Canton Edges Salmon River 51-47 In Section X Overall Championship

Potsdam- It was a rough night for the Salmon River Girls basketball team as they were defeated by the Canton Golden Bears 51-47 in the Section X Overall Championship.

The Shamrocks struck early to get on the board but Canton stayed closely in stride with the Shamrocks. The Shamrocks went on a quick offensive run building a strong 6 point lead on the Golden Bears, but the Golden Bears’ offense didn’t let the Shamrocks’ lead overwhelm them. The Golden Bears calmly collected themselves and played consistently.

The Shamrocks continued to put up points while the Golden Bears continued to chase the Shamrocks’ lead. The Shamrocks were playing with strong, quick offensive plays and kept the Golden Bears to the outside, but Canton adapted quickly by pushing inside the arc then throwing it out to Emily Rexford or Kali Frank to shoot for a 3-pointer. The 1st half ended with a score of 23-21.

In the 3rd quarter the Golden Bears started to turn up the defensive pressure and used consistent quick passes to keep the ball moving and out of the Shamrocks’ possession. The Shamrocks starting to fall behind as the Golden Bears started spreading the lead gap, but a quick series of passes to Abby Kelly converted into a 3-pointer.

With the start of the 4th and final quarter, the Shamrocks now playing from behind as Canton had built a 35-32 lead, the Shamrocks continued to push the ball up the floor and into the offensive zone to level out the score. With a quick exchange of possessions and baskets, the Shamrocks were now down 47-46. As the Shamrocks gained possession, Abby Kelly was fouled and was awarded two free throws at the line. Her first shot almost looked definite but after a series of awkward bounces off the backboard and rim, it fell off the basket. With the second shot, Abby Kelly took a deep breath, regained her poise and took the shot, and it smoothly went in the basket. With the score on the line, the Golden Bears rushed up the floor and collected two points on a lay up. The Shamrocks now gained possession and strongly pushed the ball into the offensive zone but after an attempted 3-pointer by Taylor Francis that fell inches short, Canton regained possession and pushed back into their offense end. The Shamrocks had to do something to possibly steal the ball and tie the game, but in an attempted steal, Abby Kelly had a foul called on her which put Canton on the free throw line. They converted it into two points to close out the game 51-47.

Golden Bears’ Tori Daley led the Golden Bears with 18 points while Emily Rexford contributed 13 points for the Canton offense. Abby Kelly led the Shamrocks’ offense with 18 points while Aliyah Cook chipped in 12 points.