Girls’ Basketball
Norwich 55, Chenango Forks 37
NORWICH – Section IV finalists the previous two seasons, Norwich (11-7) moved one win from a third straight finals appearance beating Chenango Forks for the third time this season Tuesday night in Class B tournament play.
NHS’s Breanna Cashman had 17 points and eight rebounds, Jenni Borfitz scored 11 and dished out five assists, and freshman Shelby Benjamin scored 10, pulled down 14 rebounds, and had a team-high five steals.
Norwich created an 18-point halftime advantage with torrid inside/outside shooting. Borfitz hit a three for NHS to open the scoring, and Benjamin had three inside hoops lifting Norwich to a 17-8 lead after one period.
Cashman caught fire in the second period hitting for eight points, and Cassie Sutton’s layup with under 10 seconds to play gave the Tornado a 31-13 halftime lead.
Chenango Forks’ offense was limited to primarily outside shots, and senior Ashley Williams cashed in six times on three-pointers on her way to a game-high 20 points. However, those three-pointers provided the bulk of the Blue Devils’ offense against a stingy NHS defense. One of those outside shots in the first half, a three from Michaela Transue, pushed Transue over the 1,000-point mark for her career at Forks.
Norwich plays Seton Catholic Central or Whitney Point on Friday.
Chenango Forks: Taylor Gibbore, 0; Megan Plahanski, 0; Kerry Heller, 0; Alex Yoest, 1 0-0-3; Rachel Burns, 0; Michaela Transue, 5 0-0-11; Ashley Williams, 6 2-4-20; Krysta Shannon, 0; Jessica Redfern, 1 1-1-3. Totals: 13 3-5-37.
NHS: Lexi Race, 0; Carin Kuhn, 2 0-0-4; Caitlyn Brown, 2 0-0-4; Breanna Cashman, 6 5-7-17; Ashley Campbell, 0; Jennifer Borfitz, 4 2-2-11; Cassie Sutton, 3 0-0-7; Shelby Benjamin, 5 0-2-10; Taylor Cook, 1 0-0-2; Courtney Scheer, 0. Totals: 23 7-11-55.
CForks 8 5 12 12–37
Norw. 17 14 13 11–55
Fouled out: none. Three-point goals: (CF) Williams 6, Transue, Yoest, (N) Borfitz, Sutton. Officials: Linehan, Berg.
B-G 51, Groton 40
GROTON – Bainbridge-Guilford stormed out of the gate to start the second half building a 17-point lead in a first-round sectional playoff win Tuesday night at Groton.
Taylor Palmatier hit two three-pointers in a row against the Groton zone, and Morgan Bullis had 11 of her 22 points. Bullis added 19 rebounds, and point guard Abbey Smith compiled 15 points, six steals, and five assists.
“They played man defense against us in the first half, and when they went to a zone, I think it gave us a little confidence and some comfort,” said B-G coach Bob Conway. “Those two threes from Taylor were big, and Morgan just tore them up on the boards.”
B-G, who started the season 1-5 play at second-seeded Elmira Notre Dame Friday. “It will be tough going to Elmira, but this was a sectional win,” Conway said. “For this group, that is huge, and it’s a big building block for next year.”
B-G: Taylor Lamont, 0; Abbey Smith, 6 3-4-15; Capucine Marzet, ; Morgan Bullis, 7 8-14-22; Alexis Page, 0; Megan Ferrara, 1 1-2-3; Taylor Palmatier, 2 4-6-10; Cadi Barber, 0; Tori Rifanburg, 0 1-3-1; Betsy Holden, 0. Totals: 16 17-29-51.
Groton: Alex Quarella, 1 0-0-2; Jenna Dorsey, 2 0-0-4; Ruthann Forehand, 3 2-7-9; Tiffany James, 2 0-0-4; Kauleen Hall, 3 5-6-11; Stephanie Preston, 2 2-2-6; Jenna Zimmer, 1 2-2-4; Toalas; 14 11-17-40
