CHEEKTOWAGA —- She wouldn’t be denied.
Ella Cashion, a senior at North Tonawanda, has gone to three Section VI semifinal games during her basketball career, but NT has never made it farther than that.
She wasn’t letting that happen this year.
“I’m not losing,” Cashion said. “I’m coming back and getting my revenge, and we’re going to Buff State.”
The Lady Jacks defeated the Kenmore West Blue Devils, 56-40, in the Section VI Class AA semifinals Thursday night at Maryvale High School.
North Tonawanda had only one loss in the Niagara Frontier League this season — a 56-54 loss to Ken-West. They’re on a nine game win streak since then.
Cashion stepped up big time for NT and led the team with 17 points. She had multiple quick buckets and caused turnovers, and was a reason the team will have the chance to win their first-ever sectional title on Sunday at Buffalo State.
Usually the Day sisters, Annabelle and Lilly, are atop the scorebook after a win. The semifinal match displayed the talent NT has as a team.
“It helped us to show we have other options,” Brown said. “It’s not just regular 3s and jumpshots, we can make plays down low and rebound.”
Brown was a dominant force on the court in victory. In addition to her dominance under the glass (18 rebounds) and ability to knock the ball away, she netted 11 points and had eight blocks.
It was a one-possession game after the first quarter with Kenmore West battling, but North Tonawanda’s defense was lights out in the second quarter and held the Blue Devils scoreless.
Although Ken-West would have open shots, they seemed very rushed in the second quarter and couldn’t find the hoop.
The Lumberjacks led 30-14 at the half while Brown had crucial boards and buckets.
“We talked all week that we have to limit their 3s because they’re a great three point shooting team,” head coach Mike Mills said. “We kind of switched up how we do things, and we said, we’re going to take JaKayla and JaKayla was going to be in the paint in case there were some drives, because we’re going to force them off that three point line.”
The Blue Devils finished the game with six 3-pointers.
North Tonawanda took a 43-26 lead over Ken West after three quarters.
Annabelle Day, who was held to a season-low eight points, had timely buckets and NT led by as much as 20 points in the third.
Their dominance continued in the final quarter, and the Lumberjacks didn’t need to worry when the Blue Devils went on a 10-3 run to close out the game.
Lilly Day, who finished with 11 points, netted a basket with 2:18 to play and gave NT their largest lead of the night, 53-30, before the Blue Devils’ run started.
“All of the players who you typically would call role players stepped up in a special way, and we started to see certain things like Ella doing the things she’s done all year, crashing the boards and getting those easy put backs, knowing exactly when to do it,” Millville said. “JaKayla just holding her ground, being there solid defensively for us.”
The Lumberjacks won 56-40 thanks to a relentless defense, which held Ken-West scoreless for the entire second quarter.
NT will face the winner of the Starpoint versus Orchard Park game at 10:30 a.m. Sunday at Buffalo State.
It’ll be the Lumberjacks first trip to the arena.
“We just gotta go out there, play our game, play as a team. It’s gonna be a new experience for us,” Millville said. “It’s just exciting. We want to play our style, our way, and work together.”