DGH posted: " Rohan in the PSAA Championship (PC: Bruce Jeffrey) On Wednesday evening, the 4th-seeded girls' basketball team made history several times over in a 76-43 victory over #5 Columbia Prep in the NYSAIS Quarterfinals. The victory gave the team its first"
Rohan in the PSAA Championship (PC: Bruce Jeffrey)
On Wednesday evening, the 4th-seeded girls' basketball team made history several times over in a 76-43 victory over #5 Columbia Prep in the NYSAIS Quarterfinals.
The victory gave the team its first NYSAIS tournament win after two first-round losses in their first five years in the new league. It was the team's first state tournament win of any kind since the 2011 NYSPHSAA Long Island Championship and only their second berth in a State Final Four to go along with the 2009 NYSPHSAA Regional Championship. They also became the 8th Stony Brook team in any sport, to make a State Final Four. If all of that wasn't enough, the win was their 22nd of the season, breaking the record of 21 held by the 2006-07 squad.
The game was also a rematch of last year's State Quarterfinal that saw the Bears fall behind by double-digits before storming back to within a possession before falling in the closing minute. Only Jocelyn McCrain remained from last year's starting line-up, but the Bears had a hunger to make history for themselves and The Brook.
The Lions opened up the scoring with a 3-pointer on their first possession. They immediately threw on a full-court press, which the Bears deftly broke as McCrain found Payton Martin for a layup. After a Columbia miss on the second possession, Abby Smith found Cassandra Rohan for a fast break layup and a 4-3 lead. A 3-pointer gave Columbia back the lead before a Smith drive and layup tied the game at 6-6. Columbia hit a third 3-pointer to take a 9-6 edge, but the Bears retook a 10-9 lead following a tough lefty layup by McCrain and a McCrain steal that led to a Meaghan Doherty layup.
Columbia continued to rely on the 3-pointer (their first seven attempts were threes) and buried a fourth to take what would prove to be their final lead of the night at 12-10. The lead changed hands a fifth time when a Doherty baseline floater followed a lefty layup from Rohan as the Bears took the lead for good at 14-12. The buckets ignited a 10-0 run that also included a pair of fast break layups from Rohan--the second of which she took coast-to-coast following a defensive rebound--as the Bears built a 20-12 advantage.
The Lions broke the run with a layup, but an and-1 from Rohan preceded a fast break score from the junior as the Bears took a 25-14 lead after one. The Lions had no answer in the frame for Rohan, who continued her dominant all-around postseason play with 13 points in the first eight minutes. The three-ball was a key part of the Lions' offense as they attempted 15 long balls and just five from inside the arc in the quarter.
Despite shooting 26.7% from three in the first quarter, the Lions continued to rely heavily on their outside shooting, thanks in large part to the Bears' interior defense, spearheaded by Rohan and our bevy of quick guards. The visitors hit three more 3-pointers in the period, but needed 14 attempts to do it, allowing the Bears to edge out their lead by halftime.
In the opening minutes of the second frame, it didn't look like the Bears were poised to win the quarter as they turned the ball over on their first four possessions, leading to a 5-0 Columbia spurt. Layups from Smith and Rohan pushed the lead back to 29-19 before another baseline-to-baseline layup from Rohan and a McCrain jumper gave the Bears their largest lead at 34-21. The Lions answered with consecutive threes to carve their deficit back to 27-34, but the Bears closed the half on a 6-0 run on a pair of Doherty layups and a Rohan putback in the closing seconds to grab a 40-27 margin at the break.
In the opening seconds of the third, Columbia hoisted a deep 3-pointer to pull back within 30-40, but that would be as close as they would get the rest of the way as the Bears turned it into a rout. A Rohan jumper started a 9-0 run that included a Smith Euro-step layup and short jumper, and a Doherty 3-pointer as the Bear lead grew to 49-30. The Lions hit three more 3-pointers in the frame, but they could do nothing to chip away at their deficit as five Bears scored in the period to take a 60-41 lead into the fourth.
The Lions opened the final frame with a bucket that would prove to be their final points of the game. The Bears capped their historic win with a 16-0 closing run, that included 3-pointers from Martin, Doherty, and McCrain, as the Bears wrapped up a dominant 76-43 win.
Rohan finished with one of the most impressive postseason performances in Stony Brook history, recording her first 20-20 game and 16th double-double of the year with 27 points and 21 rebounds. Her inside presence is one of the reasons the Lions launched an astonishing 46 three-pointers in the game, hitting 11 of them for a 23.9% shooting percentage. McCrain also grabbed a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. She also nabbed 5 steals and continued to be the Bears' smart and steady presence on the floor, making winning plays on both ends.
Doherty scored 18 and secured 7 rebounds. She continues to lead all Long Island private school scorers at 21.1 ppg, and her 70 threes are second overall. Smith scored 10, grabbed 4 rebounds, and was the catalyst of the offense with numerous assists. Martin (7 pts/ 5 reb) and Scarlett Davey (2 pts) rounded out the Bear offense.
The Bears move on to the NYSAIS Semifinals, where they play top-seeded Dalton on February 23 at Dalton.
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