(February 29, 2008) — CHILI — The Rush-Henrietta girls haven't pressed opponents much this season because they aren't deep enough or experienced enough.
But the No. 2 seed was down three points late in the third quarter to No. 3 Penfield in Thursday night's Section V basketball semifinals, so the coaches made a decision.
"We said, 'What can we do to jump-start us? Let's roll the dice here,' '' coach Steve Shepanski said of a discussion with veteran assistant Tom Dulmage.
The gamble paid off.
R-H's press ignited a 17-0 run and the two-time defending state champions went on to beat rival Penfield, 58-49, in the Class AAA semifinals at Roberts Wesleyan College. The second-seeded Royal Comets (19-3) will try to win their fifth-straight sectional crown against top-seeded Fairport (20-2) in Monday's 8:30 p.m. title game at Blue Cross Arena at the Community War Memorial.
Senior forward Shenise Johnson, the two-time All-Greater Rochester Player of the Year, scored 10 points in that R-H run, which actually turned into a 25-2 surge that produced a 56-36 lead with 3½ minutes remaining.
"You can't make mistakes when you play Rush because they'll capitalize on turnovers and turn those into points," Penfield coach Mark Vogt said.
Senior guard Erica Yohannes was on the bench with three fouls during R-H's initial push. It included four points in the final 20 seconds of the third quarter, expanding a 36-34 R-H lead to 40-34 and giving the Comets momentum heading to the fourth.
"Everyone had butterflies early. It's a young team that hasn't played in sectionals," said Johnson, the lone returning starter from last year's squad. "But during the second half I just said, 'Let's have some fun,' because we were so timid in the beginning and everyone was frustrated. We play better when we have fun."
Johnson finished with 22 points, 20 rebounds, 5 steals and 5 assists. The McDonald's All-American, who has committed to the University of Miami, moved into 11th place on Section V's all-time scoring list with 2,066 points, one behind former Mercy star Trish Raniewicz.
Jessica Harman led Penfield (17-5) with 19 points, tying her career best, and fellow senior Alyssa Barrett had 12.
The Monroe County Division I rivals had played three times already this season. Penfield stopped an 11-game losing streak to R-H with a 50-49 overtime win on Jan. 11 when Johnson fouled out early in the fourth quarter. The Comets won the next two, 61-50 and 55-39 in the Monroe County Tournament.
Juniors Angelica Simmons, Bernadette Davis and LaDonya Rolle gave R-H balance, scoring 10 each. Johnson didn't score during the final six minutes.
"(Penfield) beefed up pressure in the diamond-and-one and there were times when Shenise was a non-factor, but I think we helped them out a little bit rushing shots," Shepanski said.
PENFIELD:
Colleen Coon 4, Alyssa Barrett 12, Sarah Tranelli 4, Erica Yohannes 8, Jessica Harman 19, Colleen Lynd 0, Allison Gerdes 2.
RUSH-HENRIETTA: Shenise Johnson 22, Bernadette Davis 10, Angelica Simmons 10, LaDonya Rolle 10, Heather Ziccarelli 6, Osha Jones 0.
3-point goals: Harman 2, Ziccarelli 2
JDIVERON@DemocratandChronicle.com
