Second-seed Byron-Bergen was outscored 23-12 in the second quarter and could not recover in a 58-55 loss to #11 Letchworth in the Class C1 girls basketball semi-finals held at Honeoye Falls-Lima.
Senior Julianna Amesbury scored seven points in the first quarter – five from the free throw line – while seniors Kelsey Fuller and Miriam Tardy each added a three-pointer as the two teams finished the first quarter tied 13-13.
Byron-Bergen lost some of their offensive rhythm in the second quarter with several starters pulled to clean blood off their jerseys from a Letchworth player and fell behind by as many as 12 points.
But they came out of the halftime locker room with four consecutive baskets with Fuller hitting two treys and converting a steak while senior Siomara Caballero added a put-back to pull within one.
They could not sustain that momentum as the Indians went on a 10-3 run to end the third quarter with a nine-point lead.
An 8-2 spurt by the Bees late in the fourth brought them to within four at 54-50 and Letchworth managed to hit only five of 12 free throws in the final minute, but Byron-Bergen also was only three-of-six from the line during the same stretch and couldn’t close the gap.
“I thought we were totally outplayed in the first half; they were faster than I expected, they were hitting everything and every time we took a shot it would go halfway down and out,” Byron-Bergen head coach Rick Krzewinski said. “We came out in the second half and started playing, cut it (the lead) down, but we held in there.
“The last couple minutes of the game we did everything I could ask, but came up a little short.”
Amesbury finished with 17 points and five steals, Fuller had a double-double with 16 points and ten rebounds plus four assists, Tardy scored 15 points and led with six rebounds, while Caballero chipped in five points for the Bees, who completed their season with an 18-5 record.
Seniors Amesbury, Caballero, Elizabeth Donnelly, Fuller, Chloe Shuskey and Tardy all dressed for their final high school basketball game.
“This was a tough one, especially for the seniors. Miriam (Tardy) and Kelsey (Fuller) have been with me since freshman year and Ames (Amesbury) came up sophomore year…and it’s going to be hard to replace them.”
