ONEIDA | The Lady Indians’ defense was good. But, for 32 minutes at OHS Gymnasium Saturday evening, at least, North Greene’s defense was just a little bit better.
The Huskies escaped town with a 40-39 win in Saturday’s substate game, ending Oneida’s state tournament dreams for a second consecutive season.
A year ago, when North Greene won the substate game on its home court, the Huskies were widely expected to win. In Saturday’s rematch at OHS Gymnasium, it was the Lady Indians who were widely expected to pull out the victory. But if North Greene was fazed by being an underdog on the road, the Huskies didn’t let it show.
North Greene led most of the way, building as much as a nine-point lead early in the second quarter before squeaking out with the win.
In the end, it was all about shooting … or, more specifically, the shots that didn’t fall. While Oneida’s defense was its usual hectic, pesky self, forcing North Greene into 20 turnovers, the Huskies managed to shoot 42% from the field.
On the other side, the shots simply wouldn’t fall for Oneida. The Lady Indians had just nine turnovers in the game, but shot a season-low 28%, including just 22% from 3-point range.
Early on, it felt like North Green was the looser team. While point guard Sonya Wagner finished with a team-high 13 points, Oneida did a masterful job on her defensively. However, North Greene was able to get its post players free at critical times to build the lead. Hannah Miller finished with 10 points and 14 rebounds.
As the game progressed, it appeared Oneida was loosening up. The Lady Indians trimmed North Greene’s nine-point lead to just three points at the intermission, then finally tied and took the lead in the third quarter.
Kelsey Pike finished with 14 points to lead all scorers. Lydia Kline, meanwhile, had a huge third quarter, sparking the Lady Indians. She scored the final five points of the third, including a 3-pointer that gave Oneida a 36-33 lead going to the fourth quarter.
Oneida had all the momentum, and OHS Gymnasium was loud. North Greene, which dressed only eight players, appeared to be on the verge of running out of gas.
But the Huskies withstood the storm, cranked up their defense, and limited Oneida to only three points in the final period. It was a combination of North Greene’s defensive pressure and a lid on the Oneida basket that proved to be the difference.
Nevertheless, the Lady Indians had multiple chances down the stretch. Wagner missed the front end of a one-and-one with her team up late. Braelyn Russ was then fouled and made both ends of a one-and-one to tie the game.
Seconds later, a ticky-tack foul called against Oneida sent North Greene to the line with 13 seconds remaining, where Wagner hit just one of two free throws.
Oneida got the look it wanted in the final seconds. Ironically, however, it may have been a North Greene mistake that costed Oneida. As Pike drove towards the basket, a Husky defender slipped and fell. That appeared to throw Pike off her balance, and the final shot came up short.
Saturday’s game ended a stellar Oneida career for Pike. It was also the final game for senior Rachel Elmore. Pike and Elmore made it to the substate each of their four seasons, becoming just the second senior class to accomplish that since 2003.
ONEIDA (39): Pike 14, Kline 9, Bush 7, Russ 7, West 2.
NORTH GREENE (40): Wagner 13, Gaby 12, Miller 10, Buchanan 3, Bailey 2.
