A total team scoring effort has the Frewsburg girls basketball team back in the state final four.
Five Frewsburg players scored at least nine points, as the Bears defeated Keshequa 58-44 in the Class C Far West Regional on Saturday afternoon at Buffalo State University.
The win sends Frewsburg to the NYSPHSAA semifinals for the second straight season.
“We play as five on the floor all the time,” said Frewsburg head coach Sierra Beaver. “We pride ourselves having a lot of people who can score.”
It didn’t take the Bears (19-5) long to take control of the game.
A 12-0 Frewsburg run from the opening tip highlighted by a Jadyn Trocki 3-point play put the Bears in front, and they didn’t look back the rest of the way.
Frewsburg led by as many as 20 in the first half and knocked in three second quarter 3-pointers, as a balanced scoring attack helped the Bears to a 34-17 halftime advantage.
“I think having intensity was a huge thing for us coming into this game,” Trocki said. “We didn’t let up.”
Defensively, the Bears’ active hands along with quick switches and rotations were a consistent problem for Keshequa, whose first possession of the second half was a shot clock violation.
“Playing team defense, somebody gets beat the next person steps up,” Beaver said. “That was a big focus for us.”
It felt like every Bears starter had a big basket at some point, but Teghan Trocki’s four 3-pointers propelled her to 18 points to lead her team. Her sister Jadyn finished with 10, while Ava Jimerson (10), Taytum Jimerson (9) and Abery Harvey (9) all made big contributions.
“I think that’s why our team is so successful,” said Teghan Trocki on her team’s scoring depth. “We have like five kids who can score 20 points on any given night, and it’s so cool how unselfish we are. I think that’s what helps us win.”
The only thing that seemed to slow down the Bears all game was the fire alarm going off midway through the third quarter, which led to a partial evacuation of the arena before play resumed less than 10 minutes later.
The Wildcats (22-2) cut their deficit down to 13 midway through the third on a Braelyn Isaman 3-point play, but that was as close as they would come until the final minute. Isaman led her side with 17 points.
Now with back-to-back regional championships under their belt, the Bears have their eyes on a state title. Boasting impressive wins over Lancaster and Williamsville South, a tough non-league schedule helped prepare them for this time of year.
“We wanted to play teams that we felt were going to put five solid players on the floor,” Beaver said of Frewsburg’s non-league schedule. “I think that helped us not only get ready for states and so forth, but to get ready to care of our section, which I think, Section VI Class C had really good basketball this year. So it was able to help us get out.”
Frewsburg will face Section I’s Tuckahoe in the state semifinals at 7:45 p.m. Thursday at Hudson Valley Community College.
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