TROY — In its past two games in the NYSPHSAA Class D girls’ basketball playoffs, Chateaugay trailed at halftime.
It just so happened against La Fargeville and Schroon Lake/Newcomb that the defense came alive in the second half to completely shut those teams down.
So it was a little bit of uncharted territory for the Bulldogs (27-0, 13-0) to hold a lead against Smithtown Christian.
“I thought our mindset, our defense right off the bat was pretty good,” Chateaugay head coach Chris Reynolds said. “We had them playing a little faster than they wanted to play, which is, you know, what we like to do. And absolutely, I was more pleased with our first-half defense than I have been in the last couple games.”
The Bulldogs built an insurmountable lead to put away the Knights 62-37 and advance to Friday’s state championship game.
While there were admitted jitters early in the contest, Chateaugay’s Khloe Parmeter hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to give her team a two-point lead after the first quarter.
That’s when the Bulldogs truly clamped down on defense, giving the Knights only eight points in the second quarter as they began pulling away. The last time Smithtown led was before Khloe Parmeter’s three.
“That’s simply the way we play,” Reynolds said. “I have the right group of girls to play that tough, tenacious defense, and that’s what we’re excelling at.”
And Chateaugay does it well. Its full-court pressure led to steals and costly mistakes for Smithtown that never found any rhythm after the first quarter. Overall, they forced 18 turnovers with nine of them being steals.
Irelynn LaPlante led the Bulldogs with 17 points, including three 3-pointers. Mya McComb and Payton Parmeter added 14 and 10 points, respectively.
Parmeter shoots
Chateaugay’s Payton Parmeter shoots from the corner during the third quarter of a NYSPHSAA Class D girls’ state semifinal game against Smithtown Christian Thursday in Hudson Valley Community College in Troy.
“We showed really good patience on offense and moved the ball really well and got good looks on that end,” Reynods said. “If you’re playing great defense and you’re getting good looks with people that can score. Plus, we played great playing inside out. We got the ball in inside, into Maddie (McComb). We played through Maddie in the high post a lot. She did a really nice job distributing it.”
While McComb didn’t put up big points with six, she was effective on the boards, leading the team on the glass with 15 of her team’s 36 rebounds. Nine of her 15 were offensive.
Reynolds believes her best game is going to be the next one she plays. He’s counting on it.
That next game will be against Notre Dame from Section V. The Fighting Irish defeated Section IV’s Stamford Central, 73-57, in the first semifinal.
Reynolds, a self proclaimed “one game at a time coach” now is at the point of having one game left. After Thursday’s contest he said the team will celebrate at the arena and on the bus. Once back at the hotel, it’s time to focus for one more game.
Bulldogs celebrate
Members of the Chateaugay girls’ basketball team begin to celebrate as time winds down in a NYSPHSAA Class D girls’ basketball state semifinal against Smithtown Christian on Thursday in Hudson Valley Community College in Troy.
“You know, it’s a hard turn around. We’re a prep team. We prep hard, we watch a lot of film, we try to do what we can to, to make it really hard for teams, and prep is a big part of it,” he said. “But it’s a quick turnaround, and hopefully we can adapt all right.”
Tipoff for the championship game is set for today at 7:45 p.m. at HVCC.
—
Chateaugay 62. Smithtown Christian 37
Chateaugay (62)
P. Parmeter 3-3-10, Mya McComb 6-0-14. Ma McComb 4-1-9, LaPlante 7-0-17, Crawford 1-0-2, K. Parmeter 2-0-5, Helm 1-0-2, Johnston 1-0-3. TOTALS: 25-4-62
Smithtown Christian (37)
Loiacono 2-0-5, Crilly 2-1-6, Madu 10-1-21, James 2-0-5. TOTALS: 16-2-37
Halftime- Chateaugay, 30-21
3 point goals- Chateaugay (8) LaPlante 3, Mya McComb 2, P. Parmeter, K. Parmeter, Johnston Smithtown (3) Loiacono, James, Crilly.
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