JAMESTOWN — In order to pull off the upset and beat the defending state champions, Wilson needed to figure out a way to beat a Frewsburg press that only gave up 42 points per game.
In the words of head coach Brian Baker, they needed to play “a perfect game.”
It was going to take a monumental effort to stop a team that has won the last two Section VI Class C titles.
Unfortunately for third-seeded Wilson, they could not keep up in a 53-33 loss to No. 1 Frewsburg in the Section VI Class C championship game.
Trailing 30-19 at halftime, Wilson had an uphill climb after the third quarter. In the frame they were outscored 11-5, with only two made field goals. Not only did Frewsburg push its lead to 17, but it had all the momentum.
“I don’t think they did anything that we didn’t think they were going to do. They just play fundamentally sound,” Baker said. “They’re just a really good team. … We had to play our best to beat them and compete but defensively, I was really happy. I’m going to keep talking about defense. That’s the first game we’ve given up 50 points all year and that’s a pretty special stat. … We didn’t put the ball in the basket enough.”
The first quarter saw the Lakewomen hanging with the defending state champions early. They were within single digits for most of the quarter before the Bears went on a big run to take a 21-8 lead. That was enough to see Frewsburg head into the half up 30-19.
Frewsburg’s run coincided with them getting out in transition, spreading out the Lakewomen defensively and finding open looks at the basket. It led to them making 14 field goals in the opening half.
“I just thought they played so hard, to be down 11 at half, to come out and make the first basket to cut it to single digits is something special,” Baker said. “And then, made a couple unfortunate turnovers. They got a couple second chances on putback rebounds, but overall, just a phenomenal defensive effort by us.”
Ahead of the final quarter, Baker’s message to his team was to leave no regrets and work hard. His team started to do that, bringing it closer at 43-27 but they could not keep up from there in the 20-point loss.
The game saw both teams have to figure out how to fight through a 2-3 zone.
“I think we were both kind of challenging each other to shoot from the outside,” Frewsburg head coach Sierra Beaver said. “They did a good job making it really hard for us to set pin screens for our shooters outside. We were really just making sure that people were able to penetrate and get in the lane and I think that made things difficult for both teams.”
After the game, Baker reflected on the season and the legacy that his six seniors, Rowan Simpson, Gwen Anderson, Abbie Faery, Kenzie Hardy, Bella Thrush, Shelby Robinson and Lauren Vanderlinden left on his program.
Baker was thankful for the impact that they are leaving behind on the returners moving forward.
The loss means the Lakewomen have now lost the sectional championship for the last three years in a row.
“They’ll be fine,” Baker said. “We’ve made the semifinals minimum the last 17 years and … go around Western New York, there’s not many programs that have done that.”