Mar 24, 2022
OBSERVER Photo by Matt Spielman Chautauqua Lake’s Lily Woodis attempts to move past Frewsburg’s Elise Sposato.
Lily Woodis and Abby Rice are teammates with the XGen Elite AAU program so when Woodis began to take over during the first half of Wednesday’s Chautauqua County Exceptional Senior All-Star game at SUNY Fredonia’s Dods Hall, Rice had to be happy.
But make no mistake about it, before the night was over Chautauqua County’s all-time leading scorer in girls basketball was going to leave her mark.
Rice scored 18 of her 25 points in the fourth quarter as an undermanned North team beat the South team 74-71.
“For some odd reason, I start off games very slow,” Rice said. “The third and fourth quarters are my quarters. I don’t know why.”
Three Pine Valley seniors and one from Cassadaga Valley were listed on the North roster, but did not play in the game, leaving Chautauqua Lake’s Woodis, Mercedez Obert and Emma Lindsey to team up with the Black Knights’ Rice, Malani Eldridge and Jade Bouvier along with Fredonia’s Nevaeh Zadzilka.
OBSERVER Photo by Matt Spielman Silver Creek’s Malani Eldridge dribbles to the hoop against Frewsburg’s Tyra Clark.
“It was great to have one last hurrah with my Silver Creek teammates and Lily, an AAU teammate,” Rice said. “The chemistry we had was great. Even though we only had seven players, we knew we just had to go and have fun.”
Woodis scored 12 points in the first quarter as the North jumped out to a 21-16 lead, but the South team eventually took the lead with 5:58 left in the second quarter and held a 36-30 halftime advantage.
“In the beginning, I was a little nervous,” Woodis said. “Once we got into it, I thought, ‘I might as well shoot. We only have seven, who else is going to?’”
During the break, a couple of underclassmen stole the show as Southwestern sophomore Reece Beaver and Frewsburg freshman Teagan Trocki squared off in the finals of a 3-point contest. Trocki went 11 of 15 in the final round to claim the title.
The South team still led 56-46 after three quarters before Rice took over the game. She scored nine of the first 11 points of the fourth quarter, including a 3-pointer, to pull her team within three.
OBSERVER Photo by Matt Spielman Chautauqua Lake’s Emma Lindsey puts a shot over Clymer’s Mikala Einink.
“Abby was saying she was a little stressed and I said, ‘Who cares? We have another quarter to play. Just come out and play your best then,’” Woodis said.
Woodis eventually tied the game with a bucket and Obert scored on a putback to give the North a 62-60 lead with 5:10 remaining.
Frewsburg’s Elise Sposato picked up a steal and a lay-in as the South led 66-65 with 3:20 left before Rice made a pair of free throws to make it 67-66.
Sherman’s Jenna Fisher, fresh off a trip to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class D championship game, scored in the lane to give the South team its final lead at 68-67 with 3:00 remaining.
But Rice again put her team in front with a bucket and a pair of free throws before a 3-pointer to make it 74-68 with 1:30 remaining.
OBSERVER Photo by Matt Spielman Fredonia’s Nick Whitfield was named the Most Valuable Player after scoring 26 points for the North team in the Chautauqua County Exceptional Senior All-Star game at SUNY Fredonia’s Dods Hall on Wednesday night.
Maple Grove’s Madi Price drilled a 3-pointer with 33 seconds remaining, but the South team’s last-ditch efforts came up short.
“It was spectacular,” Woodis said. “It was awesome to play with my senior teammates as well as the seniors from Silver Creek and Fredonia.”
WHITFIELD SHINES IN LOSS
Fredonia’s Nick Whitfield scored 25 points and put down a few dunks that he’s become known for the North team, but the South won the boys game 91-77.
The St. Francis University-bound football star had 19 points in the first half as the North trailed 46-44, but the South’s depth became too much in the final 20 minutes.
OBSERVER Photo by Matt Spielman Dunkirk’s Marcel Carter drives the lane.
Five players reached double figures for the South team, led by Jamestown’s Jaylen Butera with 16 points. Sherman’s Gerald Carris had 15 points and Jamestown’s Jaral Farmer had 13 while Southwestern’s Aidan Kennedy and Jamestown’s Andre Maple each had 10.
Clymer junior Blake Kopta won the halftime 3-point contest over Westfield freshman Carson Swanson.
GIRLS ALL-STARS
NORTH (74)
Zadzilka 0 0 0, Bouvier 1 0 2, Obert 9 1 20, Eldridge 0 1 1, Rice 7 8 25, ELindsey 1 0 2, Woodis 9 3 24. Totals 27 13 74.
SOUTH (71)
Fenton 0 0 0, Fisher 3 0 6, Clark 4 2 10, Einink 2 2 8, Lundmark 3 1 8, Sposato 3 2 9, Price 2 2 7, Spangenburg 3 0 7, Lisciandro 0 3 3, KLindsey 2 4 8, Honey 2 1 5. Totals 24 17 71.
3-point goals–Obert, Rice 3, Woodis 3, Einink 2, Lundmark, Sposato, Price, Spangenburg.
North 21 9 16 28 — 74
South 16 20 20 15 — 71
BOYS ALL-STARS
NORTH (77)
Carter 3 0 8, Weingart 1 2 4, Holland 4 1 11, DSwanson 5 2 15, Sercu 1 0 2, Harrington 1 1 3, Gugliemi 0 0 0, Butcher 0 0 0, Libby 0 0 0, Whitfield 9 7 25, Parkhurst 1 0 3, Schuster 0 0 0, Tell 0 0 0, Oakes 2 2 6. Totals 27 15 77.
SOUTH (91)
Farmer 6 1 13, Kennedy 5 0 10, Carris 6 0 15, Brown 0 0 0, Kopta 1 0 3, JSwanson 1 1 3, Fenton 2 2 6, Kioko 2 0 4, Willink 2 0 4, Butera 8 0 16, White 0 0 0, Maple 3 2 10, Garland 1 0 2, Winters 1 2 5. Totals 38 8 91.
3-point goals–Carter 2, Holland 2, DSwanson 3, Parkhurst, Carris 3, Kopta, Maple 2, Winters.
North 18 26 18 15 — 77
South 21 25 24 21 — 91
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