CLIPPERS BOYS AND GIRLS ADVANCE TO SEMIS
Greg Dedrick
ccSCOOP Sports Editor
03-02-09 - Both the Germantown boys’ and girls’ basketball teams competed in the Section II Class D basketball tournament on Saturday, and both came away with victories in the quarterfinals to move them into the final four.
The Lady Clippers, the top seed in Class D, blew out the ninth-seeded Cougars of North Warren 65-31 in Germantown. Taylor Race, as she has all season, led the Clippers with 23 points including a pair of triples from behind the arc. Along with the 23 points, Race threw in 10 rebounds and 6 assists. Suzy Wright chipped in with 12 points, while Caitlin Briggs ended up with a double-double of 10 points and 13 rebounds. Patricia Cameron finished off a solid overall game, going for 6 points, 5 assists, and 4 steals, while Melissa Fuchs made 4 points and 14 rebounds.
Germantown fired out of the gate, jumping out to a 20-6 lead after one quarter and showed no signs of slowing down in the second, outscoring North Warren by 4 points to head into halftime up 18 points. The Clippers kept up their offensive onslaught, putting up an impressive 32 second-half points while holding their opponents to 16.
The Clippers now move into the Class D semifinals where they will face off with Heatly on Tuesday night at Adirondack Community College. The Clippers and Hornets have faced off twice this season with Germantown winning the first game on the road by 1 before defending their home court with a 48-25 win.
On the boys’ side of things, the seventh-seeded Clippers pulled off a major upset, knocking off second-seeded Fort Ann in the quarterfinals of the Class D tournament Saturday at Saratoga High School. The Clippers used a big fourth quarter run to knock off the reigning Adirondack League Champions, 56-44.
The teams played an even first quarter and went into the second tied at 10. In the second quarter, Fort Ann established a bit of a lead behind a solid defensive effort and headed to the half up 6.
In the second half, the Clippers got back into things and evened up the game heading into the crucial fourth quarter. In that final quarter, the Germantown offense exploded for 22 points, while their defense held Fort Ann to just 8, as the Clippers cruised to the victory.
With their opponents playing a triangle and two to contain Cody Broast and Thomas Griffin, the third member of the sophomore scoring trio, Larry Niebling stepped up and led the way with 19 points, including a pair of triples and 9 for 9 from the charity stripe. Griffin added in 18 points, including 9 of 12 from the free-throw line, while Broast again reached double digits scoring 12 points.
The Clippers now advance to the Class D Final Four where they will face off with third-seeded Sharon Springs from the Western Athletic Conference on Wednesday at the Glens Falls Civic Center.
