PITTSFORD – With the clock running out in the first half, Rush-Henrietta's Katie Kelly grabbed a loose ball near the free-throw line and before she even turned to look at the basket, almost over her shoulder, tossed it at the rim.
Swish.
Late in the third quarter when Hilton cut its deficit to one point, Destinee Johnson let fly with a 3-pointer from the left wing.
It banked in.
Those two shots by two junior guards, were pretty good indicators it was going to be R-H's night The top seeds used a 17-4 surge in the fourth to turn a close game into a rout, 52-35, and earn a spot in Friday's 9 p.m. Section V Class AA title game at Finger Lakes Community College.
Old rival Penfield will be waiting.
The second-seeded Patriots got big games from junior forward Emma Guy (18 points/10 rebounds) and freshman guard Makaila Wilson (16/12) to beat No. 3 Irondequoit, 53-40, in the first semifinal Monday at Pittsford Sutherland High School.
"I'm excited. Penfield has always been a great team," said R-H's Dana Watts, who had 22 points and 14 rebounds while getting help from fellow senior forward Emily Nestler (11 points/10 rebounds). "I can't wait. We love to play them."
R-H (20-0) won both earlier meetings, 50-33 on Feb. 17 and 54-47 on Jan. 16. "I'll play it up," Penfield coach Mark Vogt said about his 15-4 team being the underdog.
His 2009 club beat R-H in the final; R-H topped the Patriots in the 2006 and 2007 title games. Both teams played strong fourth quarters Monday to pull away from pesky fellow Monroe County foes.
Irondequoit (16-4) trailed 28-17 at halftime when Penfield's Kristen Baumer beat the horn with a 3-pointer and 34-29 headed to the fourth quarter. Senior guard Savannah Crocetti led the Eagles with 17 points (three 3-pointers).
But Guy, who missed four days of school last week and Friday's sectional opener with the flu, and Wilson combined to score eight points in a 10-2 run to start the fourth and give Penfield a 44-31 lead.
"We missed a few layups. We turned the ball over," Eagles coach Scott Smith said. "We were a little too fast."
Wilson went 6-for-6 at the line in the fourth quarter to help seal it. Vogt said his team, "played with poise and composure down the stretch."
So did R-H, which was runner-up to Gates Chili last year. Watts scored eight straight points to snap the Comets out of a cold start and give them a 9-5 lead after one quarter. Similarly, Nestler came alive in the fourth, scoring eight straight as R-H pulled away.
"We got worn down. They just get after it when it gets to the offensive glass," said Hilton coach Jeff Eichas, whose Cadets (15-5) had lost 48-37 to R-H on Jan. 23.
Sophomore center Brienne Stike and senior guard Lauren Anten each had 10 points, but junior shooting guard Cameron Graupman scored only nine on three 3-pointers. She has 996 career points. Graupman drilled two straight 3s in the third quarter to make it a one-point game twice, but Watts, Nestler and Co. didn't flinch.
"It was a close game. I wasn't playing well the first three quarters so I knew I needed to turn it on in the fourth," Nestler said.
Coach Steve Shepanski knows what he'll get from his seniors. Big baskets from Kelly (six points) and Johnson (five), even if a couple were lucky, were a bonus and sure helped.
"It was more of the supporting cast, I think, that really came through," Shepanski said, then added that the swift fourth-quarter run surprised him. "I thought we were up by four and the next thing I know we're up by 17 with about two minutes to go."
JDIVERON@DemocratandChronicle.com
