For the third time in as many seasons, Fairport Harding’s tournament run ended at Kinsman Badger.
The Braves defeated the Skippers in a Division IV sectional semifinal on Wednesday, 50-16.
“This is the third time we made this trip here as far as the first round and it’s always tough out here,” Fairport head coach Ed Reed said. “I knew they had very aggressive young ladies and I knew they were nice seniors out here that I saw last year as juniors. I knew we were in for a battle.”
The fifth-seeded Braves came out strong and ended the first quarter with a 16-2 lead.
That was too much for the young Skippers to overcome.
Badger defeated the Skippers 59-22 in a sectional semifinal last year and 62-28 the previous year.
“I knew we were in for a rough go,” Reed said. “They’re a good team.”
Ryann Hagedorn, Fairport’s lone senior, closed out her career with a team-high six points.
“Ryann is a great kid, she really is,” Reed said. “I’ve known the family for a long time and her coming in and her sister Paige, they’re like family to me. She has a heart of gold. She was one of my top shooters this year because she can hit the outside shot when she’s open. She is a great leader being the only senior and going through the pains that we’re going through right now. I thanked her for being with me for four years and taking the beatings for the last three years. It’s tough with a young group of girls coming in but she was great with my younger players, she really was. She was a role model for them.”
Now, the Skippers have a full off-season to commit to improving on the two wins collected during the 2018-2019 season.
“They’re committed,” Reed said of his underclassmen. “We just talked about it last summer, going from eighth grade into the high school and into the varsity level is a big step. We did not have a real good showing last summer as far as off-season programs with any of the girls and it shows out here on the floor. We just talked about that in the locker room, I said, ‘Girls, if we do nothing different than what we did last year, next October when we step onto the floor you guys aren’t going to be any better than you are this year and we’re going to get beat up.’ They agreed they have to step up.”
Badger 50, Fairport 16
Badger: Tricker 15, Popovich 9, Mott 6, Morgan 7, Karr 5, Eucker 5, Hamilton 3
Faiport: R. Hagedorn 6, Sterringer 5, Erb 3, Eldridge 1, Collins 1
Fairport 2 3 8 3 — 16
Badger 16 15 11 8 — 50
Free throws: Badger 13 of 20, Fairport 3 of 8; 3-pointers: Badger 5 (Mott 2, Hamilton, Karr, Popovich), Fairport 3 (Hagedorn 2, Erb).
