NORTH CHILI — As Penfield’s Megan Malloy and Sheila Nesselbush were handed the Section V trophy after Thursday night’s 63-52 Class AAA championship game win over Gates Chili, there was no stopping the rest of the Patriots.
They were coming.
They sprinted onto the court and swarmed their captains, just like the way Penfield kept going at the basket all night. The top-seeded Patriots won the highly anticipated rematch with No. 2 seed, defending champion and rival Gates Chili in front of a standing-room-only crowd at Roberts Wesleyan College.
A year ago, they squandered a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter by being too cautious, playing not to lose it. They made amends Thursday.
“It’s not about stopping them. It’s about scoring baskets,” said Patriots coach Mark Vogt, whose 21-0 team plays Greece Athena (17-4) in Monday’s Class AA state tournament qualifying game at Roberts. “I think we learned a big lesson from last year: Keep attacking.”
That’s why with two minutes left and Penfield up 53-49, sophomore forward and tournament MVP Margot Hetzke caught a pass at midcourt on a fastbreak and rather than burn clock whipped a pass underneath to junior guard Sheila Nesselbush for a layup. That’s why, after a travel call on the Spartans (19-2), Sheila’s twin sister, Michelle, didn’t hold up on the wing. She saw an opening and drove in for another layup.
Senior point guard Megan Malloy (16 points, six assists), Sheila Nesselbush (four points, six assists) and Hetzke (14 points) went 6-for-6 at the line over the final 36 seconds to seal it, as Gates Chili 3-pointers kept clanking. Michelle Nesselbush added 14 points and sophomore forward Lucy Covley nearly doubled her average, scoring 14 while grabbing 11 rebounds to help Penfield win its second title in four years.
“They have five players that are all threats. You try to shut down one, you try to shut down the other and someone else steps up,” Gates Chili coach Tara Graziadei said.
Penfield and the Spartans occupied the top two spots in the Democrat and Chronicle’s coaches’ poll, but the rematch was also hyped because it was on a neutral floor. Last year, the Section V committee voted to keep the title game, which was scheduled for Gates Chili like many others, on the Spartans’ home court.
“This thing has been built up for a year,” Vogt said, adding he has a “ton of respect” for the Spartans. “As much as we tried not to talk about it, everywhere we went it was ‘You and Gates. You and Gates.’ ”
It was neck-and-neck most of the night, too. Hetzke (17.5 points per game) and Gates’ All-Greater Rochester point guard Kori Bayne-Walker (15.5 ppg) both struggled in the first half.
Gates’ box-and-one defense limited Hetzke’s touches. Malloy’s free throws two minutes into the third quarter gave Penfield a 29-28 lead, one they’d never give up, as both teams heated up. Gates sophomore Cierra Dillard (12 points), then Malloy, then Gates’ Diona Johnson traded 3-pointers on successive trips. Penfield led 44-43 early in the fourth, but Hetzke and Covley hit consecutive 3-pointers and Hetzke made a layup as Dillard picked up her fourth foul. She sequence helped her get to 1,007 career points.
“This year,” Hetzke said, “we went in like it was going to be a fight every second of the game.”
It was. But it was worth it, too.
“I don’t regret anything that happened last year, and if that’s what it took to get us here, then so be it,” Malloy said.
