With the calendar turning to March, the few remaining high school basketball teams have their sights set on winning their respective sectional championships and taking the next step towards the state final four.
A handful of local teams will be vying for sectional crowns this weekend, with some looking to continue recent success and others hoping to make history.
(Game times are current as of press time, though may be subject to change due to inclement weather forecasted for Friday night and Saturday morning).
Cooperstown vs. Weedsport, at Onondaga Community College, Saturday, 1 p.m.
Things didn’t start off well for the Cooperstown girls in 2022-23 as the Lady Hawkeyes lost their first three games of the season. Since then, however, they’ve gone 18-2, including rattling off 12 wins in a row leading up to this weekend’s clash against top-seeded Weedsport (19-4).
Cooperstown, the two seed, received a scare from 15th-seeded Sherburne-Earlville, needing to go to overtime to win its sectional opener. But the Hawkeyes followed that up with double-digit wins against Onondaga and Westmoreland in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively.
Dani Seamon has been Cooperstown’s go-to scorer all season long and has really stepped up in the sectional playoffs, averaging 26.3 points per game in her team’s last three victories. Rory Nelen and Claire Jensen are also players to keep an eye on.
Cooperstown last won the sectional title in 2020 before that season was cut short by COVID.
Cherry Valley-Springfield vs. Oxford, at SUNY Delhi, Saturday, 2 p.m.
The girls Class D title game will feature a showdown of two of the top players in the area in Joleen Lusk of Cherry Valley-Springfield and Madalyn Barrows of Oxford.
Lusk leads a Patriots squad that has rolled to a 22-1 record, with the only loss coming against much larger Johnson City and all but two victories coming by double-digit margins. Lusk reached the 1,000-point plateau on Jan. 12 and is hoping to lead CV-S to its first ever sectional title.
But while Lusk has been the driving force behind the Patriots’ success, the team has also received consistent contributions from players like Brin Whiteman, Daphnee West, and Mia Dubben. Whiteman in particular had a big game in the team’s semifinal win over Worcester, scoring 14 of her 18 points in the first half.
Barrows, meanwhile, leads an Oxford squad (18-4) seeking its first sectional crown since 2003. Barrows reached 1,000 varsity points last season and has once again been one of the top scorers in the section this year. Kyla Kelsey-Jones and Ella Kelsey are two other scoring threats for the Blackhawks, who have defeated Gilbertsville-Mount Upton, South Kortright, and Southern Cayuga on their road to the finals.
South Kortright vs. Southern Cayuga, at SUNY Delhi, Saturday, 4 p.m.
Expectations were high for the South Kortright boys in 2022-23 after making it to the state final four last year and losing only one starter. So far, the Rams have lived up to those expectations.
SK has run up a 19-3 record with those three losses coming to much larger schools in Johnson City, Maine-Endwell, and Cobleskill-Richmondville. Every one of the team’s victories has been by double-digits, with many being of the blowout variety.
Reigning Daily Star Player of the Year Connor Quarino has been excellent once again for South Kortright, with his most recent outing in the semifinal round being one for the record books. Quarino scored 44 points in the Rams’ 83-65 win over Charlotte Valley, a game where the junior also reached 1,000 varsity points.
South Kortright has been far from a one-man show, however. Josh Anderson, Adam Champlin, Trenton Cole, Darren Dengler, and Troy Dianich were all either starters or contributors on last year’s final four squad and have all played key roles in the Rams’ success while providing plenty of big-game experience.
They’ll face a Southern Cayuga team (15-8) that upset top-seeded and undefeated Morris in the semifinals.