Sports

Over the past six decades, bowling headlines out of the former Medina association -- and now Genesee Region USBC -- have featured the Allis family name on a regular basis.

Now, a new generation of Medina's "first family" of bowling has burst onto the scene and is primed to carry on the tradition for many years to come.

High-revving right-handers Alex Allis (age 20) and his cousin, Hayden Allis (age 23), each bowled his first United States Bowling Congress-certified perfect games recently -- with Alex following that up by rolling his first certified 800 series on Sunday morning in the Sunday Rolloffs League at Medina Lanes.

Alex, a second-year student at Brockport State College, fired his 300 game on Feb. 20 and Hayden, an employee at Oetiker Clamp in Batavia, got his on March 5 -- both in the Thursday Firefighters League in Medina. Their three-game series were 713 and 717, respectively.

In the Sunday Rolloffs League yesterday, Alex put together games of 267-268-299 for an 834 series -- the top three-game total in the GRUSBC this season.

In other league action in the area:

-- Kevin Gray Jr. of Warsaw spun a 300 game and sparkling 761 series in the Thursday Owls League at Rose Garden Bowl in Bergen. 

Gray, the 2019 GRUSBC Scratch Memorial champion, has several perfect games on his resume.

For more high scores from last week, click on the Pin Points tab at the top of this page.

Note: Mike Pettinella's next Pin Points column will appear exclusively on The Batavian on March 19.

Colton Dillon dominated on offense, scoring 30 points, but it wasn't enough to stop a Prattsburg offense that never knew a cold streak throughout 32 minutes of play at Blue Cross Arena on Saturday in the Class D2 Section V championship game.

Prattsburg prevailed 72-64.

Jaykob Belluscio scored 10 points for the Lancers. 

Mason Putnam scored 19 points for Prattsburg, while Kris Johnson scored 16 and James Crowder scored 12.  

Photos below by Kristin Smith. For more photos, click here.

The Elba Lady Lancers added to the legend that is Elba basketball Friday night, winning a fourth-straight Section V title, beating Andover 48-40.

Leah Bezon and Taylor Augello both had double-doubles, with 17 and 15 points, respectively, and 11 and 15 rebounds apiece. Bezon also had four assists.

Brynn Walczak, the tournament MVP for Class D1, scored nine points and had five rebounds.

For Andover, Emily Wahl and Kelsie Niedemaier scored 12 points each.

Walczak, Bezon, and Maddie Muehlig are all juniors and have been on varsity for all four titles. Augello is also a junior and in her third year on varsity. The only senior on the team is Lauryn Engle, third-year varsity. 

Elba and Pavilion, Class D2 champions, will meet at Mount Morris at 6 p.m., Tuesday to decide which team advances to the Class D state tournament.

The Lady Dragons knew going into this game not to underestimate the 11^th seed Letchworth Indians Saturday afternoon at Gates Chili High School where the Class C1 Section V division title was on the line. 

Both teams tested each other’s game plan and remained even through the first quarter with Letchworth leading 10-9 after 1. Pembroke’s Emily Peters led the team with three three-point buckets along with a couple buckets by Dekari Moss and Serene Calderon to get a nine-point lead into halftime 29-20.

Brooke Degroff scored twice for Letchworth in the second quarter and finished third in points on the afternoon with eight. The Indians could not connect in the second quarter with some missed shots and Pembroke's defense holding tight in the paint.

Second half the Indians kept the Dragons scoreless through the first four minutes of play. Dana Callaro hit a big three-point bucket to ignite Letchworth on a ball controlling third quarter where the Indians were on a roll, hitting four more points in the paint. Pembroke did not give in and after a timeout was called they seesawed the points with Letchworth to lead by one -- with the score at 35-34 after three periods of play.

Fourth quarter Pembroke tightened their defense and, like the second quarter, Letchworth's luck was running out. Many missed field goals helped the Dragons capitalize and Serene hit a big three-point bucket to lift the lead to four and go on a point-scoring streak. Indians got into foul trouble, Dekari Moss and MacKenna Johnson both scored buckets and free throws to help the team win the game and back-to-back titles in two years.

Calderon finished the game with sixteen points, Peters 15 points and Moss 14 points for the Dragons. Indians' scorers Bliss and Callaro had 11 and 9 points, respectively.

Photos by Thomas Ognibene via Steve Ognibene Photography.

To view or purchase prints click here.

The finals of the NYS Masters Championship tonight at King Pin Lanes in Rome will be shown on Facebook Live tonight on the business page John Knight's Bowlers Shoppe. It is scheduled to begin around 8:40.

The title match features two Rochester bowlers -- Dan Keenan and Shanna Chepelsky -- competing for the $2,000 first prize and a paid entry to the 2021 USBC Masters.

The Pavilion Lady Gophers are the Cinderella team of Section V in 2020, starting out the tournament as a #7 and defeating, on their way to a Class D1 crown, #2 Prattsburgh and #1 Fillmore.

Friday at Letchworth, the Gophers trounced the top-seeded team 50-37.

No stats are available for the game.

In the Class D2 sectional, Elba won its fourth-straight title, beating Andover 48-40. (The Batavian was there for video coverage; with multiple things to cover today, it will be a day or two before I can edit and post the video).

Photos by Thomas Ognibene via Steve Ognibene Photography.

To view or purchase prints, click here.

Batavia high and Attica high schools will be sending top athletes to compete in the New York State indoor track championships this weekend and indoor track nationals next weekend, both in New York City.

We asked what each student's goals and achievements are for these upcoming events.

Pictured from left are Batavia’s Alex Rood, Daemon Konieczny, and Rebekah Daniszewski, along with Attica High School's Emily Tait.

Alex Rood a senior who has competed in both state and national events last year is returning for both again and looking to set new records.  Alex says his personal best for shot put is 54 feet, nine and a half inches and he would like to achieve throwing 56 inches or more. His goal in nationals is to go out there and compete the best he can and end on a good mark going into the outdoor track season.

Daemon Konieczny, a senior who has qualified for the state meet for pole vault, says his personal best is jumping is 13 feet. His goal is to get over 13 feet, six inches, which would beat the school record. Daemon added that if he can get to jump 15 or more, that would qualify him for the national meet the following weekend.

Rebekah Daniszewski is a junior at BHS who is competing for her first time in the state and nationals meet. She says she attributes her success to her coach who helped pushed herself to her very best. Her personal best in shot put is 39 feet, three and a quarter inches. Her goal this weekend is to throw 40 feet. Rebekah has not achieved that yet but hopefully in states she can pull it out.

Senior Emily Tait from Attica will be joining Batavia for the state and national meets, respectively. Emily will compete in the long and triple jump this year. Her personal best for long jump is 18 feet, eight and a fourth inches, which she did at state qualifiers. For triple jump, her best is 38 feet, nine and three fourths inches and she did that at sectionals. Her goal for long jump is to break 19 feet and she wants to come in first place at states. For triple jump, she wants to be competitive with the top girls in the competition so she's shooting for a mid-39-foot jump.

Batavia’s head indoor track Coach Nicholas Burk spoke about the success of students who have competed in states and nationals over the years.

"We have had a student compete every year since I have been coaching since 1998; we have been fortunate enough to have athletes compete at the state meet," Burk said. "The cool thing about indoor is the state championship is a legitimate state championship -- there is not a separation by class size, large school, small school.

"To qualify for this meet, means that you are competing against every school regardless of school size or class. So this one is really prestigious and when you medal at this meet, it's definitely a testament to the athlete with the ability to perform at the right time and have that performance at state qualifiers.

"We attribute our success to the boys winning nine sectionals championships, eight of them have been since 2008 and first one in 1993. On the girls' side, we have 16 championships, seven consecutives in 18 years."

Burk spoke highly of his students' dedication to track and the mentoring of his coaching staff.

In all aspects of track, whether it’s throwing, distance, jumping, hurdles or vault, coaches spends countless hours training young athletes year after year, Burk said, imparting in them the ability to compete at the highest level, both in sectionals and by attending the state meet.

"(This) has separated us and led us to the longevity to be one of the top teams in section five," Burk said.

Batavia’s throwing Coach Daniel Geiger said this is the 13th consecutive year of sending a thrower to the state meet, which is a great accomplishment and he is very proud of the work that these two athletes have done this year.

"We have to compete against every school in section five to get to this meet, whether it’s a small school like ours or a large school, it’s putting in the hard work and dedication to represent our school’s success," Geiger said.  "You couldn’t ask more for a group of kids to work hard every day, give their all for the team and give their all for this program.

"This stretch started back in 2008 with Sam Yeager, Eric Williams, Chris Jones, Daemon Reeves, Devon Keopp, Anthony Ray and now Alex Rood and Rebekah Daniszewski. We have guys down the pipe that are working hard to rise to that level, too. So I am really proud of these two athletes, not of just what they have accomplished, but the legacy that they are continuing and leaving behind for the future athletes coming behind them."

Pembroke led from start to finish in their Section V Class C1 semifinal game Wednesday night at Honeoye Falls-Lima against Red Jacket.

But that doesn't mean the win came easy.

"They were a lot faster, a lot quicker than we thought they were," said Head Coach Ron Funke. "It gave us a little trouble, especially with their press, because we tried to hurry the ball in. Once we took our time in and got the ball into the middle of the floor, we were OK. But they don't give up. They don't quit."

The final score was 53-35.

Dekari Moss scored 23 points, had seven rebounds and four steals.

"I thought Dekari dominated on both ends of the court," Funke said. "She rebounded well and she owned the middle. They were giving us a lot of gaps with their zone defense; Dakari is so quick and athletic that she took advantage of that."

Emily Peters scored 14 points, including a trio of three-pointers that helped seal Red Jacket's fate in the second half.

"When she gets on a roll, I mean, she's a very streaky shooter and she started off slow today but when she gets hot, you just keep feeding her," Funke said. "She came up big today especially toward the end of the third quarter."

Point guard Serene Calderon scored 12 points and had six assists, six rebounds, and three steals.

"She usually makes good decisions," Funke said. "We want the ball in her hands. She showed she'll get the ball to the people that we need to get the ball to. She runs the offense and she's in a great defensive player."

Casey Wurtz scored two points, had two assists, seven rebounds, and three blocked shots. Mackenna Johnson scored two points, had three assists, four rebounds, and three steals.

Next up, the Dragons will try to defend their 2019 Section V crown against Letchworth at 5 p.m., at Gates Chili.

Letchworth qualified for the finals by beating Byron-Bergen 58-55 in a game that went down to the closing seconds. 

Photos from the Byron-Bergen game below by Tammy Fuller.

Notre Dame fouls sent Fillmore to the line enough times in the closing seconds of the Class D1 Section V semifinal on Tuesday at Dansville that Fillmore was able to pull out a 55-49 win.

Fillmore will play Pavilion Friday for the championship at Letchworth at 8 p.m. (Pavilion coverage)

Morgan Rhodes scored 19 points for the Lady Irish. Amelia McCulley scored 12.

Hannah Roeske scored 20 points for Fillmore.

Photos by Steve Ognibene

To view or purchase prints, click here.

Pavilion, starting out as a seventh seed in the Class D1 Section V girls basketball tournament, will get a shot at the title Saturday against #1 seed Fillmore after beating Arkport 52-40.

While the Lady Gophers hung tight in the first half, ending the first 16 minutes of play with a one-point lead, 25-24, extra ball pressure in the second half and timely shooting helped the team run away with the game.

Karlee Zinkievich scored 16 points, Lauren Kingsley, 15, Emily Kingsley, 12, and Lindsay Lowe, nine.

For Arkport, Victoria McDaniel scored 18 points.

The championship game will be played at 8 p.m., Saturday, at Letchworth.

Photos by Steve Ognibene.

To view or purchase prints, click here.

Of five boys basketball teams from Genesee County that played a semifinal Section V tournament game, only one remains in the hunt for a championship trophy: the Elba Lancers.

The Lancers beat Bradford in Mount Morris on Tuesday night, 79-72.

For Elba, Colton Dillon scored 19 points, Zach Marseill scored 16, Collin O'Halloran, 15, and Caleb Scouten, 12.

The Class D2 championship will be played at Blue Cross Arena (a return to the venue for Section V after two or three years of playing the championship games elsewhere) at 1 p.m., against Prattsburg.

Photos by Kristin Smith. For more photos click here.

Elba's full-court press proved to be too much for Hinsdale to handle Monday night in a Class D2 Section V semifinal game at Wayland-Cohocton. The Lady Lancers won 60-25 sending them to a championship match at 6 p.m. Friday at Letchworth against Andover.

The victory was the Lady Lancers' 20th of the season against two defeats.

Brynn Walczak scored 17 points. Maddie Muehlig scored 15. Taylor Augello scored nine. Muehlig was 5-8 from beyond the arc. Leah Bezon, who scored six points, had 10 rebounds. The team combined for 16 steals.

Hinsdale was held to seven points in the first half. No Hinsdale player reached double-digits in scoring in the game.

There were no other girls' basketball games played Monday night.

In boys' basketball:

• Notre Dame lost to Genesee Valley 59-54. 
• Alexander lost to Perry 63-54.
• Byron-Bergen lost to Red Jacket 83-63.
• Oakfield-Alabama lost to York 61-58.

Tonight's girls' games:

• Pavilion plays Arkport at 6 p.m. at Dansville.
• Notre Dame plays Fillmore at 7:45 p.m. at Dansville.

Tomorrow, Byron-Bergen plays Letchworth at 6 p.m. and Pembroke plays Red Jacket at 7:45 p.m. Both games are at HFL.

In boys' basketball tonight, Elba plays Bradford at 7 p.m. at Mount Morris.

Third-seed Batavia Notre Dame led the entire game to suffer a loss in the final seconds to Genesee Valley 59-54. The Irish was ahead the first half 23-18 led by Junior Mark Sanders, who sunk three three-point buckets, and Gabe McDonald and Colin McCulley added points for the Irish.

Controlling the ball and defense carried the Irish through the next quarter with Sanders, MacDonald and Cody Henry adding to Notre Dame’s lead 46-35 after three periods of play.

Genesee Valley kept chipping away at the deficit in the fourth quarter and defense stepped up their game. Senior Cody Schneider led the team with 10 in the quarter and 27 points overall in the game.

The Jaguars took the lead 51-50 with 3 minutes left to gain momentum on the Irish. Senior Evan Windus and Trevor Clark added points in the seesaw battle for the lead. 

With 22 seconds left, Genesee Valley was up by two but a personal foul and technical was called on Notre Dame with 3.3 seconds left, which ended the game 59-54. Batavia Notre Dame junior Mark Sanders finished with 19 points and senior Gabe MacDonald 14 points. 

Second-seed Genesee Valley will play number one-seed Avoca for the class D1 boys final this Sunday at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester; game time is 3 p.m.

To view and or purchase photos, click here.

Robbie Hanks rolled his fourth United States Bowling Congress-certified 300 game in as many months on Friday night while substituting in the Friday Night Mixers League at Oak Orchard Bowl in Albion.

Hanks, who turned 28 on Feb. 22, put together games of 200, 268 and 300 for a sparkling 768 series. 

The son of Oak Orchard Bowl proprietor Randy Hanks (and an employee at the 18-lane center), Robbie now has a perfect game in each of the past four months. The other three have come in the Thursday Night Triples League on Nov. 14, Dec. 12 and Jan. 30.

In other league bowling action this week:

-- Scott Allis of Medina set the pace this morning in the Sunday Rolloffs at Medina Lanes, posting a 289 game and 776 series.

A few nights earlier, Allis rolled a 262 game and 744 series in the Wednesday Community League, also at Medina Lanes.

-- Tom Baker and Matt Balduf led the way in the Toyota of Batavia Thursday League at Mancuso Bowling Center with 768 and 755, respectively.

-- Jeremy Vallance started with 268 in a 739 series in the Le Roy Moose League at Le Roy Legion Lanes.

-- Naomi Hyde of Le Roy fired a 269 game and 687 series as the Synergistic Online Solutions MNF League came to a close at Mancuso's.

For a list of high scores from the area, click on the Pin Points tab at the top of this page.

Oakfield-Alabama advanced to the semifinals of the Class C3 sectional tournament Friday night by beating South Seneca 84-58.

Kam Cusmano scored 23 points for the Hornets and Kaden Cusmano scored 19.

Boys' results from Saturday:

• Le Roy lost to Wayland-Cohocton 81-78.
• Batavia lost to Newark 63-58 in OT (game story).
• Elba beat Destiny 83-62.

Boys' semifinal playoff schedule: 

• Class C1, Byron-Bergen vs. Red Jacket, 6:30 p.m., tomorrow, at Newark
• Class C2, Alexander vs. Perry, 7:45 p.m., tomorrow, at Bloomfield
• Class C3, Oakfield-Alabama vs. York, 8:15 p.m., at Genesee Community College
• Class D2, Elba vs. Bradford, 7 p.m., Tuesday, at Mount Morris
• Class D1, Notre Dame vs. Genesee Valley, 8:15 p.m., tomorrow at Mount Morris

Saturday's girls' results:

• Pavilion beat Prattsburg, 61-34
• Notre Dame beat Hammondsport 60-47
• Bergen beat East Rochester, 62-49
• Pembroke beat Warsaw 47-28 (video)
• Red Creek beat Oakfield-Alabama, 60-56

Girls' semifinal schedule:

• In Class C1, Pembroke vs. Red Jacket, 7:45 p.m., Wednesday, at HFL
• In Class C1, Byron-Bergen vs. Letchworth at 6 p.m., Wednesday, at HFL
• In Class D1, Notre Dame vs. Filmore at 7:45 p.m., Tuesday, at Dansville
• In Class D1, Pavilion vs. Arkport at 6 p.m., Tuesday, at Dansville
• In Class D2, Elba vs. Hinsdale at 7:45 p.m., tomorrow, at Wayland-Cohocton

Photos by Kristin Smith. For more photos from the game, click here.

Photos of Le Roy game below by Tim McArdle.

The second-seeded Batavia High Blue Devils rallied from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit to force overtime before dropping a 63-58 decision against visiting Newark tonight in the quarterfinals of the Section 5 Class B1 boys’ basketball tournament.

A long two-point basket by junior guard Zach Gilebarto with 6.6 seconds left in regulation tied the score at 48-48 and, following a miss at the buzzer by Newark’s Josh Green, the teams moved into the four-minute OT.

The Blue Devils took a 50-48 lead in the opening seconds of the extra period on a layup by senior center Camden White, but it was short-lived as senior guard Dustin Case nailed a three-pointer to put the Reds up 51-50.

Newark went ahead 53-50 on a put-back by senior forward Devin Agosto before Gilberto came through again with another three-pointer to knot things up at 53-53.

Two free throws and a short jumper by Agosto gave the visitors a 57-53 edge but White sank a layup at the 1:20 mark to pull BHS within two.

The Reds made it 59-55 on a pair of free throws by senior forward Blade Case, before Gilberto responded with a three-point play on a driving layup and foul shot to make it 59-58 with 12.9 seconds to play.

Batavia fouled Case who calmly made two free throws to put Newark up 61-58 and, following timeouts by both teams, a three-point shot by senior guard Caeden White bounced off the rim.

A pair of free throws by Green with 1.6 seconds left closed out the scoring and enabled Newark to avenge a 48-47 regular-season loss to Batavia on Feb. 11 in Newark.

In tonight's rematch, Newark took a 14-10 lead after the first quarter -- Camden White scored seven of his game-high 17 points to keep Batavia within striking distance – before Batavia responded to take a 26-22 halftime advantage behind five points each from junior guard Alex Hale and junior forward Stone Siverling.

A pair of three-point shots by Blade Case in the third quarter sparked the Reds to a 36-31 lead as Batavia struggled from the field, hitting just two baskets in the period.

The Newark lead ballooned to 45-35 with 4:22 left in the final stanza before the home team staged a furious comeback.

A free throw by Gilberto and two by Camden White after an offensive rebound made it 45-38. A steal resulted in two more free throws by Gilberto, before Green sank two free throws for Newark to put the score at 47-40 with only 1:06 on the clock.

Batavia wasn’t finished, however, as Gilberto sank a three-pointer from the top of the key to pull his team within four. A free throw by Blade Case made it 48-43 but a corner three by Hale with 25 seconds left gave Batavia life.

Hale committed his fifth foul to stop the clock and the strategy worked when Newark missed at the foul line, giving Batavia another chance and setting the stage for Gilebarto’s clutch basket just inside the three-point line to tie the score at 48-48 and push the contest into overtime.

Gilebarto scored 16, Hale 14 and Siverling nine for Coach Buddy Brasky’s squad, which finished its season at 14-7 and played the final game on the BHS gymnasium floor as a new one is scheduled to go in on July 1.

For Newark, Green led the way with 16 while Blade Case had 14, Agosto 14 and Dustin Case 12.

The seventh-seeded Reds, 12-10, advance to the semifinals against No. 3 Waterloo. The other semifinal match pits No. 1 Geneva against No. 5 Hornell. The semis are scheduled for Tuesday night.

Top photo: Batavia's Zach Gilebarto launches a game-tying long shot with 6.6 seconds left in the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime.

Photos by Steve Ognibene. To view or purchase prints, click here.

Below,​ Camden White scores inside for Batavia.

Below, Max Rapone fights for a loose ball.

Below, Newark's Devin Agosto drives to the basket.

Below, the Blue Zoo cheering on their Blue Devils.

Below, Alex Hale gets ahead of the field for a layup.

Below, faces tell the story as time runs out after a hard-fought game.

Pembroke's 21st win on the season came in its second game of sectional play today when the Lady Dragons beat Warsaw 47-28.

The Dragons dominated on defense and were led by DeKari Moss on offense, who scored 19 points. 

Serene Calderon scored 11 and Emily Peters scored nine, all on three-point shots.

For Warsaw, Ceanne Ellsworth scored 15 points.

In Class C1, the 21-1 Dragons next play Red Jacket (17-5) at 7:45 p.m., Wednesday, March 4, at a location to be determined.

The number-two seed in the bracket, Byron-Bergen (18-4), beat East Rochester tonight and next plays Letchworth (8-14) at 6 p.m., March 4, at a location to be determined, setting up a possible cross-county class of C1 rivals.

It was a big night for Notre Dame on Friday. Yes, the boys' basketball team won another post-season playoff game -- beating Jasper-Troupsburg 71-58 -- but it was also the night the Fighting Irish honored Hall of Fame Coach Mike Rapone for achieving his 700th career win in Lyndonville last week.

Rapone was honored in remarks by Principal Wade Bianco, lifelong friend, former principal, Joseph Scanlan, and former player Mike Redding.

In the game, Collin McCulley scored 23 points, Gabe Macdonald, 15, Mark Sanders, 12, and Ryan Fitzpatrick, 8. Sanders also had five steals, Macdonald had 14 rebounds and six assists. McCulley had seven rebounds.

For Jasper-Troupsburg, Brayden Hill scored 19 points, hitting four three-pointers, and Tyler Flint scored 12. 

Also on Friday in boys' basketball:

• Pembroke lost to Lyons 73-46.
• Byron-Bergen beat RACS 71-63.
• Alexander beat Clyde-Savannah 54-49.
• Oakfield-Alabama beat South Seneca 84-58.

Upcoming games:

• In Class D1, Notre Dame plays Genesee Valley at 8:15 p.m., March 2, at Mount Morris in a semifinal game.
• In Class D2, Elba plays tonight at 7 o'clock at Elba against Destiny.
• In Class C3, O-A plays York at 8:15 p.m., March 2 at Genesee Community College.
• In Class C2, Alexander plays either Perry or Cuba-Rushford at 8:15 p.m. March 2 and a location to be determined.
• Le Roy plays at 7 tonight at home against Wayland-Cohocton in Class B2.
• Batavia plays at 7 tonight at home against Newark in Class B1.

The Batavia High Varsity Girls’ Basketball Team’s season came to an end tonight at the hands of host Palmyra-Macedon, 58-48, in the quarterfinals of the Section 5 Class B1 Tournament.

The Lady Blue Devils battled back from a 15-point deficit to twice climb within six points in the fourth quarter, but were unable to overcome a shaky first half punctuated by foul trouble and the inability to keep the taller Lady Red Raiders from dominating inside.

Fifth-seeded Batavia finishes with a 14-8 record while No. 4 Pal-Mac advances to the next round with a 17-4 mark.

“We made a lot of mistakes. We didn’t get back (on defense),” Batavia Coach Marty Hein said. “We knew we had to press to try to wear them down, to get them into some foul trouble – which did happen, but we didn’t sprint back hard enough and gave up a lot of easy buckets because we just didn’t communicate.”

Hein also pointed to the foul situation, especially the fact that junior point guard Mackenzie Reigle had to sit all but 19 seconds of the second quarter after picking up her third foul.

“The idea was there, but obviously, we got into foul trouble ourselves,” he said. “Kenzie not playing for a whole quarter is not ever going to be a productive thing for us offensively. Actually, that hurt us offensively and defensively.”

Pal-Mac, behind senior forward Andra Savage’s 11 points, took a 29-18 lead into the locker room.

“We put up only 18 points in that first half, and Kenzie only played the first quarter and maybe 30 seconds of the second quarter,” Hein said. “That’s a killer for us.”

The home team upped the advantage to 43-28 late in the third quarter before hot-shooting junior guard Bryn Wormley led a Batavia rally that closed the gap to 45-36. Wormley had 10 of her game-high 25 points in the quarter.

Batavia employed a full-court press at the outset of the fourth quarter and cut the deficit to 45-39 on a free throw and bucket by senior forward Emma Krolczyk, who had all five of her points in the final frame.

The teams traded baskets until a three-point shot by Wormley – her sixth three-pointer of the game – pulled Batavia within 54-48 with 1:18 to play. That was as close as the Lady Devils got, however, as a layup by sophomore forward Ryley Trail and basket by junior guard Sophie Lyko sealed the victory for Pal-Mac.

Reigle, who fouled out in the closing seconds, ended up with six points (below her 15 ppg average) along with five rebounds and five assists, while sophomore guard Jaylene Dersham also had six points. Junior guards Kennedy Kolb and Tess Barone rounded out the scoring with 4 and 2, respectively.

Savage paced Pal-Mac with 17 points while senior guard Katherine Smyth added 12 and Lyke chipped in with 10.

Hein said he was impressed with the quality of the teams at the top of the Class B1. Entering Friday’s action, No. 1 Waterloo and No. 2 Dansville both were at 18-2, while No. 3 Livonia was at 16-4.

“We knew coming in with the teams that were left in the B1 Class, you needed a B-plus to an A performance every night that you were going to come out on the floor,” Hein said. “With the foul troubles and not getting back (on defense), we didn’t do that B-plus performance.”

Despite the loss, the coach said the season was a pleasurable one.

“Overall, I really love how all the girls were working together. It’s the tightest group that I’ve been with. They work together. It’s not just always about friendship; they care about each other on and off the court. It’s probably one of the best groups that I’ve enjoyed working with,” he said.

Photos by Steve Ognibene.

From top to bottom -- Tess Barone battles for a rebound; Mackenzie Reigle drives to the hoop; Kennedy Kolb goes for a loose ball; Barone attempts a free throw as Jaylene Dursham looks on; Brym Wormley splits the defense for a shot.

To view or purchase photos, click here.