Girls' Basketball

 Sherburne-Earlville 75, Bishop Ludden 73 (OT)

SHERBURNE - With two starters out of the game after fouling out, and down five points twice in the last three minutes, Sherburne-Earlville found a way to win and preserve its unbeaten record.

The Marauders extended their perfect mark to 20-0 Tuesday night at home edging Bishop Ludden in overtime.

S-E will meet the winner of Skaneateles and Utica Notre Dame Saturday night at Onondaga Community College in the Section III Class B semifinals.

The Gaelic Knights seized command after S-E starters Mikayla Solloway and Lilly Berg fouled out 2 1/2 minutes apart midway through the fourth quarter.

Eighth-grader Danielle Rauch hit a spot-up three with 3:20 left to make it 61-56. Two possessions later - and after the Marauders made three free throws - sophomore Megan Sierotnik nailed a trey pushing the Ludden lead back to five, 64-59.

The Marauders immediately answered at the other end when Savy Irwin canned her fifth three-pointer of the game. Bishop Ludden missed the front end of a one-and-one on the other end, and Mattie Dowdall put S-E in position to tie the game when she was fouled on a drive to the rim.

Dowdall tied the game burying both charity tosses, but there was much ensuing drama.

Following Rauch's runner in the lane, the Marauders' Jordan van Althuis, who had a quiet night offensively to that point, matched Rauch's basket with her own runner on the right baseline.

The Marauders claimed the lead late after Rauch fouled Bridgette McDaniel with 3.6 seconds left in the game on an attempted offensive rebound. Optimism was abound after McDaniel made her two free throws to make it 68-66.

Bishop Ludden had its inbounds pass knocked out of bounds shedding half a second off the clock. Rauch, who accumulated 38 points on the night, took the incoming pass, and was fouled as time expired while attempting a three-pointer. With no time on the clock, Rauch made the latter two free throws to extend the game.

Rauch hit a three to start the overtime, but she was lone player on her squad who found the scoring column in the extra period. Van Althuis converted a traditional three-point play to tie the game, then broke the deadlock making two free throws with 1:59 left. From there, S-E hung on.

"We've had some games like this, but not with the season on the line," said S-E coach Karen Mulligan. "We have some players out there that can make plays for us, and you never think you're not going to come out with the win."

Rauch's night was likely the best-ever for an S-E opponent, and she still has four varsity years ahead.

Meanwhile, the Marauders are in the sectional semifinals for just the second time in the program's history. "We have some gamers on this team, an they don't want the season to end," Mulligan said.

Dowdall led S-E with 21 points, Irwin scored 18, van Althuis bucketed 15, and Berg had 11.

BL:   Megan Sierotnik, 2 2-4-7; Danielle Rauch, 14 5-9-38; Nicole Granteed, 1 6-10-8; Kellie Byrne, 1 0-0-2; Sarah Hayes, 2 2-2-7; Liz DeMartino, 0; Stephanie Brazell, 2 3-6-7; Gemma O'Kane, 0; Amanda Brogan, 2  0-0-4. Totals:  24 18-31-73

S-E: Stacia Beckwith, 0; Mikayla Solloway, 3 0-0-6; Jordan van Althuis, 5 5-6-15; Bridgette McDaniel, 1 2-3-4; Savannah Irwin, 5 3-5-18; Sydney Palmer, 0; Lilly Berg, 4 3-10-11; Mattie Dowdall, 5 7-12-21. Totals:  23 20-36-75.

BL    17  17  15  19  5--73

S-E     10  25  16  17  7--75

Fouled out: (SE) Berg, Solloway. (BL) Rauch, O'Kane, Granteed. Three-point goals:  (SE) Irwin 5, Dowdall 4, (BL) Rauch 5, Sierotnik, Hayes.

Boys Basketball

Sherburne-Earlville 60, Bishop Grimes 56

SHERBURNE – Sherburne-Eariville is returning to the Section III Class B finals for the first time in seven seasons.

The Marauders (17-3) made 12 of 15 free throws in the final quarter to extend their winning streak to nine games. Next on the docket is Utica Notre Dame, Friday at 8 p.m. at Onondaga Community College.

"We shoot free throws in practice every day, and one of the kids (after the game) said, 'I guess (shooting free throws) comes in handy,'" said Sherburne-Earlville head coach Kevin Vibbard.

The Cobras certainly didn't make it easy on S-E, and it wasn't until midway through the fourth quarter that the host club extended its lead beyond two points.