Section V girls basketball: Class AAA teams adjusting to life in new classification

There's a lot of newness around the Fairport varsity girls basketball team.

New head coach: Tom Vasey, who leads the Red Raiders this season following a successful 11-year tenure at Our Lady of Mercy.

New roster: This year's Fairport team has an entirely new starting lineup from last season. The team lost four starters from 2022-23 to graduation. Another, Ne'vaeh Buntley, transferred out of state prior to the school year.

Most consequential, though, might be Fairport's new classification. The Red Raiders are one of Section V's six Class AAA teams, an addition by New York state for the 2023-24 school year.

For Fairport, this season's challenges are two-fold: Trying to settle in with a new unit and new coach, while navigating a section that offers little measuring-stick opportunities within classification.

The latter is shared with five other Section V teams, many still finding their way in New York's new largest classification.

Bookmark this: Section V girls basketball scores for the 2023-24 season

As of Monday, none of Section V's six Class AAA teams own a record above .500. Section V is one of two state sections (Section IV is the other) without a Class AAA representative in the state rankings so far this season.

"If I look at it from an overall perspective ... there's a lot of really talented teams in Class AAA," Vasey said. "In the Rochester-area and Section V it's not the strongest, but as teams develop and grow things might change."

A look at Class AAA girls basketball around New York state

The NYSPHSAA approved the six classification format in July 2022 for the following sports: Boys soccer, girls soccer, boys basketball, girls basketball, baseball, softball and girls volleyball.

The addition of Class AAA was the first major change to New York's classifications since the early 2000s, when Class AA was introduced to most sports.

Girls basketball adopted Class AA in 2003-04 — exactly 20 years before Class AAA arrived.

For the 2023-24 school year, all schools with an enrollment of 1,113 or above are Class AAA for girls basketball. The NYSPHSAA is adjusting that figure for 2024-25, as schools with 1,090 and above will be Class AAA.

Cut-offs are determined based on ensuring there are around 75 schools in the highest classification. Those 75 schools are not spread evenly throughout New York's 11 sections.

Section VII (Champlain) and Section X (St. Lawrence), for example, have no large schools within their section. In comparison, three state sections (all in downstate regions) have double-digit Class AAA teams.

Section V, like nearby Section III (Syracuse) and Section VI (Buffalo) falls in the middle.

Fairport and Rush-Henrietta are the only non-merged Class AAA schools in Section V for girls basketball. The rest of the classification consists of Edison Tech/World of Inquiry/School Without Walls, Greece Arcadia/Olympia, Greece Athena/Odyssey and Franklin/Northeast (though Edison would qualify as Class AAA without its additional schools).

Addition of Class AAA offers 'new opportunity' for Section V teams

A Class AA state finalist as recently as 2015, the Rush-Henrietta girls basketball program has seen its share of struggles in recent years.

The team endured a 41-game losing streak through the 2019 to 2021 seasons.

While the Royal Comets bounced back in 2021-22, last season proved a struggle. Losing top player Avery Roberts, a Division I lacrosse commit to North Carolina, to an ankle injury contributed to a three-win season in 2022-23.

Life in the Monroe County league and Class AA was difficult enough, even at full-health.

"Once she went down, our season literally tanked," Rush-Henrietta coach Renee Long said. "I was looking at it over the last few years, how we were outmatched in Monroe County. It was kind of demoralizing for my girls."

This season, Rush-Henrietta left the Monroe County league in favor of an independent schedule (the two Greece teams are also independent), in hopes of generating a more competitive slate of games.

Long, who has coached at Rush-Henrietta since 2020-21, admits she was initially reticent about the addition of Class AAA. Worries circled around her belief that Section V would include typical powerhouses like Bishop Kearney, Our Lady of Mercy and Penfield to beef up the classification.

When that didn't happen, the tune changed.

"When it came out, I was very excited. I felt like we have a chance," Long said. "AA has the most competition, that's where the toughest route is going through there. I felt like we got an actual opportunity in AAA."

Looking ahead to Section V's Class AAA bracket

Section V offers an open tournament, ensuring that all six of its Class AAA teams — should they choose — can partake regardless of record.

Seedings are based off a points system which awards six points in a win above classification, five points to a win within classification, and four points in a win below classification.

Due to the few teams and confines of league schedules, Section V's Class AAA teams have limited games against others within the classification. Five-point games are at a premium.

Fairport's schedule, for example, included only two Class AAA games. One was a loss against Section III's Cicero-North Syracuse, while the other was a 69-41 win against Edison/WOIS/SWW on Jan. 3.

The remainder of the Red Raiders' schedule consists mostly of Class AA teams from the Monroe County league, which Vasey hopes will prepare his squad for the upcoming postseason. That said, there'll be little exposure to other teams in the Class AAA bracket.

There's also the tournament itself to consider. Class AAA's lack of size ensures a shorter path to a section title and state tournament appearance. However, teams that receive byes through the quarterfinals could have a long stretch without a game (Section V tournaments begin Feb. 17, the Class AAA semifinals are Feb. 27).

"You look at some sections like Section VI, teams advance right to the finals," Vasey said. "I don't think that's a perfect solution. You have almost two weeks off of not playing basketball."

In Long's eyes, it beats the alternative.

"In Rochester, our sectionals are huge. It's a great thing for the town and a great thing for the city," Long said. "It's just another opportunity for another school to earn a sectional title.

"However many games they have to play, that didn't matter to me."

This article originally appeared on MPNnow: Section V's girls basketball teams adjusting to life in Class AAA