BUFFALO NEWS


GIRLS BASKETBALL  Class A-2 semifinals

   With the season slipping away, second-seeded Grand Island put together a late run that carried it to a 41-38 victory over No. 3 Pioneer. The Vikings, who trailed by five points at halftime and were in a 34-30 hole entering the final quarter, went on an 11-4 spurt to finish Pioneer's year. Val Gasbarro's free throw with less than two minutes to play put Grand Island (20-2) ahead for good, and teammate Megan MacGuire made both ends of a one-and-one with 28 seconds left for the three-point margin. Gasbarro finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds. The Panthers (17-5) were paced by sophomore forward Danielle Williams, who finished with 13 points.
   Grand Island will play in the finals at 8 p.m. Wednesday in the Flickinger Center against Hamburg, which rolls into the game on a high note. The top-seeded Bulldogs (16-6) put their defensive bite on Sweet Home, holding the Panthers to only 10 points in the first half of a 47-27 victory.
   Erin Zahariev gave Hamburg a boost with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Jenny Lardo added a game-high 16 points. The ECIC I champs also picked up 10 rebounds from Becky Williams. Sweet Home, which finished the season 11-11, had only four players score, led by Tracy Shields' 13 points.




BUFFALO NEWS

By MARY JO MONNIN
News Sports Reporter
2/19/2002

GIRLS BASKETBALL  Class A-1

Lockport is shooting for its fifth consecutive A-1 title and third straight overall title. No team has ever won five straight titles. Senior center Allison Depp had a spectacular sectional last year, averaging 24 points in six playoff games.

"I'm very confident with this team," said Lockport coach Bill Shaw. "We're playing as hard as we've played all year and that's what we need to do to be successful. If we don't play hard though and execute, we're not very good. I think Allison is playing very well right now. When she goes to the offensive glass and comes to the ball hard, she's tough. And we're that much better when she does that."

The A-1 bracket appears to be the most wide open of the classes as all 12 teams have at least six losses. . . . No. 1 seed Kenmore East is on a roll winning nine of its last 10. Rachel Pitkin (15.3 ppg.) and Jen Lanthier (11.4) look to lead the Bulldogs to their first title since 1995.