Tri-County Cup at C-R: Pioneer rolls to title, Mullen’s 33 paces C-G past Olean in Consolation
By Chris Brooks, wellsvillesports.com, photos by Tricia Davenport
CUBA — Saturday morning arrived in full for the conclusion of the Tri-County Cup on the hardwood at Cuba-Rushford. Through the early afternoon, the weekend-concluding twinbill saw two dominant performances take center stage, both scoring first quarter shutouts to set the bar in their respective battles.
In the Consolation round to open the tournament’s docket, the first was scored by Canisteo-Greenwood, who saw Bailey Mullen provide a massive eruption from all angles on the floor, scoring a game-high 33 points to propel the Lady Chargers towards a split of the Tri-County Cup with a 63-31 victory over the Lady Huskies of Olean.
The Lady Chargers (3-3) came out of the gate at full force against Olean with a magnificent first eight minutes that allowed them to cement their presence in the driver’s seat for the remainder of the game, as they recorded an overpowering 19-0 scoreless run of the Lady Huskies led by Mullen and her eight points in the frame.
The momentum was carried forward all the way to the end of the first half, when Mullen led the offense for the Lady Chargers once more by finishing with 17 first half points. To go with her game-high 33 points, she produced 10 rebounds and five steals to aid in finishing off her All-Tournament paced performance.
Following behind was Kora Button, who recorded 10 points. Paris May had seven points to coincide with 11 boards, eight steals and five assists. Adding more assistance in the special teams department was McKenna Ferris and Sydney Drouin, both grabbing eight rebounds off the glass.
The Lady Chargers are back on the road Monday night with a 6 p.m. visit to Alfred-Almond.
To round off the afternoon in the Wighthouse, the Tri-County Cup title would belong to the Pioneer Lady Panthers, as they held the Lady Rebels of Cuba-Rushford at a complete standstill across the first three quarters of play behind an exceptional display of defense, propelling forward towards the tournament’s crown with a 48-11 victory.
The first half gave Pioneer all the time and room they needed to finish their two-day tenure strong, as they capitalized on every opportunity they were granted to come away with an early 11-0 first quarter lead and build upon it with a 22-0 half-ending run, keeping all momentum in their favor from that point on.
Cuba-Rushford (2-4) was led by Brynn Lavery and her six points, all off a pair of triples. Shae Maples had one more triple to pitch in, while Aubrey Williams had the last two points to record.
The Lady Rebels are back on the floor Monday night back inside the Wighthouse, hosting Friendship/Scio in a 7:30 p.m. contest.
Consolation
Canisteo-Greenwood 19 15 15 14 – 63
Olean 0 6 15 10 – 31
CANISTEO-GREENWOOD: Kora Button 3 3-5 10, Bailey Mullen 13 4-6 33, Kadyn Pilero 2 1-2 5, McKenna Ferris 2 0-0 4, Harlie McCaffery 0 0-2 0, Sidney Drouin 2 0-2 4, Paris May 3 1-2 7. Totals: 25 9-19 63.
OLEAN: Alaina Hirliman 5 0-0 14, Amy Campbell 2 2-2 6, Anna Bates 0 1-2 1, Jourdein Battle 3 1-2 10. Totals: 10 4-6 31.
3-point goals: C-G 4 (Mullen 3, Button), Olean 7 (Hirliman 4, Battle 3).
Total Fouls: C-G 10, Olean 11. Fouled out: None.
Championship
Cuba-Rushford 0 0 0 11 – 11
Pioneer 11 22 6 9 – 48
CUBA-RUSHFORD: Aubrey Williams 1 0-0 2, Shae Maples 1 0-0 3, Brynn Lavery 2 0-2 6. Totals: 4 0-2 11.
PIONEER: Gretchen Rumfola 3 0-0 6, Jayden Leederman 3 0-0 6, Celsy Colombo 3 0-0 7, Shay Edwards 1 0-4 2, Delaney Petri 3 0-2 7, Alania Barber 3 0-0 6, Abby Mason 2 0-1 4, Sarah Morris 2 0-0 4, Bailey Hopkins 2 0-0 6. Totals: 22 0-7 48.
3-point goals: C-R 3 (Lavery 2, Maples), Pioneer 4 (Hopkins 2, Colombo, Petri).
Total Fouls: C-R 8, Pioneer 7. Fouled out: None.
Scio Christmas Tournament: Friendship/Scio 34, Alfred-Almond 7
SCIO — With emotions at an all-time high for Friendship/Scio’s first victory fueled by a historic performance from Nevaeh Ross, the attention was now turned to finishing the job the very next night as champions of their own Christmas Tournament.
Something that has never been done before.
To make sure that the week ended on the most positive of notes, Friendship/Scio took advantage on the defensive front to hold Alfred-Almond to just four points in the first half, while the offense translated that on the other end of the floor behind the guidance of Morghyn Ross, as the hosts in white and gold came away as Christmas Tournament champions for the first time ever with a perfect 2-0 record and a 34-7 win over the Lady Eagles.
With Nevaeh Ross and Emily Lamberson helping take the lead for Friendship/Scio (4-1) just 24 hours ago, it was their younger siblings’ turn to captain the ship towards victory, as both Morghyn Ross and Avery Lamberson combined to record 27 of the team’s 34 total points in the contest. Ross was the team’s leading scorer with a game-high 19 points to pair with six steals, while Lamberson had eight to chip in with seven boards and six steals.
The hosts were able to kickstart a first half lead they never looked back on against Alfred-Almond, as they commanded a 17-4 advantage heading into the locker room. Adding help to power Friendship/Scio’s success even further was Nevaeh Ross, who had eight rebounds and five assists to hand out on special teams, while Cece Davenport collected her first ever point from the free throw line.
Friendship/Scio is back on the hardwood over the road Monday night, visiting Cuba-Rushford in a 7:30 p.m. contest.
Alfred-Almond 2 2 3 0 – 7
Friendship/Scio 8 9 11 6 – 34
ALFRED-ALMOND: Kaylianna Clark 1 0-0 2, Maeve Turner 0 2-2 2, Alexis Kuhn 1 0-0 3. Totals: 2 2-2 7.
FRIENDSHIP/SCIO: Emily Lamberson 1 0-0 2, Nevaeh Ross 1 0-0 2, Avery Lamberson 4 0-1 8, Sophie Bolzan 1 0-0 2, Cece Davenport 0 1-2 1, Morghyn Ross 8 0-0 19. Totals: 15 1-3 34.
3-point goals: A-A 1 (Kuhn), F/S 3 (M. Ross).
Total Fouls: A-A 11, F/S 4. Fouled out: None.
