Staten Island Academy girls advance to state Federation B title game by topping Susquehanna Valley, 71-52

  • 03/28 - 9:00 AM Girls BasketballFinal
    Susquehana Valley 52
    Staten Island Academy 71
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ALBANY -- Not playing for 37 days ... no problem.

A brutal 9 a.m. start time ... forget about it!

Playing over 170 miles from home ... piece of cake.

Staten Island Academy might have appeared to be against all odds entering Saturday's NYS Federation B semifinal encounter against upstate's Susquehanna Valley HS, but the Tigers ironed out kinks behind Jaques Award winner Corinn Baggs in the second period before sailing to a 71-52 triumph at the University of Albany's SEFCU Arena.

The 18-6 Tigers, who haven't played since defeating Tottenville in a non-league contest on Feb. 19, advanced to Sunday's title game, where they will face Buffalo's Mount St. Mary's (a 56-41 winner over Brooklyn College Academy) at SEFCU at 2 p.m.

"We were a bit nervous ... I thought we came out a bit shaky,'' said Baggs, who finished with a game-high 21 points. "But we knew we'd get through it and (start doing what we're capable of).

"We're excited to be in the state championship,'' she added. "I think we're going to be all right.''

Senior point guard Sam Spadaro, meanwhile, became the seventh and final Island girls' player to score the 1,000th point of her career when she nailed a short jumper in the lane in the fourth quarter.

SIA on a whole might have been a bit rusty from the start, but thanks to junior Baggs, the Tigers were knotted at 17 20 seconds into the second before they finally started hitting on all cylinders.

In fact, with the Tigers leading 23-20 with just over four minutes left in the half, they reeled off 10 straight points in a 2:23 span behind Baggs (two baskets), Elizabeth Althoff, Dinkins and Spadaro to make it 33-20 with 1:43 to play in the half.

"Corinn was able to set the pace for us early in the game and I think the rest of the team just jumped on her back,'' praised SIA coach Rose Bruno. "Once the girls saw (Baggs playing smoothly), I think it snowballed for us and it got going.

"(Dinkins) had some big steals on the press too.''

Dinkins and Baggs sandwiched a Erin Nolan (15 points, 11 rebounds) three-point play with a basket each and Spadaro added a free throw to give the Tigers a 38-25 lead at intermission.

The Tigers, meanwhile, never took the foot off the pedal in the third, exploding for a 26-9 run behind Spadaro, Baggs and Cameron Corbett to take a 64-34 lead they'd never relinquish.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Baggs, who joined the Island's 1,000-point club against Tottenville last month, shot a sizzling 10 for 14 from the field. She scored 17 of her 21 markers in the first half, including eight first-quarter points to keep the Tigers close, then added nine more in the second when SIA got separation.

She also contributed six rebounds, four steals, two assists and two blocks.

SPADARO HAS A 1,000 REASONS TO SMILE

The senior point guard, a four-year varsity player, needed 16 points to reach the coveted 1,000-point mark.

She entered the final period needing four and after nailing a right-wing trey to get one, she received a pass from Taflin on a two-on-one break, but missed the layup.

The ball, however, wound up back in the hands of Taflin after the rebound tipped several hands, and she once again rifled a pass to Spadaro to the right of the paint. Spadaro took a dribble to her left before pulling up for a short jumper that hit nothing but net ... thus giving her the mark.

"There's no other kid that deserves it more than Sam,'' praised Bruno. "She's been my point guard for four years and she's been so great getting the girls the balls, it was time to give her some passes and I'm thrilled she was able to get it.''

"As an underclassman, I didn't think (scoring 1,000 points would even be an option,'' said Spadaro, who became the 12th SIA player to score 1,000. "But I stepped into more of a scoring role the last two seasons and I started to get closer.

"The whole thing about today was getting a win,'' added the senior. "If I got close and we won, I could always go for it (on Sunday), but once we got a big lead, coach said let's get it now.''

UNSUNG HERO

The ever-hustling Dinkins finished with 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds, in addition to her usual steady defensive play. She was 5 for 5 from the field.

She also had four steals, including several in SIA's full-court pressure.

WHY THE TIGERS WON

For starters, Bruno thought her team's regular-season schedule helped the Tigers in the semifinal victory.

"My girls are athletic and fast and they play fast,'' said the coach. "We played a number of AA schools, so we're used to good competition.

"A kid like Corinn, who matches up against kids bigger than her all the time, isn't fazed by games like this. I just thought we were a more athletic.''

In addition, the Tigers were able take advantage of 22 turnovers while committing only four of their 15 in the second half.

SIA was able to turn a number of SV's turnovers into points by scoring in transition.

Bruno's troops shot over 50 percent from the field (31 for 60).

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