Cadets in fight for another title

Seniors Amy Pratt and Marisa Clark each scored 17 points as Hilton held off Churchville-Chili 48-44 in girls basketball. The Cadets ninth win of the season put them in a battle with Penfield and Rush-Henrietta as they look to defend their Section V title.

Churchville-Chili raced out to a 6-0 lead in the game and led by as many as seven points in the first quarter before Clark swished two three-pointers sandwiched around a field goal by Kassandra Best, giving the Cadets an 11-10 lead after the first. The second quarter featured a 6-0 run as the Cadets outscored the Saints 15-7 for a 26-17 halftime advantage.

The two teams combined for just twelve points in the third quarter as the Saints mounted a comeback with baskets from Katie Voorheis, Colleen Montgomery, Katie Sullivan and Emilie Rowe from the baseline at the quarter buzzer to cut the lead to five.

The Saints cut the lead to three points on five different occasions in the final stanza, but could not get any closer. A pair of baskets by the Saints Brittany Williams brought them to that same margin with 1:03 left, but a Pratt offensive putback and free throw from Clark increased the lead to six. A long three-pointer from Voorheis with six seconds left cut the lead yet again, but another Clark free throw iced the game.

Voorheis finished with 12 points, six assists and four steals for the Saints while Sullivan scored ten points including the 99th three-pointer of her career. JJ Begley also was in double figures with ten points and grabbed a game high 13 rebounds. Hilton's Welch led her team with 12 rebounds, Pratt was 7-11 from the field and Best added eight points.