High school girls basketball: General Brown seeks to cap off season with state title | Frontier League
DEXTER — The realization that Thursday’s workout would be the last home practice for General Brown this season hit the Lions, but their mission is clear.
General Brown is seeking its first NYSPHSAA girls basketball crown in school history. General Brown (22-2) will take on Section 2’s Schalmont (25-1) in a Class B semifinal at 2:15 today at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy.
Seniors Karsyn Fields and Emma Dupee are the two seniors on the team and took stock of the last home practice of their careers.
“It’s sad that (Thursday) was the last home practice,” Dupee said. “This week is a good way to end it, though.”
General Brown enjoyed a good shooting night in its Class B quarterfinal victory over Section 4’s Norwich last Sunday. The Lions have been able to beat teams even without playing their best game from the floor. So it was a welcome sight to see their shots drop.
“Our shooting has been kind of inconsistent this year, but we stepped up against Norwich and that was a key for us,” General Brown head coach Janelle Ferris said.
The quarterfinal victory was littered with runs, but General Brown had a couple more to get the 72-52 victory. The Lions withstood the Purple Tornadoes’ pressure for their first state final four berth.
“Whenever they pressed us, we just learned to stay composed,” Fields said. “Once we broke their press, we were able to score layups.”
Schalmont is paced by Payton Graber, who is the program’s all-time leading scorer, and Haley Burchhardt. Graber, a senior guard who is closing in her 2,000th point, has drawn interest from NCAA Division I programs like Columbia and Albany.
Schalmont, which won its first sectional title since 1996, is the second-ranked team in the state in Class B and is playing in its first state final four.
“It seems like they’re the type of team that puts in a lot of work like we do in the offseason,” Ferris said.
The Lions are hoping to use their speed and pressure defense to increase the tempo against the Sabres. General Brown has been able to find different ways to win on offense, but the defense has always been there for the team.
“We definitely need to speed the game up so we can force them to play our game,” junior Kori Nichols said.
General Brown has been working on improving its half-court game just in case the game slows down. The Lions won the Section 3 final against Bishop Grimes in a game that was played at a slower pace,
“It’s really nice that we’ve always been able to find a way to pull out a win,” Dupee said.
Normally many of the Lions players are concentrating on softball or girls lacrosse at this time instead of being the last winter sport at the school that’s playing. Fields, who plays on the softball team, wouldn’t want it any other way.
“The spring season, and the fact that it’s going on (now), is crazy,” Nichols said.
General Brown is focused on the semifinal, but the thought of winning the school’s first state title is a tantalizing one.
“We’ve been working for this moment our whole lives and it would be awesome to pull it off.” Fields said.
The winner will play the winner of the other semifinal between Section 1’s Putnam Valley and Section 5’s Waterloo in the final, set for 11:45 a.m. Sunday at Hudson Valley CC.
At Hudson Valley CC, Troy
General Brown (22-2) vs. Schalmont (25-1), 2:15 p.m.
