By HUNTER O. LYLE
lyleoleanstar@gmail.com
As the Section VI girls’ basketball postseason begins, four familiar faces prepare for two weeks of intense, high stakes contests. While some are used to reaching the far branches of the playoff tree and others are just happy to be on a limb, all of them have a chance to bring home a banner.
Although they are just one year removed from their Section VI Class B2 championship run, the Portville girls’ basketball team looks quite different. Losing six seniors, four of which were starters, the Lady Panthers’ workload fell on the shoulders of a much younger roster.
“Off the court, this group is one of the best that I’ve ever had as far as camaraderie, getting along, genuine excitement and respect that they all have for each other. You can just tell that they love each other more than just when they’re in the gym,” said Portville head coach Inga Welty. “As far as on the court itself, it’s hard because there’s instances where I think, ‘wow we just did that,’ but then there’s still times where I’m like, ‘what the heck did we just do?’ It just kind of depends on the instances we’re put in.”
While their near-.500 record – 11-9 – may not seem all that threatening, Portville is used to being the underdog, at least on paper. In the last playoffs, the soon-to-be champions entered the bracket at the seventh seed, having to battle each night as they paved their own way to the Sectional finals. This year, the Lady Panthers earned the eighth seed.
Portville’s playoffs begin on Wednesday, when they host No. 9 Cleveland Hill (3-16) at 7 p.m. Upon winning their first round faceoff, they will travel into hostile territory for a chance to upset No. 1 Riverside (15-1). That potential contest would take place in McKinely at noon on Saturday.
“When we were in the locker room after we beat Franklinville and Ellicottville this week, we said that all the other games that we won or lost don’t matter. What matters is what we do from this point forward,” said Welty. “I think that mindset that if we all show up and do what we’re supposed to do, we’re going to be successful because we did it last year as the No. 7 seed.”
Similar to the Lady Panthers, Allegany-Limestone has taken a step back since last season but are still vying for a chance at a Sectional title.
Last years’ Lady Gator campaign produced a winning record at 13-8, good enough for the fourth seed. However, after beating No. 5 Eden, A-L ran into top seeded Wilson, who eventually dispatched the Lady Gators with a slim two-point victory.
Despite retaining the majority of their key contributors, A-L has not found the same success as last season. Getting off to a bumpy start with five consecutive losses which eventually snowballed into a 1-8 record halfway through the season, the Lady Gators struggled to find their footing yet finished the season on a 7-3 clip. With their late surge, they managed to secure the fifth seed in the B2 playoffs where they will get a chance for some sort of redemption. On Saturday, the Lady Gators will get another shot at Wilson, who fell in the standings to the fourth seed at 13-7. That matchup will take place at Wilson at 1:30 p.m.
Allegany-Limestone’s Maddie Kahm shoots a contested 3-pointer during their matchup with Olean on Tuesday, Jan. 14. The Lady Gators (9-11) earned the fifth seed in the Class B2 postseason and will play No. 4 Wilson on Saturday. | File photo by Hunter O. Lyle
A season ago, Salamanca entered the Class B2 postseason with the No. 3 seed, earning a bye through the first round. At 15-5, the Lady Warriors took down No. 6 JFK in the quarterfinals before meeting No. 7 Portville in the semis. Despite being the higher seed, Salamanca inevitably fell to the eventual Section VI champions, 47-35.
“It was a good run. We’re just hoping to take that next step this year. Last year we had a solid group of seniors and it didn’t go the way we wanted to but we have a different team this year,” said Salamanca head coach Joe Hinman. “Our path is kind of what we want. There’s some good, solid teams out there but I think if we stay on top of everything and don’t let ourselves get in the way, we’ll be something special.”
Flash forward a year and the Lady Warriors are back in the hunt. This season, they finished the regular season at 14-6. Collecting wins in pairs as they bounced through the schedule, Salamanca closed out the year with their best basketball, entering the postseason on a 5-0 win streak.
“Offensively and defensively we were finding our rhythm. There were quarters where we didn’t look so great, but we found a way to make it happen. The only thing that matters is the score on the board at the end,” said Hinman. “We just got some momentum going and we’re looking to carry it into the postseason.”
Collecting momentum at the opportune time, the Lady Warriors hold the No. 2 seed and another bye through the first round of the postseason. On Saturday, they will take on the winner of the No. 7 vs No. 10 matchup – either Roy-Hart or Falconer.
“We’re just taking it one game at a time. We’re just staying focused and it starts with practice,” said Hinman. “We just want to remain focused, take it one game at a time and keep our eyes on the ultimate goal and that’s the Sectional title.”
Moving into the Class A2 bracket, it was another tough year for Olean yet they had glimpses of progress. After finishing the regular season at 1-18 a year prior, the Lady Huskies improved to 4-14 as they worked on developing their youth. With the No. 8 seed, Olean earned home court advantage as they host No. 9 Albion (5-11) on Tuesday. Tip off is slated for 7 p.m.
