M-W girls win Section IX basketball title
Loch Sheldrake. The victory gives them their first Class AA title in three years and puts them into the state playoffs.
| 08 Mar 2023 | 03:32
Monroe-Woodbury’s Olivia Shippee’s inspirational play helped the Monroe-Woodbury Crusaders win their first Section IX Class AA Girls Basketball title in three years. (
)
The Crusaders flex their muscles after winning the Section 9 AA Title. (
)
On March 3, the Crusaders traveled to SUNY Sullivan in Loch Sheldrake to battle for the Section IX Class AA title. Their opponent in the championship game was the Warriors of Our Lady of Lourdes High School in Poughkeepsie who were participating in their first Section 9 tournament.
The Warriors were the #5 seed and had beaten both Pine Bush (74-52) and #1 seed Warwick (45-31) to reach the final. The #2 seed Crusaders had a first-round bye before beat Kingston 58-37 to reach the final.
The Crusaders took a 10-7 first quarter lead as the two teams settled into the game. Arianna Exarchakis got off to great start scoring 6 and Layla Green added 4 as the Crusaders took a 3-point lead at the end of one.
In the second quarter, the Crusaders controlled the boards and kept their defensive pressure up witched forced several Warrior turnovers. But they were unable to pull away and went into the half leading only 20-14.
The Warriors came out hot in the second half. With their fans behind them, they ran off the first 6 points to tie the score at 20. The Crusaders rallied and ran off the next 7 to take back control.
With Crusader guard, Madison Fileen, heating up from outside and leading the comeback by scoring 7 of her 18 points, the Crusaders looked to be in control at the end of the third quarter as they lead 32-24. But the Warriors were not done and again cut back into the Crusader lead and with two minuets left in the game to get back in striking distance.
With the season on the line Crusader co-captain Olivia Shippee scored 7 points in the fourth quarter to help keep the Warriors down. But it was her intensive play throughout the game and especially in the last quarter that put the Crusaders over the top. Though she was banged up and tired, she gave everything she had. The smile on her face said it all after the game, as she stood in the hall with her teammates and ice packs on both legs.
The Crusaders 46-38 victory gives them their first Section IX title in three years and puts them into the state playoffs. Next, they will travel to Johnson City High School to face the Binghamton Patriots the Section IV Champions.