, and most of them were defensive.

"With the quickness we have up top with our guards, the second half of the season we've gone much more to a trapping defense," she said.

Those efforts have resulted in eight consecutive victories, including decisive wins over IHC and Indian River, as the Comets salvaged a tie for the league title.

Brianna Lemon led the Cyclones (1-15) with 15 points, but they struggled most of the time to push the ball past half court against the relentless pressure.

Amy Tiernan finished with eight swipes to go with 11 points, and Kailah Kempney recorded nine takeaways.

"Kailah on top is the key because she has to push to which side the ball should be on," Tiernan said. "As soon as they get to half court, we have to get the trap. It's become pretty effective."

Watertown coach Jerry Levine can attest to that.

"We haven't handled pressure well all year long," he said. "Hopefully, we'll grow and learn. We're taking a beating right now, but we have some good, young players coming up."

The Cyclones put together runs of 7-2 and 5-0 in the second and third quarters, respectively, but too many times Carthage converted turnovers into easy points.

"We've had some girls finally step up and do what I've known all along they can do," Smith said. "We've finally started showing our athleticism and basketball knowledge on the floor."

GENERAL BROWN 57, APW 31

Lindsay Hanson's 18 points put her over the 1,000 point mark for her career, and she became the Lions' all-time leading scorer as General Brown won a "B" Division semifinal at Carthage High School.

Hanson also had four assists, four steals and two blocked shots as she passed Kim Black on the school scoring list.

Taylor Pitre added 11 points for General Brown (10-6), which will play South Jefferson at 8 p.m. Wednesday at JCC for the title.

Jessica Peters led APW (5-11) with 11 points.

SOUTH JEFFERSON 60, LOWVILLE 20

All 12 Spartans scored during a victory in the "B" Division semifinals at Carthage.

Amanda Roberts paced South Jefferson (16-0), the state's No. 1 ranked Class B squad, with 12 points.

The Red Raiders dropped to 4-12.