Girls' Basketball

Binghamton 53, Norwich 37

NORWICH – Some early turnover woes combined with Binghamton's streaky outside shooting provided the fodder for the Patriots' STAC semifinal playoff win over the Purple Tornado Wednesday night at Norwich High School.

With 6-foot-3 Jodi-Marie Ramil and sister 6-foot-2 Olivia Ramil, clearing out on the inside, sharpshooter Monica McManus buried four threes against the Tornado finishing with a game-high 16 points.

"They have two or three kids that can knock down threes, and then you have a 6-foot-3 girl that clears the lane," said Norwich coach Josh Bennett of Binghamton. "You have to pick your poison. You can take try to take away the big kids or take away the shooters. We chose the big kids, and their shooters made shots."

While Binghamton's offense was formidable, its defense was equally fortress-like in the first half forcing 15 Norwich turnovers.

After Norwich's Makenzie Maynard made one free throw to give her club a 5-2 lead, the Pats finished the quarter on a 16-4 surge, much of that offense coming on easy buckets off Norwich miscues. To finish off the quarter, McManus nailed a trifecta making it an 18-9 game.

Reserve Adrienne Graves had five points in her club's 7-0 spurt early in the second quarter as the lead grew to 29-16 at halftime.