Friday, March 5, 2010

Section II girls basketball title game previews

Check back on the site here for live blogs from the girls basketball games at Hudson Valley Community College Friday and Saturday. I'll also be bringing you updates from the boys Section II championships in Glens Falls all day Sunday.

For now, here are some title game capsules for the girls games tomorrow:

Class A
(No. 1 seed) Averill Park vs. (No. 2) Academy of the Holy Names
Saturday, March 6, 1:45 p.m.
Hudson Valley Community College, Troy

About Averill Park: The Lady Warriors have shrugged off a regular season-finale loss at Colonie to defeat Glens Falls and Burnt Hills in the first two round of the Section II playoffs by a combined score of 110-50. Averill Park has the complete package. They have playmakers on offense, who also turn around to play ferocious defense. A deep bench also makes them dangerous in up-tempo or halfcourt styles of play. They're nearly impossible to beat.
About Holy Names: Holy Names made a second consecutive undefeated run through the Colonial Council regular season, and it won games over Lansingburgh and Ichabod Crane in the first two rounds of the Class A playoffs. They will be without Kierra Moore for the remainder of the postseason, however, giving the team one fewer option.
What to watch: The Averill Park fans will certainly be out in full force - how will that rattle Holy Names? The final score may not be as lopsided as it was in the first two rounds for Averill Park, but a limping Holy Names team shouldn't stand much of a chance against the Warriors, at least based on Averill Park's track record so far this season. Averill Park lost to Mohonasen in last year's championship game and you know these seniors are chomping at the bit to prove that this is their year. Will the Warriors have trouble adjusting to the larger floor at HVCC? Will it have an impact on their three-point shooters?

Class AA
(Suburban Council No. 2 seed) Shenendehowa vs. (Suburban No. 3) Shaker
Saturday, March, 6, 5:15 p.m.
Hudson Valley Community College, Troy

About Shen: The Lady Plainsmen earned a tough draw in the Section II Class AA tournament, having to travel to Catholic Central for a quarterfinal round victory over Amsterdam before beating CCHS at HVCC Wednesday evening. This team recently made head coach Ken Strube the all-time winningest in Section II basketball history - boys or girls - but can they win another Section II title for him?
About Shaker: The Blue Bison finally beat a team they were not supposed to in the semifinal round, topping No. 1 seed Colonie, 64-49. Shaker has had plenty of promise for the past two seasons, and now it's finally starting to show. They have a nice balance of size - Lauren Woods and MacKenzie Rowland are hard to stop inside - and perimeter weapons.
What to watch: The last time these teams played, it came down to the wire, as Shen won on Meg Rogers' buzzer-beating jump shot in Latham.
The battle will be for tempo in this one. If Shaker can keep the pace quick, they may be able to get Shen out of its slow-it-down mentality. On the other hand, Shen has some experience in this situation, but they also have everything to lose by facing an "underdog" team in Shaker. It will certainly be entertaining, that's for sure.

Class D
(No. 1 seed) Whitehall vs. (No. 3) Argyle
Saturday, March, 6, 3:30 p.m.
Hudson Valley Community College, Troy
What to watch:

Class B
Teams to be determined
Monday, March 8, 7:30 p.m.
Adirondack Community College, Queensbury

Class CC/C playoff
Monday, March 8, 6 p.m.
Adirondack Community College, Queensbury

Labels: , , , , ,

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

The following comments represent views of the individuals making the comments. Comments are screened only to keep out spam and uncivil behavior. All opinions are welcome.

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home