Briarcliff Tops Bronxville in Section 1 Girls’ Basketball

Bronxville’s unexpected run through the 2010-2011 girls’ basketball season ended on Tuesday night as the Briarcliff Bears used a strong defense and a second-half offensive revival to top the Broncos 53-32 at the Westchester County Center in White Plains.

The second-seeded Bears (18-3) advanced to a Saturday, March 5 Class B championship game meeting with  No. 1 seed Irvington, which defeated No. 4 Woodlands 71-52 Tuesday night  in the Class B championship game. The Broncos finished their very successful season at 16-4.

The semifinal was a back-and-forth defensive struggle in the first half in which both teams seemed slightly awed by the big-arena surroundings of the County Center. The Bears took a 23-18 lead into intermission.

“We were talking about it before the game–that the County Center takes a few minutes to get used to,” said Bears center Leanna Cornacchio. “But unfortunately it took the entire first half. We’re big on rebounds–we do so many rebound drills, so that’s what helped in the second half. We got more aggressive and got the offensive rebounds and got ball out on breaks.”

Briarcliff, using its athleticism and inside strength, made the adjustment to the large arena and boisterous crowd more successfully, breaking out of the locker room and outscoring the Broncos 15-4 in the third quarter–building a 38-22 lead –and virtually put the game out of reach.

“Anytime you can win here, it’s big,” Briarcliff coach Don Hamlin said. “Hopefully we’ll gain some experience and be more familiar with the court and play better [in the final]. We weren’t confident in the first half, but got it going later. We’re going to have to no matter who we play.”

Senior tri-captain Savina Reid led the Bears’ offense from the backcourt with 16 points and also gathered seven rebounds, rushing the Bears’ fast-break offensive that used a 9-0 run to stretch a 29-22 lead to 38-22 in the third quarter. Cornacchio anchored the inside, scoring 12 points, while sophomore Brianna Celaj added 12 points.

“We wanted to keep their girls in front of us and play good defense, that got us through the slow first half,” Reid said. “I think we got used to the court and the baskets and shot better in the second half. We got the jitters out and we will have to come out stronger in the next game.”

Grace Devlin led the Broncos with 18 points, scoring seven of the Broncos’ last 10 points of the game, but the Bears defense and strong front line outplayed the Broncos in the second half.

“We had some trouble getting settled and comfortable on the court, which is bigger and much different than our place,” Devlin said. “In the second half they were more aggressive and broke down our defense to get inside. They really rebounded well and made their shots.”

Devlin paused to reflect on one of the finest seasons of girls’ basketball in the school’s history.

“This is a great group of girls and we had a wonderful season getting Bronxville to the County Center for the first time,” said Devlin, who will return for her senior season next year. “I hope we can build on this and play this way next year. It was a great experience.”

Broncos’ co-captain Michaela Donohue helped establish the defense in the first half as the Broncos held off the high-scoring Bears. The diminutive guard injured a knee toward the end of the first half and tried to play on it, but left the game early in the second half.

“We did have trouble getting shots and it was very different playing here,” Donohue said. “The background is tough to get used to, the way the fans are behind the baskets. But we depended on our defense all year—it was there in the first half–they just played better. We did have a great season, so we’re proud.”

To see more photos from the game, click here.