By Shaun Savarese

Sun Sports Writer

ssavarese@evesun.com

Walking into the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena Saturday afternoon, I went to a door, the right door, but not the door where I was supposed to be. I was attending my first sporting event as a writer for The Evening Sun: The Section IV Class B Basketball finals.

I found the press entrance on my own and waited for Evening Sun Sports Editor Patrick Newell and longtime photographer Frank Speziale. They arrived in no time after finding parking on a very difficult traffic day in Binghamton.

I have lived in the Binghamton area for four years, working as a production assistant for the Binghamton Mets. Having grown up in Sidney, I have been to a number of events at the Arena, but this was my first as a member of the press.

I was anticipating covering my first Norwich basketball game, and excited to see how the teams would fare.

We sat down courtside just as the Norwich girls varsity basketball team was surging onto the court preparing to play. Oneonta had won its last two meetings against Norwich, not to mention six straight sectional championships.

Coming off a 24-point playoff win over Waverly in February, it was clear that Norwich knew this was a big game. Oneonta looked determined as well, but the Tornado’s energy was channeled through its head coach Josh Bennett. He was motivated and focused early in the game.

The Arena’s court is a little different than what high school athletes are used to playing on as it a temporary hardwood floor built on top of an hockey rink. Along with the playing surface – and as a former Section IV football player at Sidney – I know the atmosphere in the locker room before a playoff game can be tense; however, both teams appeared relaxed during warmups and at the start of the game.

“Tornado!” shouted Bennett, following the opening tip. His team immediately reacted and slid into position. There was a bit of contact on the first play, and he was visibly concerned.

Early in the game, Meghan Komendarek, the 6-foot-1 freshman, scored baseline and I was immediately impressed.

Oneonta all-star Mariah Ruff answered back with a steal and a quick basket. Norwich’s Bennett redirected his team, urging them to “communicate.”

Senior guard Jenni Borfitz listened to her coach, and clamped down defensively, but Ruff could not be contained, draining a three-pointer. Carin Kuhn heeded the pleas of her coach, focused, and answered back with a three of her own. With 3:55 left in the first quarter, Norwich led 10-7 and I was locked into this Section IV Class B final.

On the opposite side of the court, Oneonta Yellowjackets head coach, Matt Miller, appeared more subdued, crouching and peering into his own zone defense, seemingly speculating the distance between each defender. As the first quarter ended, he stood up and welcomed his players into the huddle as Norwich led, 15-13.

The Norwich girls varsity basketball team shot five for 16 in the first quarter and the Oneonta Yellowjackets were subsequently five for 12. Neither club shot particularly well, but it got much worse for Norwich, especially the second half.

With 6:45 left in the second quarter, Borfitz drained a spot-up 15-footer. In Pat’s statistical notebooks – he has over a decade on hand in our files – I noticed that Borfitz came up as a freshman in 2010, but missed ten games to injury.

She had her best game as a sophomore in 2012, scoring 23 points in a 43-19 victory over Dryden. Borfitz was named all-state after her junior year and will likely be chosen again. In her two games against Oneonta this season, Borfitz scored nine points in the first game, and 12 points on Jan. 22. In this game, though, she would finish with just six.

Coming into the second quarter, the Purple Tornado clearly made an adjustment, were beginning to work the basketball inside in an attempt to penetrate Oneonta’s two-three zone.

Borfitz dribbled inside and performed a ballhandling technique that originated in Europe called the “euro-step.” It was a clear attempt to elude the defender using her stride and collapse the zone around her.