By: Patrick Louer
BROCKPORT, N.Y. - Brockport Golden Eagles and Geneseo Knights women's basketball took the floor on Tuesday night both looking to clinch the number one seed in the Empire 8. The two heavyweights threw haymakers back and forth, good for 12 lead changes. However, a fourth-quarter surge saw Brockport take home the regular season title in their Empire 8 debut on Play4Kay night.
"We responded to their runs," Brockport senior guard Cameron Tooley said. "We just kept playing the way we play."
Junior guard Stephanie Jean-Baptiste didn't skip a beat to start coming off a 26-point outing. The 10th leading scorer in Brockport history knocked down a three to open up scoring for both teams. Jean-Baptiste had timely buckets all game which led to an 11-point night, one of three Golden Eagles in double figures.
Senior guard Shannon Blankenship's back-to-back triples tallied two more threes for Brockport. The Golden Eagles got out to a quick 9-4 lead and another three by sophomore guard Mandy Brink would help Brockport start hot, going 4-6 from deep in the first. After a quarter of action, Brockport held on to an 18-17 lead.
"She's [Shannon] put in the time," Brockport head women's basketball coach Corrine Jones said. "She's been loyal....I'm super happy for her that she's able to put it in the court and do the X and O part of it."
Geneseo dominated the glass all night and it continued in the second quarter thanks to sophomore forward Audrey Hintz. The Rochester native tallied eight points and six rebounds in the second quarter alone. Hintz, one of three Knights over six feet tall, helped Geneseo out rebound Brockport 22-15 in the first half.
"We don't have Zairea [Hannah]," Jones said. "I want our effort to go to the glass."
To combat the Knights' size were senior guards Kaileigh Hunt and Cameron Tooley. Combining for 15 of Brockport's 38 rebounds, Hunt and Tooley also stood their ground in the painted area, taking a charge apiece. Their efforts often don't show up on the stat sheet but helped slow down senior forward Kylie Snow, Geneseo's second-leading scorer, to just eight points.
Geneseo's opportunities were opened up by the passing of senior guard Mackenzie Reigle. The single-season assists record holder was a maestro for the Knights as she had three assists in the first half. To her aid was backup junior point guard Maggie McGrane, tallying four first half assists as well. Geneseo as a team had six second quarter assists which helped them secure a 38-35 lead at half.
Brockport only got eight bench points in their previous outing against Houghton. With seven bench points at the half, Brockport desperately needed a bench spark. They got it with Mandy Brink.
Brink's second and third three of the game came in the third quarter. Her triples were part of a nine-point quarter for Brink, going perfect from the field during that stretch. Brink ended with a team-high 16 points, tying her career-high as a Golden Eagle.
"I wasn't thinking, I was just shooting," Brink said. "I got shots to go in."
Brockport stayed hot on both sides of the ball. Freshman Peyton Maneri led the way defensively at the top of Brockport's patented zone pressure. The Auburn native helped create four steals and 11 fastbreak points in the third quarter alone, leading to a 57-53 Brockport lead. Maneri tallied career highs in steals with seven, and blocks with two.
"She's a winner, she's going to do what it takes," Jones said. "I think she has winning behaviors, and she has great leaders to follow too."
Maneri's efforts guided Brockport to 11 steals as a team and 14 points off turnovers.
After regaining the lead through three quarters, Brockport never looked back. An 18-3 run to start the fourth quarter helped the Golden Eagles maintain the lead for all 10 minutes of the quarter. Senior guard Harmony Philo's three off a Cam Tooley assist was the dagger for Brockport. It was one of Tooley's seven assists on the night, a game-high.
"Just pushing the ball," Tooley said. "We just trust what's the best play for our team, we try to get the ball to whoever's open and make a play from there."
Brockport coasted to grab a convincing 75-62 win in which all 14 Golden Eagles saw action. With it, the Golden Eagles snagged the number one seed heading into postseason play.
Brockport's home win to cap off the season led them to a 10-1 record at the Jim and John Vlogianitis Arena this season to go along with a 22-3 regular season record.
Despite the feats, Coach Jones knows her team still isn't satisfied.
"I looked at them today and was like, 'are ya'll happy?'," Jones said. "But, they want more. They expect greatness, and that's awesome because I don't have to drive that. They drive it themselves."
Brockport will play Saturday at home in the first round of the Empire 8 conference tournament. Tipoff and opponent are to be determined. Likewise, Geneseo will play at home on Saturday in the first round of Empire 8 playoff action. Tipoff and opponent are to be determined as well.
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