Red Raiders pass the test Fairport outlasts Greece Arcadia/Olympia for first Class title in 14 years
It wasn’t always pretty, but it was storybook. Fairport, the tournament’s sixth and final seed and winners of five games during the regular season, is Section V’s Class AAA champion.
The Red Raiders won a knock-down, drag-out war with Greece Arcadia/ Olympia 42-35 to earn the program’s first championship in 14 years.
“The girls really started gelling at the right time,” Fairport coach Tom Vasey said. “I think our brutal schedule really prepared us for these moments. Early in the season we might’ve collapsed and turned the ball over. Arcadia really tested us at the end, and that’s where our training really came into play to seal the deal.”
The win completes a full circle moment for Vasey. He was on the losing side of Fairport’s run to the state tournament in 2010 as Our Lady of Mercy’s coach, when the Red Raiders beat his team in Section V’s large school play-in game.
Vasey led Mercy to three titles before stepping away three years ago. He returned to the bench this winter when Fairport’s head coach position became available and now carries a unique distinction of leading two programs to section titles.
“I coached a lot of the girls in their younger years in CYO and AAU. And I’m a hometown Fairport boy so the opportunity to coach here, it’s probably the only job I would’ve come out for,” Vasey said.
There’s additional historical significance to Fairport’s win. This winter is the first time New York state will hold a Class AAA tournament, and the Red Raiders’ win grants them the distinction of being Section V’s first representative.
“This team has come a long way. We had a long stretch of hard teams to play, but we knew we could win this
year,” Fairport guard Lola Pucci said. “I think it’s awesome and I think we really deserved it.”
How it happened
Points proved near-impossible to come by in the first half of the game. Fairport and Greece combined for only 14 points in the opening eight minutes.
It wasn’t until the third that Fairport found its offensive groove. Four different players scored baskets while Amiya Johnson and Kate Patterson both drained 3s to push the Red Raiders’ lead to double digits. Greece, however, did not go away quietly. Two free throws from Shania Estrich followed by Maddy Kielkowicz’s 3 trimmed Fairport’s lead to five, 40-35, with 25 seconds to go.
Fairport did its part to let Greece hang around, missing seven free throw tries in the fourth quarter. Inside the final minute, though, Pucci swished four straight from the line to close the game.
“During one of the timeouts after we missed all those free throws, I just said, ‘The misses are out of the way, now we go back to making our shots,’” Vasey said. “Lola had a huge game against Edison (in the semifinals) on the free throw line, and I knew she was gonna knock them down in the end.”
All-tournament team: Jada Crocker, Fairport (MVP); Lola Pucci, Fairport; Delaney McIntyre, Fairport; Shania Estrich, Greece Arcadia/Olympia; Maddy Kielkowicz, Greece Arcadia/Olympia; Ashlyn Roberts, Rush-Henrietta; Kaysia Jones, Edison/WOIS/SWW.
By the numbers
7- Sectional titles for Fairport (2024, 2010, 2001, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1991).
3- Number of scorers in double figures in points. All three (Kielkowicz, Estrich, Aimee Turner) belonged to Greece.
Up next
Fairport will host Section VI champion Lancaster in the NYSPHSAA Class AAA regionals on March 8. Lancaster is currently ranked No. 14 in New York state.