BUFFALO — Tie game, one play, season on the line.
And who else to have the ball in her hands for the last shot inside than Megan Milleville. Off an inbounds play with 0.5 seconds left in regulation, the 6-foot-2 forward caught a pass from Ava Anastasi and dropped in to give Starpoint a 48-46 win against Clarence in the Section VI Class AA championship, the programs first since 1995.
Milleville finished the game with a team-high 17 points, scoring on a play that has served the Spartans well through its now 21-1 campaign. The next step brings Starpoint to face Section V’s Fairport in the Far West regional at 7:45 p.m. March 8 at Finger Lakes Community College.
But for the next few hours, the Spartans were ready to celebrate, ending a year-long goal after falling short in the final last season. It was just that Starpoint, as Milleville described, couldn’t throw up on themselves.
“It’s those things you dream about,” Milleville said on the win and finish. “I’m so glad that I got to do it with these girls. I’ve said that every time, it’s just, these girls are some important to me. We’ve been playing for (the seniors) this whole season. I’m just so glad.”
Clarence made Starpoint sweat a little though heading into the final stretch of the game. Ava Anastasi made a 3-pointer to give the Spartans a 42-34 lead with 4:25 left in regulation but it was Clarence’s duo of Ella Corry (game-high 21 points) and Lia Meichenbaum (13 points), who brought it down to the wire.
Meichenbaum knocked down only her second 3-pointer of the game with 40 seconds left to tie the score at 45-45. Milleville and Meichenbaum then exchanged free throws to tie the game at 46-46 before the last finish.
Starpoint had to claw its way back after giving up a 9-4 lead and trailing 14-11 at the end of the first quarter. But with two 3–pointers from Caitlin Deney (8 points) as part of the stretch, the Spartans responded back with a 17-4 run for a 28-18 lead at the half. Starpoint then found a groove inside the paint, knocking down 11 field goals over the last 24 minutes of play.
Because Starpoint was limited in opportunities scoring in transition, the inside shots became a focus, with Milleville scoring all but two of her points in the second half.
“We didn’t make a whole lot of outside shots and we really had to work at Meg inside to get some shots,” Starpoint head coach Megan Reed said. “We just kept our momentum honestly, through our defense because we are a defensive team, and our offense normally generates off of it. But today was a little bit of a wacky situation.”
Clarence almost came back in the third quarter, going on a 15-5 run in the first five minutes. Emily Glaude’s 3-pointer cut Starpoint’s deficit to four points (33-29) before Starpoint pulled away with a basket by Sophia Waliszewski for a 37-30 lead. Moments later, a block from Waliszewski kept Starpoint’s lead at 37-31.
“Once we get a streak going, we’re pretty unstoppable,” Deney said. “People start making shots, people start hitting them, then it gets very, very exciting. And we come out on top.”