BUFFALO — All season, Lewiston-Porter has kept hands up on defense, intercepted passes and caused chaos for opponents.
But going into the Section VI Class A2 championship against rival Depew Sunday, the Lancers had to double down on their defensive assignment, which was trying to slow down Mia Vannelli — who scored more than 2,000 career points — and making other Wildcats score instead.
The junior duo of forward Casey Fetzner and Alyssa Auer led the charge on the defensive end for the green-and-white. Fetzner’s primary assignment was guarding Vannelli, who scored 34 points in Lew-Port’s regular-season win over the Wildcats, while Auer guarded Alisa Overton.
But with Depew using screens to try to create space, the duo made the switch too for the Lancers defensive set. While Vannelli still scored 27 points in the game, which was one more than her season average, she was held to 15 through three quarters and the Lancers led by 15 with two minutes left in what was a 62-56 finish that was never in doubt at the end.
Together, Fetzner and Auer combined for 17 points, 14 rebounds and three steals, after combining for 16.5 points and 11.9 rebounds coming into the game.
“I think it was our best way to go about that (defensively)” Fetzner said. “Because, we knew that if everybody plays good defense and if I could get Mia a little back and make sure that she doesn’t get hot on her three’s and make sure she’s tired and make her force up the ball, that we’ll have a better opportunity getting steals and stopping the others from making baskets.”
To Auer, who is third on the team in rebounds and steals, being a defensive team was once again part of the team’s game-plan, part of the team’s now 20-3 season. While Auer had the speed to keep up with Overton, Fetzner had the height advantage over Vannelli.
“Our coach (Brian Hall) said, ‘Switch on screens’,’” Auer said. “And we both knew that we could guard each other’s player. So, we just switched when we could. And we switched back as soon as possible.”
Anastasi’s persistence pays off in Starpoint’s AA win
Since she first donned the Starpoint jersey three years ago, Ava Anastasi has had a shooter’s touch in big moments.
Last season, Anastasi scored a team-high 12 points per game and finished in the top-15 in Section VI with 54 made 3-pointers.
And entering Sunday’s Class AA championship game against Clarence, Anastasi was still the team leader, averaging 11.8 points per game, including a season-high 21 points against Sweet Home on Dec. 14 and 13-point outings in the Spartans’ previous two post-season wins against Lockport and North Tonawanda to reach the final.
But through the first three quarters, in what was a 37-31 Spartans lead, the senior guard was held to just three points, all at the free-throw line. Open looks in the corner from beyond the arc just missed for Anastasi, who also had to manage playing with three personal fouls.
But against Clarence, it wasn’t how many shots she made, it was a matter of when that mattered for Starpoint, who held a 39-34 lead with under five minutes left in regulation. Back in the left corner of the 3-point line she had missed earlier in the contest, Anastasi drilled her lone field to give the Spartans a 42-34 lead with 4:25 left.
Anastasi later contributed to the play that extended the Spartans’ season, assisting on the inbound pass for Megan Milleville’s buzzer-beating shot in a 48-46 finish, setting up a Far West regional matchup with Hilton at 7 p.m. Friday at Finger Lakes Community College in Canandaigua.
With 107 made 3-pointers since her sophomore year, Anastasi’s confidence didn’t waver.
“I mean, I can miss as many shots,” Anastasi said. “But I know the coaches always give me backup. They always support me and they’re always like, ‘One’s going in.’ You just got to see one and then it always goes in.’”