Hilton, Victor clinch spots in the girls basketball title game: Here's how they did it

In comparison to Victor and Webster Schroeder's two regular season matchups, Wednesday's Class AA semifinal could be considered decisive.

The final score was a difference of four points.

Victor was on the right side of those four points, securing a 55-51 win over the defending Section V and New York state champion Warriors.

View: Section V girls basketball tournament scores

What was expected to be another tight game -- the teams played to scores of 46-45 and 49-48 in two prior matchups, both won by Victor -- lived up to that standard. The fourth quarter alone had five lead changes, with the biggest margin reaching five points as the Blue Devils closed out the game in the final minute.

"We needed to beat (Schroeder) three times this year. We needed to role-reverse it," Victor coach Ashley Zahn said. "These girls are hungry."

How it happened

The score was tied after the first quarter, while Schroeder led at halftime by one and after three quarters by two.

The teams traded blows in the fourth, but with 2:45 remaining Victor sophomore Rhylin Fehrenbach earned a trip to the free throw line and knocked down both attempts for a 46-45 lead.

Fehrenbach took three trips to the charity stripe in the final minute and went 4-for-6 in those tries. That includes a 2-for-2 conversion with less than 10 seconds remaining and Schroeder, down by two, essentially on its last gasp.

"In practice we do pressure free throws , and my teammates give me the best competition in practice," Fehrenbach said. "I feel like that transferred perfectly into the game."

"She's a gamer," Zahn said. "You don't see the game faze her at all. She might be a sophomore, but she plays big for us."

Fehrenbach finished with a near double-double on 26 points and nine rebounds.

Those totals prove even more impressive considering her matchup. Fehrenbach was typically defended by Schroeder's Bria Watkins, one of Section V's top talents (who also reached 1,000 career points in the opening minute of the game). Their game within the game provided must-see entertainment throughout four quarters.

"They're looking to get the ball to Bria, we're looking to get it to Rhylin. They both play so hard, and that's why people come. They love to watch that," Zahn said.

While Fehrenbach was the game's top scorer, her efforts weren't single-handed. Victor senior Devin Livingston added a 21-point game.

Watkins and Sarah Ferruzza both totaled 13 points for Schroeder.

Class AA semifinal: Hilton 59, Bishop Kearney 48

In Wednesday's other semifinal, it was the Cadets emerging against one of Section V's blue blood programs.

Few have been better than Bishop Kearney over the last 15 years under coach Kevan Sheppard, as the Lady Kings have won eight sectional championships and reached 12 finals under his leadership.

To be the best often requires beating the best. Hilton did just that.

"I have a lot of respect for coach Sheppard and his players. There's a lot of Division I kids that come out of there every year," Hilton coach Dave Heise said. "We have a lot of talent too and girls committing year-round. We're not surprised to beat anybody and we're in every game."

Heise pointed to the Cadets' performance over the last two years as an indication. While Hilton finished a modest 13-9 in 2022-23, only two of those losses were by double-digits.

That trend continued this winter, as Hilton's four losses were decided by a combined 24 points.

"I know what we've been building toward," Heise said. "It's been a wonderful group and I'm not surprised by any of it."

How it happened

One of the keys against Bishop Kearney is slowing talented guards Asia Wilson and Klarissa Goode.

To do so required Heise to adjust from his preferred man-to-man defense to a 2-3 zone look. And when the Lady Kings' go-to scorers attacked the basket, the Cadets met the challenge.

"I do like our length and our 2-3 zone mainly because my guards are very active up top. Maddie Murphy and Mallory (Heise) make life hard (on other guards) every night. We tried to close down the penetration and seal gaps. We were letting some of their girls shoot, and props to them because they had some make 3s."

Wilson ultimately totaled a team-high 21 points for Kearney.

The lynchpin for such a defense on Wednesday was senior Leah Thompson, who finished with 14 points while also serving as Hilton's rim protector and post defender.

"She's just a huge threat on the offensive and defensive end," teammate Mallory Heise said. "She's so smart. She knows the little things she can do to help us."

Championship look-ahead

Victor earned the No. 1 seed in the Class AA bracket by losing only one game all season.

That one loss, though, was to the Blue Devils' next opponent. Victor's lone loss came on Jan. 10 to Hilton, 74-42, which ended the team's nine-game winning streak to start the season.

Victor won the rematch 62-55 on Feb. 6.

Zahn, in her initial impression of the matchup, said defending Mallory Heise -- who scored 30 and 28 points in the teams' previous two meetings -- will be imperative.

"We know who we have to stop," Zahn said. "Mal is so talented and plays hard for 32 minutes, so you try to stop her the best you can."

A win for either program would mark significant history. Hilton last won a section title in 2011 as a Class A school, while Victor's championship drought extends to 1990 when the team won the last of its three titles.

"It's really gonna be a dog fight," Mallory Heise said. "Whoever does the little things and executes is going to win."

This article originally appeared on MPNnow: Section V girls basketball: Hilton, Victor to meet in championship game