Top seeded Penfield beats Fairport plays Rush Friday night at Gates Chili.
Top-seeded Penfield topped No. 5 Fairport, 65-58, in tonight's Section V Class AAA girls basketball semifinals at Gates Chili High School to set up a showdown on Friday with rival, Rush-Henrietta.
The Patriots (21-1) made 12 of 14 free throws in the final 3 1/2 minutes to hold off the Red Raiders (13-9).
Senior forward Lacey Coppage scored 11 of her 19 points in the second half, and freshman guard Megan Malloy scored all of her 10 points after the break.
Senior forward Colleen Coon added nine points and 13 rebounds and senior guard, Gabby D'Ercole, was Penfield's shooting star, nailing five 3-pointers for her 15 points.
Junior forward Allyson DiMagno scored 28 points and had 18 rebounds for Fairport.
The Patriots play third-seeded and five-time defending champion Rush-Henrietta (14-8), a 62-32 winner in the first semifinal over No. 10 Webster Schroeder, in Friday's 8:45 p.m. title game back at Gates.
Penfield swept the regular-season series between the Monroe County Division I rivals, winning 55-28 on Jan. 13 and 44-40 on Feb. 10. But the Patriots have seen the last five Penfield teams have their season ended at the hands of the Royal Comets, including three in the championship game.
The Patriots also took the series from Fairport, another Division I rival, during their unbeaten regular season. They won 48-45 at Fairport on Jan. 6 and 56-37 on Feb. 3.
The Red Raiders started fast on Tuesday, taking a 6-0 lead on DiMagno's layup off a steal on the press by sophomore guard Jordan Harrington.
Turnovers would trouble both teams in a back-and-forth first half, as Penfield finished with 13 and Fairport 12.
But a 3-pointer by D'Ercole after a timeout seemed to calm Penfield, which used a couple of jump shots by sophomore forward Colleen Mahany to rebound and take an 11-8 lead after one quarter.
But DiMagno, one of Section V's top players, came alive in the second. She hit a pair of 3-pointers while scoring 10 straight points. Sophomore guard Lindsay McKinnon also drilled a pair from deep, as the Raiders took a 28-26 edge into the locker room behind 14 points from DiMagno.
When McKinnon found DiMagno posted up with a pass over the top of the defense and the junior forward converted as she was fouled, Fairport led 39-35 with 3:01 left in the third quarter.
But that's when Penfield made its game-changing run, outscoring Fairport 17-3 over the next 4 minutes. D'Ercole, who transferred to Penfield this school year from Nazareth Academy, canned two 3-pointers and senior forward Coppage scored eight points in the surge.
When it was over, the Patriots led 52-42 with 6 minutes remaining.
But Fairport was far from done. DiMagno scored nine straight Raiders points, and Harrington%u2019s 3-pointer sliced the deficit to just 58-54 with 1:18 left. But Malloy, Coppage and Sarah Tranelli made seven of eight free throws to seal it.
FAIRPORT: Allyson DiMagno 28, Shelby Vakiener 5, Cortney Sortino 0, Jordan Harrington 6, Lindsay McKinnon 11, Caroline Dalton 4, Kyra Horne 4, Jessica Steubing 0, Marissa Evans 0.
PENFIELD: Colleen Coon 9, Megan Malloy 10, Monica Nesselbush 0, Sarah Tranelli 2, Gabby D%u2019Ercole 15, Colleen Lynd 1, Laura McNamara 2, Colleen Mahany 7, Lacey Coppage 19.
3-point goals: Vakiener, DiMagno 2, McKinnon 3, Harrington 2, D'Ercole 5, Coppage.
Fouled out: Malloy, Vakiener.
The Patriots (21-1) made 12 of 14 free throws in the final 3 1/2 minutes to hold off the Red Raiders (13-9).
Senior forward Lacey Coppage scored 11 of her 19 points in the second half, and freshman guard Megan Malloy scored all of her 10 points after the break.
Senior forward Colleen Coon added nine points and 13 rebounds and senior guard, Gabby D'Ercole, was Penfield's shooting star, nailing five 3-pointers for her 15 points.
Junior forward Allyson DiMagno scored 28 points and had 18 rebounds for Fairport.
The Patriots play third-seeded and five-time defending champion Rush-Henrietta (14-8), a 62-32 winner in the first semifinal over No. 10 Webster Schroeder, in Friday's 8:45 p.m. title game back at Gates.
Penfield swept the regular-season series between the Monroe County Division I rivals, winning 55-28 on Jan. 13 and 44-40 on Feb. 10. But the Patriots have seen the last five Penfield teams have their season ended at the hands of the Royal Comets, including three in the championship game.
The Patriots also took the series from Fairport, another Division I rival, during their unbeaten regular season. They won 48-45 at Fairport on Jan. 6 and 56-37 on Feb. 3.
The Red Raiders started fast on Tuesday, taking a 6-0 lead on DiMagno's layup off a steal on the press by sophomore guard Jordan Harrington.
Turnovers would trouble both teams in a back-and-forth first half, as Penfield finished with 13 and Fairport 12.
But a 3-pointer by D'Ercole after a timeout seemed to calm Penfield, which used a couple of jump shots by sophomore forward Colleen Mahany to rebound and take an 11-8 lead after one quarter.
But DiMagno, one of Section V's top players, came alive in the second. She hit a pair of 3-pointers while scoring 10 straight points. Sophomore guard Lindsay McKinnon also drilled a pair from deep, as the Raiders took a 28-26 edge into the locker room behind 14 points from DiMagno.
When McKinnon found DiMagno posted up with a pass over the top of the defense and the junior forward converted as she was fouled, Fairport led 39-35 with 3:01 left in the third quarter.
But that's when Penfield made its game-changing run, outscoring Fairport 17-3 over the next 4 minutes. D'Ercole, who transferred to Penfield this school year from Nazareth Academy, canned two 3-pointers and senior forward Coppage scored eight points in the surge.
When it was over, the Patriots led 52-42 with 6 minutes remaining.
But Fairport was far from done. DiMagno scored nine straight Raiders points, and Harrington%u2019s 3-pointer sliced the deficit to just 58-54 with 1:18 left. But Malloy, Coppage and Sarah Tranelli made seven of eight free throws to seal it.
FAIRPORT: Allyson DiMagno 28, Shelby Vakiener 5, Cortney Sortino 0, Jordan Harrington 6, Lindsay McKinnon 11, Caroline Dalton 4, Kyra Horne 4, Jessica Steubing 0, Marissa Evans 0.
PENFIELD: Colleen Coon 9, Megan Malloy 10, Monica Nesselbush 0, Sarah Tranelli 2, Gabby D%u2019Ercole 15, Colleen Lynd 1, Laura McNamara 2, Colleen Mahany 7, Lacey Coppage 19.
3-point goals: Vakiener, DiMagno 2, McKinnon 3, Harrington 2, D'Ercole 5, Coppage.
Fouled out: Malloy, Vakiener.
