The Hamilton Yankees added Open Division Glory to their dominant season after they defeated the Westchester Lady Comets 63-52. Yankees senior Jade Fort scored 26 points in the contest and senior Elsa Miller made 11 rebounds.
“It feels really good, considering they’re kind of our rival school,” Fort said regarding the win. “Last year, we lost to them in the Semifinals. So it’s big to beat them in the Finals.”
Hamilton secured six steals and three blocks against Westchester, showing their competitive nature on defense.
Fort put the Yankees on the board first with a three-pointer, but the Lady Comets found shots to create a lead.
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By the end of the first quarter, Westchester had a one-point advantage. Fort, along with seniors Kinidi Curl and Micah Lemons, went on a 13-3 run to start the second quarter.
Free throws gave the Lady Comets a spark; seniors Kaylee Mcruel and Aliyah Muhammed nullified the Westchester deficit. A last-second three-pointer by Muhammad tied the game at 30 by the half.
“Westchester is a great team. They’re a [well] coached team. They have so many different talents,” Curl said. “I feel like they’re consistent with how they play. They play hard, they play aggressive, they give us a hard time.”
The effort of the Yankees remained high after intermission; they found a 6-2 run to start the third phase. Trips to the free throw line aided the Lady Comets on offense.
With 2:01 left in the third quarter, Westchester senior Reign Waugh made a basket to give the squad a one-point advantage. The lead changed back to Hamilton after Fort sank a jumper one regulated minute later.
“[Westchester] had a lot of energy, their rebounds were really good, they were aggressive. I think we weren’t used to it,” said Hamilton senior Amira Flowers. “That’s why we’re slacking off a little bit in the beginning but I think we started to lock in towards the end.”
At the end of the third, the Yankees had a 43-40 advantage. Lady Comets senior Monroe Anderson opened the fourth with a basket, bringing them within one of the Yankees. Lemons, Fort and Miller collaborated on an offensive surge that gave Hamilton a 12-point advantage.
As the Lady Comets kept battling, the Yankees kept the game out of their reach in the final minutes.
“I got 10 seniors, everybody stepped up to the plate, everybody knew this is it. We’re not gonna leave anything on the table,” said Hamilton girls basketball coach Sherland Chensam. “We have two Open Division finalist banners. For them to make a difference, they got to bring it home and they did.”
