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Section 2 Basketball Blog

Girls Rankings/Sectionals thoughts.

Two perennial powers, Averill Park (Class A) and Shen (Class AA) going at it in an early season contest. Both have strong chances to capture a sectional tile in their respective classes.

Girls Top 30 teams overall, shown below, using the Section2Basketball.com computer rankings. Here is full list current computer rankings for the girls.

Here are some quick thoughts on the girls side, similar to the boys post from Sunday, on each classification in preparation of upcoming sectionals in February. I fully understand that there are still league title implications and plenty of regular season games left but I thought it would be a good time to take a look forward. Teams still have time to improve or get injured players back before the sectionals start so some of these teams will be higher/lower ranked depending how they finish up their schedule.



Class AA

Right now Bethlehem, Albany and Shen have separated themselves as main contenders in this bracket. Bethlehem has a win over Albany at home behind a great game by Ellie Cerf who had 28 points. Shen has to play both Albany and Bethlehem down the stretch. Colonie, Saratoga and Niskayuna sit right below them in a grouping. We’ll get a better idea on how Colonie matches up with the top of the classification as they finish their Suburban season playing, Bethlehem, Saratoga, Shaker, Averill Park and Albany. The Garnet Raiders have plenty of experience and talent and it wouldn’t be surprising at all if they were the last team standing in March. Shaker and Guilderland are teams that could give any of the teams above them a tough contest.

Players to watch that show up on the top 150 scoring leaders posted on the Times Union website.

Shonyae EdmondsAlbany18.5
Azera GatesAlbany10.6
Nevaeh HouseAlbany9.9
Iyana WeedenAlbany9.8
Olivia VerdileBallston Spa14.9
Jessica BowensBallston Spa9.9
Eleanor CerfBethlehem19.2
Kaitlyn RobbinsBethlehem11.7
Caroline DavisBethlehem11.5
Jayla TylerColonie20.3
Bella FranchiColonie12.4
Gabby MartinColonie8.7
Destiny PipinoGuilderland13.4
Jessica Helou-TopiniGuilderland10.1
Kathleen BirminghamNiskayuna12.9
Olivia O’MeallyNiskayuna10.9
Jackie ReffeltNiskayuna10.6
Natasha ChudySaratoga Springs18.9
Carly WiseSaratoga Springs14.8
Lauren LafountainSaratoga Springs10.3
Jayda PalmerSchenectady9
Kristen FogliaShaker12.7
Bri CareyShenendehowa17.7
Kaleigh MontanezShenendehowa11.9
Abby StuartShenendehowa8.7

Class A

Averill Park has hit their stride after some early season adjustments. The Warriors, who won the state title last year, lost two great players in Amelia Wood and Michelina Lombardi to graduation. They both moved on to play D1 and D2 respectively. They are the favorites again this year as Coach Sean Organ, who recently just won his 300th career game, is looking to capture Averill Park’s 9th straight sectional crown. Taylor Holohan is a force on both ends of the floor and one of the top players in the area. Catholic Central is top contender this year as well. They only have one local loss to a really good Albany Academy team. Burnt Hills, Columbia, South Glens Falls and Queensbury are in the tier right below the top two contenders.

Players to watch that show up on the top 150 scoring leaders posted on the Times Union website.

Jayla HughleyAlbany Leadership30.8
Felise FowlerAmsterdam9.3
Annika FedulloAmsterdam8.9
Taylor HolohanAverill Park18
Arianna VerardiAverill Park12
Kayleigh AhernAverill Park8.9
Grace O’ConnorBurnt Hills15
MK LescaultBurnt Hills12.7
Tanavia TurpinCatholic Central16.8
El’ Dior DobereCatholic Central14.8
Angelena GiulianoCatholic Central11.3
Alivia LandyColumbia13.9
Kendyl OuimetteColumbia10.5
Sophie BissaillonColumbia8.8
Audrey ShieldsEmma Willard19
Zoie TesiGloversville15.8
Sophia BolognaHoly Names25.6
Ryan CarrollHoly Names12.5
Seneca WilliamsonHudson Falls14.4
Mya NolanHudson Falls8.6
Adriana SheppieLansingburgh8.8
Isabella PetrocciMohonasen15.3
Caitlyn RichmondMohonasen14.2
Payton WhippleMohonasen9.6
Shea CanavanQueensbury15
Dyllan RayQueensbury11.6
Aislynn DixonQueensbury8.5
Karaline McCarthyScotia16.9
Keeley KristelScotia10.1
Kate McDonoughSouth Glens Falls15.5
Sydney HartSouth Glens Falls11.6
Bailee WolfeSouth Glens Falls8.9
Ava MamoneTroy10.3

Class B

Albany Academy are the clear favorites to win this year’s Class B sectionals. They are talented and deep. They get out in transition and work well as a complete unit on both ends of the floor. Ichabod Crane sits below them in the rankings and had a close contest with Academy early in the season. They held a lead at the half but ultimately fell by single digits. The Riders are led by all area player Carolina Williams who’s averging over 27 points a contest. Below the top two are Catskill, Schalmont and Broadalbin Perth. Catskill is led by Stony Brook commit Janay Brantley who has scored over 2000 career points for the Cats. The computer rankings may be underating Catskill as they don’t have many games outside of the Patroon Conference which is having a down year. It will be interesting to see if they can breakthrough in the sectionals this year for Coach Chris Quinn. Schalmont is led by Karissa Antoine. The Sabres own a win over Ichabod Crane in the last couple weeks. Tamarac, Schuylerville, Glens Falls and Fonda are teams that may be tough opponents for the upper tier teams.

Players to watch that show up on the top 150 scoring leaders posted on the Times Union website.

Saige RandolphAlbany Academy14.3
Bella VincentAlbany Academy13.5
Eva GittoAlbany Academy10.2
Alex LeonardAlbany Academy8.9
Molly RussomBroadalbin-Perth13.1
Mairead MarsdenBroadalbin-Perth10.9
Jillian SassanellaBroadalbin-Perth10.8
Camille CalderoneBroadalbin-Perth10.4
Mackenzie SherburneCairo-Durham14.8
Janay BrantleyCatskill30.3
Ava EdmondCatskill12.6
Camryn ChicawayCohoes9.9
Quincy HytkoCohoes9.2
Baileigh BriskiCoxsackie-Athens18.7
Riley SitcerCoxsackie-Athens18.1
Kieonna ChristmasFonda13.6
Quincy LakeFonda10.6
Elinor SlezakFonda9.6
Gianna EndieveriGlens Falls13.8
Frances McTiernanGlens Falls10.8
CJ LuntGlens Falls10.5
Bryn FitzmauriceGreenville16.6
Aislinn O’HareGreenville12.1
Emily SmithGreenville9.5
Maliah JacksonHudson11.6
Amya MooreHudson8.7
Carolina WilliamsIchabod Crane27.4
Ashley AmesIchabod Crane16.5
Delaney MoreIchabod Crane12.4
Julianna HisertJohnstown8.7
Allison KenyonMechanicville12.1
Ella ZeccaMechanicville10.4
Lila ChristensenMechanicville9.1
Hannah VanDerzeeRavena21.5
Patricia DorranceRavena9.1
Karissa AntoineSchalmont20.9
Gianna CirillaSchalmont12.5
Mikaela FrankSchalmont9
Macey KovalSchuylerville17.4
Lauren KingSchuylerville10.2
Myanna FarajTamarac12.2
Abbie YettoTamarac11.2
Kayla BeaudoinTamarac9.2
Zoie WassWatervliet13.5
Leniyah LeslieWatervliet11.2

Class C

Greenwich and Duanesburg, are the top two teams in the rankings, and are looking to get back to the final for the second straight year. Last year Duanesburg took the crown over the Witches and are looking for a repeat behind the school’s all-time leading scorer Allison O’Hanlon. Greenwich is undefeated and are rolling through Wasaren League play. They are in a similar position, like I mentioned with Catskill in Class B, where their conference is down this year and they haven’t been tested much in the section. They have four players in double figures and run some of the best spacing offense in the section. Duanesburg is cruising in the WAC and have played a challenging schedule in preparation for the post season. Mayfield is the clear third best team in Class C. The Panthers have some serious shot makers in Cloey Dopp and Jaydin Chest and they’ll need big games from them if they are going to make a run at the title. Corinth, Voorheesville, Maple Hill, Whitehall and Cambridge will be stout competition in the tournament.

Players to watch that show up on the top 150 scoring leaders posted on the Times Union website.

Ashlee StevensBerne-Knox12.9
Katie StevensBerne-Knox10.4
Claire ScramBerne-Knox8.7
Schuylar NolanCambridge17.1
Tristann CrandallCambridge9.1
Samantha CrandallCambridge8.8
Charlotte NareCanajoharie13.7
Megan BlakesleeCanajoharie8.7
Allison O’HanlonDuanesburg25.5
Hannah MulhernDuanesburg12.3
Alex MosesDuanesburg11.5
Grace O’BrienGalway13.2
Anna SpadaroGalway10.4
Lauren BascomGranville10.3
Adrianna RojasGreenwich17.9
Norah NieszGreenwich17.2
Brooke KuzmichGreenwich16.7
Grace AutielloGreenwich10.1
Jordana KennyHadley-Luzerne15.8
Madison LentHadley-Luzerne14.3
Gabby GrahamHadley-Luzerne9.8
Mackenna RobersonHoosick Falls12.8
Ava CaseHoosick Falls11.5
Mykah Collier-FisherLake George9.1
Addi LoszynskiMaple Hill11.9
Sydney RogersMaple Hill9.4
Isabella SeebergerMaple Hill8.7
Cloey DoppMayfield20.5
Jaidyn ChestMayfield14.6
Brooke TrumbleOppenheim-Ephratah/St Johnsville11.1
Joslyn TealRensselaer13.3
Angelica SlingerlandRensselaer10.1
Savannah TraverseSchoharie11.6
Miranda PriceStillwater9.9
Mia CarmodyVoorheesville13.3
Reese HoenigVoorheesville10.5
Hope ShermanWarrensburg13.3
Kara BaconWarrensburg13.2
Eliana YorkWarrensburg10.4
Maddy AtwoodWaterford12.9
Sam HowlandWhitehall15.8
Madi GouldWhitehall10.6

Class D

Northville is the slight favorite in Class D right now according to the computer rankings. They are led by Hailey Monroe who is averaging over 20+ a game. Bishop Gibbons, Salem and Hartford are contenders as well. Bishop Gibbons just beat Northville 48-37 on January 11. Wouldn’t be surprised if any of the top four teams, currently ranked, won the title in March.

Players to watch that show up on the top 150 scoring leaders posted on the Times Union website

Mia WylieBishop Gibbons18.2
Angelina DietzBishop Gibbons14.2
Alawnah DundaHartford11.8
Hailey MonroeNorthville22.5
Hannah HoffmanNorthville13.2
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