Academy roars into Class B championship
TROY— The defensive prowess displayed by the Albany Academy for Girls basketball team during the state playoffs continued Friday morning, but the Bears also brought with them their usual offensive exploits and that combination proved to be a lethal mix for Section VI champion Southwestern.
Albany Academy for Girls started hot on offense by scoring 25 points in the opening quarter and maintained a defensive clamp throughout 32 minutes in registering an impressive 73-32 Class B state semifinal victory over the Trojans at Hudson Valley Community College’s Mcdonough Sports Complex.
The top-ranked Bears (22-3) will compete for the program’s first state championship Saturday night against Section III champion Utica Notre Dame (23-3), the state’s No. 2 ranked squad. Game time is 5:15 p.m.
“This is incredible for our school, incredible for our kids and community around Albany Academy,” AAG basketball coach Bryan Capitula said. “These kids are just buying in to what we’re doing.”
In three state playoff games, Albany Academy for Girls has allowed just 83 points after previously beating Saranac (46-30) and Gouverneur (46-21). Friday, the Bears made as many shots in the first quarter (nine) as the Trojans converted in the entire game. Southwestern (18-8) finished 9-for-51 (17.6 percent) from the field.
Capitula had his players using a zone defense and it clearly bothered the Trojans. Reece Beaver, a Daemen University commit who has scored more than 2,400 career points, led Southwestern with 22 points. She scored 17 in the first half and finished 7for-21 from the field.
“We can put stuff in at the last minute and the kids understand it,” Capitula said of switching to a zone. “Reece Beaver is an incredible player and will have a great career. She’s had a great high school career and kids bought in and weren’t going to let her score.”
The rest of the Trojans knocked down 2-of-30 shot attempts.
Putting the ball in the basket Friday was not an issue for the Bears. The trio of senior forward Bella Vincent, sophomore guard Alex Leonard and sophomore guard Eva Gitto combined to score 61 points and all three players shot better than 50 percent.
“We’re going to pass the ball, get the defense moving a bit and we’re going to shoot some 3s.” said Vincent, who topped the Bears with 21 points on 9for-14 accuracy. “Personally, if we keep moving the ball, no one is going to be able to stop us.”
Leonard (8-for-15) and Gitto (7-for-10) each tallied 20 points. The Bears drained 11 3-pointers, compared to four from Beaver.
Vincent, the team’s lone senior starter, buried a 3pointer with 2:06 remaining in the third quarter to reach 1,000 points for her career. She has been battling an ankle injury the past two weeks and was unaware of her milestone — even when it was announced at the conclusion of the third quarter.
“We kept it secret from Bella and let her parents know two weeks ago where she was at,” Capitula said. “We didn’t want her to have the burden of letting her know because sometimes kids press.”