Story and photos by JOHN ANDERSON
CANANDAIGUA — There were some in the Finger Lakes Community College gym who thought Hornell could reach the 100-point mark in the Section V final matchup with Mynderse on Friday night.
After all, the two-time defending champions were coming in 18-3 and Mynderse had a losing record. However, it’s also a fact that Mynderse plays in a tough Finger Lakes East division and they have an offense that has just enough movement to cause a good defense to make mistakes and they can control the tempo.
And control they did. Mynderse held a 23-22 lead at the half.
The question for Hornell was, who would take over in the second half for the Red Raiders?
Sharp-shooter Jordyn Drying, the all-everything selection with 17.2 points a game? The speedy Selena Maldonado who scores 13 a game and causes 13 turnovers? Raegan Evningham or Payton Bentley, both who almost average a double-double each in points and rebounds?
Enter junior Mia Nasca.
Who?
Yes, Mia Nasca, who averages three points a game, a couple rebounds, couple steals and assists. The guard drained a huge three-pointer to give Hornell momentum in the third quarter and turned into a Tom Brady-like field general in the second half.
Hornell decided to put on one of the greatest defensive clinics in Section V history to win the Section V Class B1 title, 36-27.
Mynderse did not score a single point in the third quarter. The Blue Devils had two free throws with 4:45 left in the game to stop a span of 12 minutes and seven seconds without a basket. Mynderse did not score their first basket of the second half until there was 1:14 left in the game. With just four points in almost 16 minutes, the nine-point lead in the final minute felt like a 90-point lead as Superfan Julio Maldonado was in his fourth costume change of the game counting down the seconds toward the three-peat.
Nasca was physically and emotionally drained as her teammates jumped in the air to celebrate. She joined them in a huddle near the scorers table, but she had left it all on the court.
During the game, Nasca realized what Mynderse was doing to keep the game close and during breaks in the action or while Mynderse brought the ball up the court, she was barking out defensive directions to the guards and pointing where her teammates had to go.
After the mob of parents took photos of the Section V champions, holding up the No. 3 sign for the historic three-straight Section V titles, the swarm of media grabbed Hornell coach Jim Dagon and Dyring, the Section V MVP.
A reporter put the recording device out in front of Nasca and said, “Can I talk to you?”
Nasca looked bewildered and said, “Me?” The answer was ‘yes you.’ Nasca looked left and right and said, “Are you sure? Me?” The reporter said, “You are Mia Nasca? The junior guard?” She agreed, it was her.
Dagon laughed. Then he said he was glad someone else noticed Hornell’s “glue kid.”
“She is always an unsung hero. She does not stuff the stat sheet in a way she is going to get a lot of publicity but she does everything we need her to do and she is constantly talking and she constantly knows what everyone’s responsibility is,” Dagon said. “It’s great to have a girl like that who is super unselfish and is willing to do the dirty work and willing to do anything we need to win. She is a glue-kid. She is a very valuable kid.”
Nasca admitted she did a little more on the court coaching this game.
“I was trying to keep our energy up, I wanted to talk to everyone when we were back on defense, so we all knew what we were doing and we would all stay together,” she said.
It also helped the team has played together for years and studied film.
“We had a couple days to look over their film, they were a very good team. We were coached up pretty good. We have learned from playing together so much that over time, we know what is going to happen and on defense we all work together so well,” Nasca said. “On offense, I had to find the shooters tonight, I had to find Jordyn more, I had to find the cutters coming through the middle. I think we had to communicate more, run our plays and work together as a team.”
Dagon’s team likes to cross half-court and take a three-pointer. Or a quick basket. Dagon took a risk in the fourth quarter by slowing the game up on offense in the fourth quarter. This strategy has hurt teams in sectionals before and resulted in a loss.
The Hornell girls suddenly looked the the Harlem Globetrotters. They were running in circles, passing the ball without dribbling. It turns out, it was a drill called infinity. The first time they tried it, a pass went through the lane to no one and hit the wall. But they stayed with it.
“We do a drill in practice all the time called infinity and it increases the ball movement. I felt shots weren’t falling, so taking those early shots wasn’t benefiting us like it normally does so we just had to work and take a better one,” Dagon said. “So I told them to go out and do the infinity drill. And they did and we got to the free throw line and got some great looks. We did what we had to do to win.”
Story continues after John Anderson’s slide show of the fans, celebrations and the game:
Dagon continued, “I mean, crazy things happen this time of the year, sometimes you have to adjust. Both teams played great defense and the girls bought into being a great defensive team in the second half. We held them to four points and we did what we had to to win. Every game is different this time of the year, so I was really happy with the adjustment.”
As for Bentley, he said, “She protected the paint and blocked shots. That gives us the ability to get out and put pressure on the other team. She had at least six blocks and double figures in rebounds.”
If you have never played against Selena Maldonado, you have no idea what speed looks like from watching on film. Teams look behind them after every dribble who know how quick she is. Mynderse did not have that luxury as Maldonado had eight steals, most of them pick-pockets.
“Selena is like the energizer bunny, she doesnt stop and just when you don’t think she’s got any more in tank, she hits another gear and it’s amazing to watch,” Dagon said. “She’s leaving right now to go to the state championships for track. She’s like her dad, endless energy!’
As for three in a row, Dagon said this one was different.
“This one is awesome. I felt this was our toughest schedule and the injury to Lillian Hoyt to start the year really triggered us to make a ton of adjustments and figure what our rotation was, our style of play and everything like that. We had a lot of stuff that didn’t work we had to throw in the trash,” Dagon said. “But the girls were super patient, they trusted the coaching staff and bought into each other and trusted each other as well and it really paid off. It’s been an enjoyable season, but it’s been a tough season.”
Dyring scored 17 of Hornell’s 36 points, a game high for the MVP while Bentley and Evingham combined for 12. Nasca’s three pointer and baskets from Maldonado and A’jonay Hawkins rounded up the unusual low-scoring game for Hornell.
But the defense allowed under 30 points for the second game in a row. Not a bad time to do it, the Section V semifinals and finals.
“We just had to start getting to the basket because our shots were not falling,” Dyring said. “We have so many other ways to score and we had to use that tonight. And our defense was definitely a big part, holding them to only four points in the second half.”
Last season, Dyring watched the Section V finals from the trainer table as Hornell defeated Dansville, 44-36 for the title.
This season, Hornell lost senior 1,000-point scorer Lillian Hoyt to an injury before the first game (story on scoring the 1,000th point with an injury).
The Red Raiders made sure she received the Section V block from Section V girls’ basketball coordinator Tim Lincoln at mid-court when the game was over.
“I feel thrilled with the win,” Dyring said. “It’s so weird without Lillian on the court, she was a missing piece but we did this for her.”
Nasca agreed.
“This one was pretty hard without her, but we’re glad she’s here,” Nasca said.
It’s not over for Hornell, now 19-3 on the season. Lyons (21-2), the No. 1 seed in Class B2 defeated No. 2 Marcus Whitman, 55-46. Hornell and Lyons will play in the Section V Class B Regional Qualifier on Tuesday.
Mynderse finishes the season 11-13, as all-tournament selection Peyton Verkey had nine points.
Wellsville’s Makenna Dunbar, a senior, made the Section V all-tournament team for the fourth year in a row. The selections:
Class B1 All Tournament Team:
Bailey Cooper (Penn Yan)
Makenna Dunbar (Wellsville)
Selena Maldonado (Hornell)
Chelsea Korzeniewski (Mynderse)
Payton Bentley (Hornell)
Peyton Verkey (Mynderse)
