ELLICOTTVILLE — The Salamanca girls basketball team started off its game against Ellicottville doing more than enough, but come the end of the game, it managed to do just enough to survive a late charge from its hosts, winning 51-48.
The Warriors wasted little time jumping ahead of the Eagles and managed to take a 15-point lead with them into halftime, winning 35-20. The main source of their early success was Leilene McComber, who scored 22 of her game-high 24 points in the first half.
However, after the interval was a different story.
The high rate at which the Salamanca offense was humming slowed as it managed just 16 points in the second half. And in the meantime, Ellicottville took full advantage bringing the game within nine points by the end of the third frame and within single digits towards the end of regulation.
Luckily for the Warriors, a put-back bucket from Kynleigh Wass was just enough to put the comeback out of reach for the Eagles.
“We knew coming in that this game would be different at their place,” Salamanca coach Joe Hinman siad. “Ellicottville always plays us tough and it showed tonight. It’s always a good local rivalry game. It felt like a rollercoaster ride of a game but this team stays resilient and continues to battle. We needed this game heading into the postseason.”
AT ELLICOTTVILLE
Salamanca (51)
McComber 5 11-14 24, Foster 4 0-0 10, Wass 2 1-1 5, Crouse 1 2-3 4, Galante 2 0-0 4, Lafferty 2 0-0 4. Totals: 16 14-18 51
Ellicottville (48)
Northrup 5 3-3 15, Leiper 5 0-5 11, Marsh 2 3-8 7, Ficek 2 1-3 6, John 2 0-0 5, Whitmer 2 0-0 4. Totals: 18 6-18 48
Sala. 20 35 44 51
Eville 9 20 35 48Three-point goals: Sala. 5 (McComber 3, Foster 2), Eville 5 (Northrup 2, John, Ficek, Leiper); Total fouls: Sala. 16, Eville 12; fouled out: Whitmer (Eville).
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