SYRACUSE – The Onondaga CC Lady Lazers defeated FMCC's Lady Raiders 79-67 on Sunday afternoon to win the Region 3 championship. OCC finished the season with a perfect 23-0 record in regional play. FM finished their terrific season 21-5 (21-3 in Division III competition). The Lady Raiders are the Region 3 runners-up.
The taller and talented OCC squad built a 19-9 lead and controlled most of the game from that point on. FM closed to within five points (37-32) at the half, and they cut the lead to 39-37 early in the second stanza. However, the almost-unbeatable Lady Lazers soon used a four-minute span to turn a 44-39 lead into a 56-43 lead.
Photo: Monae Abrams looks to pass as Sherice Gayle looks on
FM has had an excellent season. They won the championship of the eight-team Mountain Valley Conference and finished as the runners-up in 15-team Region 3.
FM played OCC twice this season and lost by 12 points each time. No other Region 3 team lost to OCC by such a small margin. OCC zipped through the three-day regional tourney by beating North Country 96-53, Schenectady 88-67, and FM 79-67. In fact, throughout the season OCC hosted six games with teams that made the regional final eight. The average score of those six games was Onondaga 92-Opponent 63.
Now FM's grand season has ended. Some of the players will take a break from basketball. Some will continue playing recreational hoops. Some will join the softball team. But all of the Lady Raiders should carry with them proud memories of a great season.
The Lady Raiders won 21 games. They won some games by substantial scores, and they won several close games by finding ways to win.
The two games with Jefferson CC are among the season's finest highlights. The Raiders won the game at Jefferson in November by tying the contest in the final seconds of regulation time and then winning in the second overtime period. They defeated Jefferson again in the regional semifinals by taking the lead in the final eight seconds and winning by a point.
The Region 3 All-Tournament Team was announced after Sunday's game. The players are: Jefferson CC's Alyssa Crosby, Schenectady CCC's Samantha Hall, FM's Monae Abrams, and Onondaga's Lauren Roy and Kayla Kibling. The Tournament Most Outstanding Player is Lauren Roy.
C.J. Bonny, website writer
Scoring:
FMCC: Flowers 7-0-18, Rice 0-1-1, Abrams 9-6-24, Gayle 2-2-6, Chea 2-3-7, Ev. Redwood 1-0-2, Woney 4-0-9. Totals: 25-12-67
OCC: Roy 5-8-21, Taylor 8-1-17, Marcely 3-1-7, Kibling 3-4-12, Deuel 3-4-10, Anderson 2-0-6, Bregg 1-0-3, Griffin 1-1-3. Totals: 26-19-79
Halftime: 37-32 OCC
Three-point goals: FM 5 (Flowers 4, Woney), OCC 8 (Roy 3, Kibling 2, Anderson 2, Bregg)
Attendance: 300
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