BUFFALO — The arena was almost empty when Lew-Port blasted Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York.” But while the Lancers aren’t waking up in the city that doesn’t sleep, they’ll wake up knowing they are one step from states.
The experience of playing in big-time games came through to extend Lew-Port’s season. When Amherst tried to cut into the deficit on several occasions, the Lancers had the right answer at the right time.
Veteran Emily Mountain scored a game-high 16 points in Lew-Port’s 52-42 win over Amherst in the Section VI Class A championship Wednesday at Buffalo State. The victory sends the Lancers to the Class A Far West regional to face Section V’s Aquinas at noon Saturday at Finger Lakes Community College.
“We started this thing back in May when I took over the program,” Hall said. “And we had to learn a new system. We had to learn a new style. … We had a great start in November but I thought it would take some tough losses along the way to get us to where we need to be. But now, it’s
complete trust and belief in each other.”
Right from the opening tip, Lew-Port (21-3) was in control, jumping out to a 22-6 lead. After scoring a team-high 15 points against Depew Sunday, Mountain drilled back-to-back 3-pointers in the first minute of play, starting an 11-1 run with 4:50 to play in the frame.
Knowing Amherst had a youthful, yet speedy defense, led by freshman Taryn Ashley and eighth-grader Lucy Giordano, Lew-Port wanted to keep pushing the tempo offensively. “We love to score in transition,” Hall said. “I mean, for us to get out in transition, those easy points are a huge part of what we do. And from there, we can score. We could play through a half-court set but just take someone’s pressure off everything, when we’re running, when we’re getting lay-ups and we’re scoring from our defense.”
Like they had all season, the Lancers also relied on their defensive play, especially down the stretch. Entering the game, Amherst sophomore Ada Radomski averaged 20.1 points per game and the trio of Radomski, Taryn Ashley and Lucy Giordano combined for 157 3-pointers during the season.
Lew-Port focused its defense on defending the perimeter and not helping off any of the top-three shooters when Amherst drove into the paint. The Amherst trio was held to 24 points, 25 below their average of 49, while also being limited to three 3s.
“We knew we couldn’t let them shoot,” Hall said. “… We play good defense, and, off of those three, we’re not helping off them. Like, we’re not face guarding them or nothing. But when someone drives, they love to penetrate, and they kick to the shooters and it took us some time to learn that throughout the season. On shooters, when they drive, you can’t leave them. You can’t go to help. You got help behind you.”