Mexico’s pressure sinks Whitesboro

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It was all there for the Whitesboro girls basketball team.

The top-seeded Warriors clung to a three-point lead late in a see-saw game with Mexico Saturday. Then the Tigers applied the pressure.

Mexico’s press created Warriors’ turnovers, and the No. 3 seeded Tigers outscored Whitesboro 8-3 over the final 3:34 to defeat Whitesboro 42-39 in the Section III Class A final at the Utica Memorial Auditorium

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“The thing that produced the most problems was their pressure,” Whitesboro coach Patrick Reader said.

Mexico (18-5) plays the Section X champion at 6 p.m. Tuesday in a state regional game Tuesday at Potsdam State. The Tigers had to come from behind with less than four minutes left in the game to win their first Section III title.

Whitesboro (18-5) led 37-34 with 3:34 left after Meghan Lewis completed a three-point play. Mexico’s Angie Josbena scored the Tigers’ next six points to give the team a 40-37 lead with 1:14 remaining. Josbena hit a shot and was fouled to cut the lead to one point with 2:14 left, and the senior forward got inside for a bucket with 1:33 that gave the Tigers a 38-37 lead.

A basket by Whitesboro’s Betsy Gadziala with 59 seconds remaining cut the Tigers’ lead to one point, 40-39.

“They started to put pressure on us and we didn’t handle it well,” said Gadziala, who scored 16 points and had seven rebounds in her final game for Whitesboro. “It’s loud in here and it’s tough to play here.”

Still down one, the Warriors had the ball with 15.9 seconds to play but they threw it out of bounds and had to call time out. Josbena was fouled by Jaclyn McLauglin and missed both at the line. Evie Josbena got the offensive rebound off the second miss and put it back in for the final basket with 10 seconds remaining.

“We had no timeouts and we’re scrambling,” Reader said of the Warriors’ final possession. “With no timeouts, there aren’t many options.”

Angie Josbena led Mexico with 16 points. Evie Josbena, Angie’s sister, added 10 points.

“There’s two of them, that’s what makes them effective,” Gadziala said. “They’re both physical players.”

Mexico started the fourth quarter with a 31-28 lead on the strength of a 9-0 run over the final 1:17 of the third quarter. Francesca Cotrupe’s basket just before the third-quarter buzzer stopped the run for Whitesboro, which had some momentum down by three points.

It was back-and-forth in the early going of the fourth quarter. An Allie Cady basket gave Whitesboro a one-point lead about one minute in and Evie Josbena tied the game at 32-32 with one of two from the line. Gadziala reclaimed the lead for the Warriors with two from the line after getting fouled by Chrissy Sawyer. After an Angie Josbena basket, Lewis came up with her three-point play.

Mexico (18-5): Genna Tripoli 2, Evie Josbena 10, Cassi Hall 6, Angie Josbena 16, Chrissy Sawyer 1, Megan Raymond 1. Totals: 16-5-42.
Whitesboro (18-5): Francesca Cotrupe 4, Lauren Dudziak 4, Jaclyn McLaughlin 6, Betsy Gadziala 16, Meghan Lewis 5, Alexis Partyka 2. Totals: 15-8-39.
3-pointers: Mexico 2 (Hall); Whitesboro 1 (Dudziak).