Bloomfield, Dundee/Bradford claim girls basketball titles: Here's how they did it

The clock ticked down, and Bloomfield's lead withered away.

The second-seeded Bombers, on the verge of losing what was once a 20-point advantage, then turned to their floor general. Annie Dodge delivered.

Her 3-pointer with under three minutes remaining effectively secured Bloomfield's first Section V championship in 17 years, in a 49-39 win over No. 4 East Rochester in the Class C1 title game on Friday.

"It's real. Seventeen years, we have not won this brick," Bloomfield coach Julie Kimball said. "This was our time."

Bloomfield was one of Section V's dominant small school teams in the 1990s, capturing seven titles from 1993 through 2001. The program's last championship in 2007 was followed by an extended lull, one that this year's Bombers are happy to put an end to.

The team's age didn't imply impending playoff success prior to the season. Bloomfield has only one senior (who was unavailable due to injury) and starts a lineup featuring four juniors and one sophomore.

Never underestimate failure as a motivator. Kimball pointed to last season's playoff loss that helped push this year's group.

Now Bloomfield is set up for a multi-year run of excellence, perhaps as dominant as its 90s version. But Kimball is soaking in this season's thrills first.

"The sky's the limit for us, honestly," Kimball said. "We're going to enjoy this right now, and we don't want our season to end."

How it happened

Bloomfield stormed out to a 21-5 lead in the first quarter, thanks largely to seven early points from junior Lily Baughman. The difference expanded to 20 points midway through the second frame.

That major gap was needed. East Rochester went on to outscore Bloomfield in each of the final three quarters.

Aniyah Eldridge and Maddy Fiorvanti both connected on 3s early in the fourth to trim Bloomfield's lead to single digits. Aaliyah Carmichael's basket brought East Rochester within five with five to go.

The bleeding stopped there. Dodge picked up the ball on the right wing and swished a 3 with 2:25 to go, ending East Rochester's comeback bid.

A play worthy of an MVP.

"We've got good shooters and we've got good post players, but Annie and Lily have that green light," Kimball said. "But God bless Annie, she hit that shot when we needed. We kept saying 'Composure, we don't need to score, just take care of the ball and play defense.' But when she hit that shot, I think all of the coaches were like, OK we're good."

Class C1 all-tournament team: Annie Dodge, Bloomfield (MVP); Calla McCombs, Bloomfield; Lily Baughman, Bloomfield; Emma Romach, East Rochester; Zarriah Eldridge, East Rochester; Eva Jenny, Gananda.

Section V Class C2 championship: Dundee/Bradford 51, Keshequa 47

A No. 1 seed in its respective sectional tournament for the third straight year, Dundee/Bradford didn't let this opportunity go to waste.

The BraveScots, who combine players from nearby rivals Dundee and Bradford, held off a battle-tested Keshequa team in a topsy-turvy C2 final. It's the first championship in the merger's four-year history (Dundee last won a title in 1991).

"The best part is that we're combined for all sports, so the girls who play together do so for all three seasons," BraveScots coach Michael Strait said. "We came from two really good, up-and-coming programs, and the girls' willingness to just play basketball — they haven't let this or that get in the way of what we wanted to do. I'm not surprised, they're a great group of kids."

Dundee/Bradford mostly led throughout, save for a few momentary advantages seized by Keshequa. In the end, the BraveScots' defense proved too tall a wall to leap over.

The chances were there, though. In a must-foul situation with Dundee/Bradford leading 49-47 and less than 10 seconds left, Keshequa received the two free throw misses it needed.

A crucial rebound after the second attempt was won by BraveScots junior guard Bruna Crespo, who drained the next two free throws to seal the game.

"Having been here the last two years and not getting over the top, not only fueled our hunger but I didn't see us get rattled," Strait said. "We played composed in tough situations and knew we were capable of playing through it."

How it happened

A tie at the end of the first quarter signaled a tightly-contested C2 finale. Dundee/Bradford led by four at halftime and by two at the end of the third.

Multiple leads were exchanged in the fourth. It was junior Kendall Parker's jumper that put Dundee/Bradford ahead for good, 48-47, with 40 seconds left. Crespas 2-for-2 showing at the free throw line moments later were the clincher.

Along with the game-winning shot, Parker collected the rebound on each of Keshequa's field goal misses in the final minute.

"I've never had a female athlete work as hard as she does," Strait said. "She's always in the gym and doesn't always work on trying to score. She's always working on jumping and explosive rebounding, and has improved so much in the defensive end. People talk about jumping out of the gym, and she really can."

Class C2 all-tournament team: Kendall Parker, Dundee/Bradford (MVP); Bruna Crespo, Dundee/Bradford; Makayla Schoffner, Dundee/Bradford; Libby Benner, Keshequa; Braelyn Isaman, Keshequa; Tessa Rodwell, York; Hazell Nickerson, Caledonia-Mumford.

Up next: Finger Lakes rivals meet for state tournament berth

Bloomfield and Dundee/Bradford each went 15-1 in league play to share the Finger Lakes' west division title this season.

There'll be no sharing when the teams meet in Section V's Class C state-qualifying game on Tuesday.

The teams split their season series, with Dundee/Bradford winning the first matchup 63-50 on Dec. 21. Bloomfield answered with a 55-47 victory on Feb. 1.

The second matchup is Dundee/Bradford's only loss this season

This article originally appeared on MPNnow: Section V girls basketball championships 2024: Bloomfield, Dundee/Bradford win