ICC upends Hudson, advances in Class B playoffs

HUDSON — A stellar defensive effort helped No. 12 Ichabod Crane defeat No. 5 Hudson, 37-29, in the first round of the Section II Class B girls basketball playoffs on Saturday.

The Riders advance to play No. 4 Mechanicville in the quarterfinals on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Schalmont High School.

Ichabod Crane coach Adam Vooris said his team knew what it would take to beat Hudson.

“At the beginning of the game I asked the girls what they envisioned for today and most of them said defense,” Vooris said. “We’re going to be very active on defense, and they were. It was great.”

The Riders were able to take an 11-9 lead after one quarter, but Hudson had it best run of the game in the second, outscoring ICC 13-6 to surge ahead, 22-17, at halftime.

After the intermission, the Riders buckled down on defense and allowed just seven points the rest of the way, surrendering four in the third quarter and only three in the fourth, despite playing with just seven players.

“They all play, they all contribute one way or another, whether it’s a box out on a rebound, whether it’s a made basket or a good defensive play,” Vooris said.

“Malati Culver played awesome on defense in the second half.I don’t have how many steals she had, but it had to be a lot. She was right where she needed to be. Whether it’s on the offensive end or the defensive end we get contributions from everywhere and this group of girls love each other and they play like they love each other.”

With Hudson struggling offensively, Ichabod Crane took advantage. A bucket by Abigail Dolge just before the buzzer sounded put the Riders up 28-26 entering the final stanza and they never looked back.

ICC went on to outscore Hudson 9-3 over the final eight minutes to lock up the win and send its loyal following of fans home happy.

“We had great support from our community, which is amazing,” Vooris said. “The girls noticed it and it kept them up even when we were down early, and then we settled down and played the way we wanted to.”

Vooris said the team never got rattled, despite falling behind by as much as seven early in the second half.

“No matter what I tell this group of girls they listen, and what I told them was I don’t care if we go down 15 points, please don’t do it, but we’re still going to win this game. They believed in myself as a coach, they believed in each other and they did it.”

With two postseason victories to their credit, the Riders find themselves just two wins from playing for a Section II title, an accomplishment that seemed highly improbable early in the season.

“We started the season with Madie Graham as out only returner,” Vooris said. “Abby Dolge played maybe three minutes of a section game last year and everybody else was brand new.

“So we took our lumps early, but they got up to speed and we had a great break. We didn’t have any games ove the Christmas break and we really focused in on who we are as a team and made sure when we showed up on the court that’s what we get.”

Freshman Ashley Ames led the Riders in scoring with nine points, Madie Graham contributed seven and Malati Culver chipped in with six.

Deja Beauford had a game-high 15 for Hudson, 11 of which came in the first half.

The Riders now face another tough assignment in No. 4 Mechanicville, which defeated Broadalbin-Perth, 68-26, on Saturday.

“We’re the 12 seed and we’re the lowest seed out there and we’ll probably be the biggest underdog out there, but we’re excited,” Vooris said. “We just like playing together and want to continue.”

ICHABOD CRANE (37): A. Ames 3-2-9, Culver 3-0-6, Dolge 3-2-9, Graham 2-3-7, More 2-1-6. Totals 10-3-37.

3-pointers: A. Ames, Dolge, More.

HUDSON (29): Alert 0-1-1, Beauford 6-3-15, A. Jepsen 1-0-3, K. Jepsen 2-1-5, Johnson 1-0-2, Jones 1-0-3. Totals 11-5-29.

3-pointers: A. Jepsen, Jones.

Schalmont 67, Catskill 41

SCHENECTADY — Top-seeded Schalmont jumped out to a 19-point lead after one quarter and went on to hand No. 16 Catskill a 67-41 loss in the first round of the Section II Class B girls basketball playoffs on Saturday.

The Sabres were up 22-3 by the end of the first quarter, 37-17 at halftime and 56-26 after three.

Payton Graber led Schalmont with 25 points. Karissa Antoine added 13 and Haley Burchhardt had 10.

Janay Brantley had a game-high 26 for Catskill (14-8) and finished her freshman year just 33 points away from 1,000 points for her varsiy career.

CATSKILL (41): Brantley 9-3-26, Konsul 2-2-6, Leipman 1-0-3, Salierno 0-0-0, O’Connell 3-0-6. Totals 15-5-41.

3-pointers: Brantley 5, Leipman.

SCHALMONT (67): Antoine 5-2-13, Burchhardt 4-2-10, Cordy 1-1-4, Fleming 1-0-3, Graber 9-2-25, Hallberg 2-0-4, Lenehan 3-0-8. Totals 25-7-67.

3-pointers: Graber 5, Lenehan 2, Fleming, Cordy, Antoine.

Ravena 58, Cairo-Durham 41

RAVENA — Hannah Vanderzee and Lauren Sanderson combined for 44 points to spark No. 6 Ravena to a 58-41 victory over No. 11 Cairo-Durham in Saturday’s Section II Class B girls basketball playoff game.

Vanderzee finished with 24 points and Sanderson had 20 for the Indians, who built quarterly leads of 17-10, 37-21 and 52-31.

Arianna Myers topped the Mustangs with 12 points. Imani Wolcott chipped in with 10.

CAIRO-DURHAM (41): Bruck 1-0-3, James 4-0-8, Makely 0-1-1, Mudge 2-0-6, Myers 3-6-12, Wolcott 4-3-11. Ttoals 14-10-41.

3-pointers: Mudge 2, Bruck.

RAVENA (58): DeLuca 1-0-3, Engel 1-3-5, McFerran 1-0-2, Reville 2-0-4, Sanderson 6-5-20, Vanderzee 8-8-24. Totals 19-16-58.

3-pointers: Sanderson 3, DeLuca.

CLASS C

Maple Hill 78, Voorheesville 40

CASTLETON — Patroon Conference champion Maple Hill had three players reach double figures in scoring in a 78-40 Section II Class C girls basketball playoff victory over Voorheesville on Saturday.

Sophia Chevrier led the Wildcats with 12 points. Karsyn Berger and Shannon Tacy each had 11.

Jenny Bogart’s 11 points topped Voorheesville.

Maple Hill held quarterly leads of 31-17, 45-26 and 60-33.

The No. 2 Wildcats will host No. 7 Mayfield on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

VOORHEESVILLE (40): Bogart 3-2-11, Bogdany 3-1-7, Gifford 1-0-3, Hunt 1-0-2, Morris 1-0-2, Rowland 0-3-3, Thayer 1-0-3, Whalen 0-3-3, Zanello 2-0-6. Totals 12-9-40.

3-pointers: Bogart 3, Zanello 2, Gifford, Thayer.

MAPLE HILL (78): Bennett 1-0-2, Berger 4-0-11, Bleau 4-0-9, Brewer 2-2-8, Chevrier 4-3-12, Haller 3-1-7, Hoffman 1-0-2, Seeberger 1-2-4, Smith 3-1-7, Strock 2-1-5, Tacy 4-3-11. Totals 29-13-78.

3-pointers: Berger 3, Brewer 2, Bleau, Chevrier.

Hoosic Valley 44, Chatham 25

SCHAGHTICOKE — Hoosic Valley overcame a slow start to defeat Chatham, 44-25, in a Section II Class C girls basketball playoff game on Saturday.

Both teams struggled on the offensive end in the first half, with Chatham leading 3-2 after one quarter and 12-10 at halftime. Hoosic valley seized a 27-22 lead by the end of the third quarter, then put the game away with a 17-3 run over the final eight minutes.

Sami Dickinson was Hoosic Valley’s top scorer with 20 points.

Hannah Taylor had eight points and Paige Eaton contributed seven for Chatham.

CHATHAM (25): Cascioli 1-0-3, Daigle 2-0-4, Eaton 2-2-7, Engel 0-1-1, Madsen 1-0-2, H. Taylor 3-1-8. Totals 9-4-25.

3-pointers: Cascioli, Eaton, H. Taylor.

HOOSIC VALLEY (44): Chartier 2-0-4, Dickinson 8-4-20, Jensen 0-3-3, Lanoue 2-0-6, Peckham 3-0-9, Seales 0-2-2. Totals 15-9-44.

3-pointers: Peckham 3, Lanoue 2.