LANCASTER — Who’s going to stop Starpoint? The Spartans aren’t an underdog story heading into their second consecutive Section VI title game, they’re playing like a runaway train.
Starpoint hadn’t stepped onto the court in five days after its 41-point Class AA quarterfinal win against Lockport. But based on how they started against North Tonawanda, the Spartans picked up right where they left off with ease.
Not only did Starpoint score the game’s first basket five seconds into the game, it just kept going from there, thanks to once again, its defensive pressure. Just on one play alone, Sophia Waliszewski blocked NT’s shot inside and found a sprinting Maddie Schmidt down the floor, who drew the contact and scored.
The defense, the sprinting up and down the floor to cause the loose ball and even scoring off NT errors up to the final horn all added up to No. 1 Starpoint securing the 66-40 victory over the No. 4 Lumberjacks Thursday at Lancaster High School.
As a result, Starpoint (20-1) faces No. 3 Clarence for the AA crown at 3 p.m. Sunday at Buffalo State. Clarence defeated No. 7 Orchard Park, 64-59, in the first AA semifinal.
“It feels excellent,” Starpoint head coach Megan Reed said. “And, I’m really proud of this team and I could not be happier to appear again at Buffalo State for the girls. They’re very deserving of it. And they’ve worked really hard throughout this season and even in the offseason.”
After recording 25 steals in Saturday’s win against Lockport, Starpoint made 20 steals against the Lumberjacks. The damage was done in the early stages of the game, with six steals causing Starpoint’s first seven made field goals to take an 18-3 lead with 2:30 left in the first quarter.
Right in the middle of the disruption were Walizewski and Schmidt for the Spartans. Waliszewski had a team-high six steals while Schmidt ended up with a team-high 17 points along with six rebounds and four rebounds for the Spartans.
For the defense as a whole, Schmidt, a junior, credits the experience gathered with another of playing at the varsity level, which allowed the team to get into an early rhythm again against the Lumberjacks.
“I think, me and Sophia, are just on the same wavelength,” Schmidt said. “We know what we’re going to do. … If I get the steal, I know she’s gonna be there for me and our back row is amazing too. … We always just work on a string all together.”
For Starpoint, there’s an extra caveat for returning to the sectional final. On top of trying to bring a sectional title back to Pendleton for the first time since 1995, it will be the first time Starpoint will face Clarence since its 73-41 season-opening win on Dec. 5.
When Starpoint won its A1 semifinal game against South Park last year, the program went into unknown territory. But, in the nearly one calendar year between its appearances in the finals, Reed has noticed a growth in the program beyond the hardwood that has resulted in winning 20 of its first 21 games.
“We’ve worked a lot on their mental game,” Reed said. “And when I say their mental game, their ability to have the confidence to know that they can do it. They’ve had this confidence all along. … But now, we’re starting to see the confidence grow on the floor.”
Ava Anastasi added 13 points while Caitlin Deney scored 10 points in Starpoint’s win.
For North Tonawanda (14-8), Lilly Day led with 18 points while Ella Cashion added 10 points. This marked the fifth straight season where the Lumberjacks finished in the final four of a class tournament.
Boys
Class B1 semifinal: No. 3 Newfane 49, No. 2 Olmsted 48
Ben Dickinson nailed two free throws in the final 30 seconds to send Newfane to the Section VI championship for the second time in five seasons.
Mac Capen scored a team-high 13 points for the Panthers, Konner Courtemanche added nine and Dickinson chopped in eight.
Newfane (20-2) faces No. 1 Salamanca at 1:45 p.m Saturday in the Class B1 championship. Salamanca defeated No. 4 Akron, 62-48, in the first B1 semifinal.
Ezekiel Alexander led Olmsted (15-7) with 13 points in the loss.