Cadets win first title
Clark named MVP

It was a fitting ending. Marisa Clark calmly sinking both free throws with thirteen seconds left in regulation giving the Hilton Cadets a three-point lead. Spencerport's three-point attempt was no good in the final seconds giving the Cadets a 44-41 victory and their first-ever Section Five girls' basketball championship.

"We weren't playing well in the beginning of the year, but we came together after we were 2-5. It was a combination of heart and great teammates," said Clark after the game. Head coach Mike Mayer concurred, "The key this season is when we beat a 9-0 Elba team when we were 2-5. I've had better individual players, but this is the best team with no superstars."

Hilton led most of the first quarter before Melissa Eldridge drove for a lay-up giving the Rangers a one-point lead. The Cadets again led for most of the second quarter, but the Rangers again took the lead in the final minute of the first half on baskets from Kacey Pratt and Eldridge.

Spencerport led for most of the third quarter, but this time it was Hilton who came from as many as three points down to tie the game at 33-33 heading into the final stanza.

In the fourth quarter, the Cadet defense took over led by Jessica Doran who held the Rangers leading scorer, Carrie Kazmierski, to just four points in the second half. The Cadets led by five points with 1:22 left before the Rangers closed to within one on a Jenna King putback and Kazmierski's two free throws with fifteen seconds left. Hilton's Clark netted nine of her game-high nineteen points in the quarter to lead the team down the stretch.

Eldridge finished with a team-high 13 points for the Rangers to go with eleven from Kazmierski. Kacey Pratt had ten rebounds and nine points. Besides Clark, Amy Pratt (cousin of Spencerport's Kacey) had ten points to go with her 14 rebounds. Kassandra Best and Valerie Mickels chipped in seven and six points respectively.

Lisa Eberhart and Kazmierski were named to the All-Tournament Team for Spencerport. Pratt and Danielle Marble were named for Hilton with Clark given the Most Valuable Player award. "We played Spencerport two weeks ago and lost by two points," said Mayer. "With so many juniors, I was thinking maybe next year we would have a shot at a title, but there were no Division I players in our bracket this year. After three previous trips to the finals, it's nice to finally win one after 22 years."